Capital gain rates will remain at a maximum of 15% (and a minimum of 0%) through December 31, 2012. The rates apply to qualified dividends and long-term gains from investments you sell. That makes 2011 a good time to implement strategies for potential tax savings.
One example: You may be able to manage your income to stay within the 10% or 15% income tax brackets, which would allow you to take advantage of the 0% capital gain rate.
Alternatively, you could gift appreciated stock to family members in those brackets. For 2011, the cutoff for the 15% bracket is $69,000 of taxable income when you’re married filing jointly ($34,500 for singles).
It might be time to “harvest” some of your investment gains in case tax rates rise again in the future. Joan Brockman, CPA at Simons Bitzer, suggests that a tax-savvy way to completely eliminate your capital gains tax might be to donate appreciated stock to charity.  When doing so you  can receive a deduction equal to the security’s current market value. Special rules apply to noncash donations, so please contact Simons Bitzer at (317) 782-3070 before you move forward on this strategy.