How to Pay 0% Capital Gains Tax and Receive Social Security Tax-Free, LFG Daily - February 4, 2026

Dream Bigger, Sleep Better

At Lloyd Financial Group, we’re constantly striving to give you more insight, more clarity, and more confidence when it comes to your money. Our Chief Investment Officer, Colin Symons, now delivers his own daily newsletter, offering deep analysis and a detailed outlook on the ever-changing investment world called Symons Says. Check it out and subscribe if you want a very detailed, daily analysis of the investment world. Colin has amazing content.

Meanwhile, the LFG Daily will continue to bring you quick, actionable summaries — blending market updates with financial planning and tax strategies to help you make smarter decisions every day. Together, they’re the perfect one-two punch: Colin brings the deep dive into Investments, we bring the daily edge.

Luke Lloyd, CEO Lloyd Financial Group

How to Pay 0% Capital Gains Tax and Receive Social Security Tax-Free

The quiet power of income control

Most people think taxes are about how much money you have.In reality, taxes are about how much money you show.

Two of the biggest opportunities in financial planning live right there in the gap between wealth and taxable income:

1. Paying 0% in capital gains tax, and

2. Receiving Social Security tax-free

Neither requires loopholes, offshore accounts, or aggressive strategies. It requires understanding how income is classified and timed.

The Truth About Capital Gains: Not All Income Is Treated Equally

The tax code rewards investors who think long-term.

Long-Term Capital Gains = Preferential Tax Treatment

If you hold an investment for more than one year, gains are taxed at long-term capital gains rates—not ordinary income rates.

Those brackets include:

• 0%

• 15%

• 20%

Most people never realize the 0% bracket even exists.

How the 0% Capital Gains Bracket Works

If your taxable income (after deductions) falls below a certain threshold, your long-term capital gains are taxed at zero.

That means you can:

• Sell appreciated investments

• Harvest gains

• Rebalance portfolios

• Create income

…and legally owe nothing in capital gains tax.

This is especially powerful for:

• Retirees

• Business owners in lower-income years

• Early retirees living off assets

• Investors between jobs or after selling a business

The key isn’t how big the gain is—it’s how much other income you have on the tax return.

Why Income Control Beats Income Maximization

Many people spend their entire careers trying to make more money……and accidentally create the most tax-inefficient retirement possible.

W-2 income, pensions, required minimum distributions, and Social Security all stack on top of each other. The result? Higher marginal tax brackets right when flexibility matters most.

Strategic planners do the opposite:

• They shift income across time

• They use years of low income intentionally

• They choose which bucket income comes from

Capital gains can be one of the cleanest buckets when used correctly.

How Social Security Becomes Tax-Free (Yes, Really)

Social Security is only taxable if your combined income crosses certain thresholds.

Combined income includes:

• Adjusted Gross Income

• Tax-exempt interest

• ½ of Social Security benefits

  
  

Here’s the key insight:

Social Security isn’t taxed based on how much you receive — it’s taxed based on what else shows up on your tax return.

How Up to 85% Gets Taxed… or 0%

Depending on your combined income:

• 0% of benefits may be taxable

• Up to 50% may be taxable

• Up to 85% may be taxable

But with intentional planning, it’s entirely possible to:

• Keep combined income below the thresholds

• Receive Social Security completely tax-free

• While still funding your lifestyle

  
  

The Planning Sweet Spot: Capital Gains + Social Security

This is where real planning happens.

In the right structure:

• Social Security provides baseline income

• Long-term capital gains fill the gap

• Total taxable income stays low

• Taxes stay minimal—or zero

Because:

• Long-term capital gains don’t count as ordinary income

• Capital gains can fall into the 0% bracket

• Lower income keeps Social Security untaxed

It’s not about avoiding taxes. It’s about not creating unnecessary ones.

Why Most People Miss This Entirely

Because accumulation is easy to measure. Distribution is not.

Most advisors are trained to grow accounts—not coordinate:

• Withdrawal sequencing

• Tax brackets

• Benefit taxation

• Multi-year income planning

Yet retirement isn’t a spreadsheet problem. It’s a cash-flow and tax-flow problem.

You don’t need exotic strategies to win the tax game. You need clarity, timing, and discipline.

Paying 0% capital gains tax and receiving Social Security tax-free isn’t a trick. It’s what happens when your plan is built on purpose, not by default.

The goal isn’t to beat the system. It’s to understand it well enough that it finally works for you.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

Colin Symons, CIO Lloyd Financial Group

JOLTS wasn’t reported, due to the shutdown.

I saw little talk about it, but part 1 of the Quarterly Refunding Announcement (QRA) was yesterday. The Treasury expects to borrow $109B in Q2, which seems really low. Presumably, the expectation is that the Fed doesn’t cut in H1 and wants to delay raising capital until someone more friendly comes in, and maybe they don’t want to disturb markets until after midterms.

President Trump signed the narrowly passed bill to end the partial government shutdown. Now we get ten days of negotiation over funding immigration enforcement.

Anthropic’s latest Claude plug-in, designed to automate legal work, sent software stocks off a cliff, again.

Tech weakness, particularly in software, saw some big dispersion, with tech (QQQ) -1.5% and small caps (IWM) 0.2%.

I can’t help that note with SPX down a little over 1% from ATHs, I’m seeing articles about how to deal with pullbacks in the market. This is a rotation, not a pullback. How will people manage a 20-50% downturn?

ISM Services, ADP Employment, and the second part of the QRA, today. GOOG reports tonight.

What does it all mean? Big rotations yesterday but today is starting out calmer. GOOG earnings tonight could shift things.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

Disclosures/Regulation:

This content is intended to provide general information about Lloyd Financial. It is not intended to offer or deliver investment advice in any way. Information regarding investment services are provided solely to gain an understanding of our investment philosophy, our strategies and to be able to contact us for further information.

All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. There is no representation or warranty as to the current accuracy, reliability or completeness of, nor liability for, decisions based on such information and it should not be relied on as such.

The views expressed in this commentary are subject to change based on market and other conditions. These documents may contain certain statements that may be deemed forward‐looking statements. Please note that any such statements are not guarantees of any future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed as indicative of actual events that will occur.

Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable