My wife and I have a typical taxable income of $54,000. We have been advised by our financial planner to sell before the end of the year (2012) our shares in a company that total approximately $120,000 and have a cost basis of approximately $30,000; capital gains are largely long term. This recommendation is made primarily to avoid higher anticipated capital gains taxes, although reducing volatility in our portfolio is also an issue. Will income from the sale of these shares put us in a higher than 15 percent tax bracket?