If you’ve built substantial wealth, capital gains taxes may quietly erode far more of your investment returns than you realize.

The good news? The tax code offers legitimate ways to potentially help minimize that bill – if you know where to look.

Here are three high-impact areas where strategic planning may help minimize your capital gains tax.

1. Investment-Related Expenses
Certain advisory fees, margin interest, and other investment-related costs may qualify for deductions or adjustments, depending on how they’re structured and reported.

2. Cost Basis Adjustments
Adding eligible purchase, improvement, and transaction costs to your cost basis may help minimize any taxable gain when selling investments or property.

3. Selling Costs on Real Estate
Commissions, staging and certain closing costs tied to a property sale may be deducted from any potential gain.

Each of these opportunities may come with complex rules, thresholds, and IRS definitions.What qualifies (and how much you can deduct) may often depend on timing, account type, asset class, and your broader tax picture.

That could be why affluent investors turn to fiduciary financial advisors and wealth managers – not just for investment management, but for tax-forward wealth strategies that may integrate with their CPA’s planning.

Wondering how to get help designing a personalized capital gains tax strategy? Try SmartAsset’s no-cost tool to find vetted financial advisors serving your area, each legally bound to work in your best interest. Get your financial advisor matches today.

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Special Report

Verizon: Out of the Doghouse and Into Your Dividend Portfolio

Written by Thomas Hughes. First Published: 12/29/2025. 

Article Highlights

• Verizon is the highest-yielding Dogs of the Dow stock for 2025, with a yield near 7%. 
• Institutions are accumulating the stock and providing a solid support base, limiting downside risk.
• A CEO transition and an unused 100 million-share buyback authorization could become meaningful catalysts if cash flow keeps improving.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is 2025’s Dog of the Dow. The Dogs of the Dow list includes the index’s top 10 dividend yields, which are expected to outperform the index over the following year, according to the popular theory.

On the official 2025 Dogs of the Dow list (ranked by dividend yield as of Dec. 31, 2024), Verizon sat at the top with a yield of about 6.8%.

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Trading at a historically low valuation, Verizon is well-positioned to cover its dividend and could deliver a market-beating advance in 2026, potentially producing a double-digit total return for investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA: DIA) is forecast to advance by as much as 13% in 2026.

Tailwinds — including lower interest rates and tax relief for lower-income workers — are expected to support healthy consumer spending and business investment. Those factors, together with continued AI-related investment, should underpin a broad market rally.

Verizon is forecast to rise by at least 17%, according to the 2025 year-end analyst consensus, with upside to about 20% at the high end of analysts’ target ranges.

2026 Will Be Pivotal for Verizon

2026 is expected to be a pivotal year for Verizon’s business. The company has leaned into cost-cutting, debt reduction, and investments in broadband and 5G over the past few years, and those efforts are starting to pay off. Verizon is on track to monetize assets while AI offers additional avenues for efficiency gains, new revenue streams, and a more cost-effective operating model. Improved, reliable cash flow provides strong support for the dividend and a favorable outlook for share buybacks.

The company chose not to repurchase shares in 2025, focusing instead on reducing debt and enhancing cash flow.

Verizon currently has ample buyback authorization in place — roughly 100 million shares, or about 2.4% of the outstanding share count.

Another potential 2026 catalyst is outperformance. Although Verizon is expected to widen margins and drive growth next year, analyst forecasts remain conservative. MarketBeat’s reported consensus calls for a low-single-digit revenue advance with slightly stronger earnings growth.

However, forecasts for 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) — two areas where Verizon has shown strength — point to much stronger growth.

Both are expected to sustain mid-teens compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) in the near term.

That growth should be driven by subscriber gains and deeper penetration, with IoT devices, edge computing, and autonomous/mission-critical technologies underpinning activity.

Additional catalysts for investors to watch in 2026 include the new CEO’s strategic initiatives, continuing business results, and capital-return policies.

Verizon: High-Yield Value Tracking for Inclusion in the Dividend Aristocrat Index

Verizon’s stock price and dividend yield offer an attractive risk-reward profile. Trading near 8.5x earnings in late 2025, the stock sits well below its 10-year average of roughly 12x, which suggests it may be undervalued.

Its dividend yield of nearly 7% is above the long-run average, and the payout is expected to grow. The company has paid dividends for decades and has increased its dividend annually for 20 years. The planned 2026 increase would put Verizon within four years of achieving Dividend Aristocrat status — an appealing prospect for buy-and-hold investors.

Institutions, the visible face of buy-and-hold investing, have been accumulating VZ stock. 2025 data show total institutional activity declining sequentially from Q1 to Q4, but each quarter remained above average — bullish overall. For the year, institutions bought more than $2 for every $1 sold, providing solid support and a floor for price action.

Assuming this institutional support persists, VZ shares are unlikely to fall below $40 and stay there for long. It is more likely the stock will continue trading within its established range, eventually retesting the high end and potentially reaching new highs by the end of 2026.

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