Tax Loss Harvesting Calculator

Background.

Tax Loss Harvesting Calculator supports a concrete decision: use it to estimate the current federal tax value of realizing a loss against gains and, within the entered limit, ordinary income. The result needs one precise interpretation: a harvested loss changes the timing of tax; it is not an investment return and the replacement portfolio still carries market risk. The selected relationship is “current benefit = capital-loss offset against gains × gain rate + limited remaining loss against ordinary income × ordinary rate.”

The editable entries are realized capital loss harvested, capital gains available to offset, applicable annual ordinary-income loss limit, tax rate on offset capital gains, tax rate on deductible ordinary-income offset. Use values from the document or measurement that governs this tax loss harvesting question; the defaults are only the worked fixture below. Do not count the same loss against both capital gains and ordinary income, and track the remaining carryover separately. The tax loss harvesting calculation does not infer that fact from the other entries.

IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses; capital losses, wash sales and investment income documents the convention or governing rule used here. The tax loss harvesting output is a transparent scenario under those facts: it does not manufacture an unentered market price, professional determination, carrier quote, legal eligibility finding or locally adopted code value.

What is tax loss harvesting calculator?

Tax Loss Harvesting is the relationship behind this decision: a harvested loss changes the timing of tax; it is not an investment return and the replacement portfolio still carries market risk. On this page it means current benefit = capital-loss offset against gains × gain rate + limited remaining loss against ordinary income × ordinary rate. Do not count the same loss against both capital gains and ordinary income, and track the remaining carryover separately; that is the line between the reported quantity and a broader tax analysis.

How to use this calculator.

1. 01Confirm that “current benefit = capital-loss offset against gains × gain rate + limited remaining loss against ordinary income × ordinary rate” matches the tax loss harvesting convention you need.
2. 02Replace the fixture values for realized capital loss harvested, capital gains available to offset, applicable annual ordinary-income loss limit, tax rate on offset capital gains, tax rate on deductible ordinary-income offset with dated values from the governing record.
3. 03Keep all currencies, measurement units and time periods on the same basis before calculating.
4. 04Read estimated current-year federal tax benefit together with this boundary: Do not count the same loss against both capital gains and ordinary income, and track the remaining carryover separately.

The formula.

The calculation uses current benefit = capital-loss offset against gains × gain rate + limited remaining loss against ordinary income × ordinary rate. In this tax loss harvesting model, the entered terms are realized capital loss harvested, capital gains available to offset, applicable annual ordinary-income loss limit, tax rate on offset capital gains, tax rate on deductible ordinary-income offset. A harvested loss changes the timing of tax; it is not an investment return and the replacement portfolio still carries market risk, which is why the relationship is presented under this name rather than as a universal alternative. Do not count the same loss against both capital gains and ordinary income, and track the remaining carryover separately. Calculations keep full decimal precision through the relationship and round only the returned display values.

A worked example.

Frequently asked questions.

References& sources.

1. [1]IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses; capital losses, wash sales and investment income. Retrieved 2026-08-07. access: open unless marked otherwise.
2. [2]U.S. Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets. Retrieved 2026-08-07. independence: primary; access: open.
3. [3]U.S. Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses. Retrieved 2026-08-07. independence: primary; access: open.
4. [4]U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 409, Capital gains and losses. Retrieved 2026-08-07. independence: primary; access: open.
5. [5]U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) — includes the Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet. Retrieved 2026-08-07. independence: primary; access: open.