Tax Loss Harvesting Calculator
Estimate how harvested short- and long-term losses offset gains, reduce ordinary income up to the annual limit, and carry forward into later tax years.
Last updated: 2026-03-26
Tax loss harvesting calculator
Enter your values
Estimate how harvested short- and long-term losses offset gains this year and how much loss carries forward.
Estimated Current-Year Tax Savings
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Enter current gains, harvested losses, and tax rates to estimate how much tax-loss harvesting helps this year.
Calculation History(0)
Example calculations
Tap an example to prefill the calculator with sample values.
Balanced gain offset
Offset both short- and long-term gains
A common portfolio cleanup case where harvested losses hit multiple buckets before any carryforward remains.
Result: The harvested losses clear part of the short-term gain bucket, wipe out the long-term bucket, and can still create a carryforward if more loss remains.
Carryforward-heavy year
Losses are larger than current gains
Useful when you want to see how much loss remains available after the current year’s gains and the ordinary-income offset are used up.
Result: Once the current gains are absorbed, only the annual ordinary-income limit is used immediately and the remaining loss carries forward.
How the harvesting estimate works
The calculator nets short-term gains against short-term harvested losses and long-term gains against long-term harvested losses first, then cross-offsets the remaining gain bucket if the other term still has a net loss.
If a net capital loss still remains after all gains are offset, the calculator applies up to $3,000 against ordinary income for the current year and treats the rest as a carryforward into later years.
Tax-loss harvesting FAQs
Use these answers to interpret gain offset rules, ordinary-income limits, and what this estimate leaves out.
What order does the calculator use when applying losses?
It nets short-term gains and losses against each other, nets long-term gains and losses against each other, cross-offsets the remaining gain bucket if the other side is still negative, and then applies any net capital loss to ordinary income up to the annual cap.
Does this calculator handle wash-sale rules?
No. It assumes the harvested losses are valid and currently deductible. Wash-sale disallowance, lot selection, and replacement trades can change the real outcome materially.
Why do I still see a carryforward loss?
Because once the current year’s gains are fully offset, only a limited amount of remaining net capital loss can offset ordinary income in the current year. The rest carries forward.
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