California and New York, after closing budget deficits of more than $27 billion this year, may face $1.3 billion in combined new gaps if the federal capital- gains tax rate doesn’t rise as scheduled, state documents show.

Both count on increased revenue — $1.1 billion in California and as much as $225 million in New York — as investors rush to sell assets before the federal capital-gains tax rate goes up to 20 percent, set for Jan. 1. Currently it’s 15 percent.

Nationwide, realized capital gains may jump $122 billion, or 29 percent, to $540 billion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In 2003, Congress temporarily cut the federal tax on profits from assets held at least a year. Last month, lawmakers put off action on whether to extend the expiring lower rate beyond December until after the Nov. 2 elections.

Surging asset sales ahead of the pending increase “could fuel an inflow at the state level,” said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. If the rate doesn’t change, then states may not see a jump in related revenue, he said.

Enough Democrats joined Republicans in opposing increases in capital gains and other federal taxes, as favored by President Barack Obama, that in September the House of Representatives delayed a vote until next month at the earliest…

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