Capital Gains Harvesting Calculator

Selling appreciated assets at exactly the right moment can let you cash in gains and owe nothing, and this tool estimates how much that timing is worth. The strategy hinges on the 0% long-term capital gains (LTCG) bracket, which for 2026 covers taxable income up to $99,650 for married filing jointly, $49,800 for single filers, and $74,900 for heads of household (these thresholds are inflation-adjusted estimates). Staying under your threshold is the whole game when it comes to trimming tax on investment gains.

The math starts from your estimated taxable income before any capital gains. From there it works out how much gain you can realize inside the 0% LTCG bracket without breaching the income limit tied to your filing status. In practice that means taking the difference between your 0% bracket ceiling and your current taxable income excluding capital gains, which is the largest gain you can harvest tax-free.

Overlooking an income source when you tally taxable income is the quickest way to slip out of the 0% bracket without realizing it. Capital losses can offset gains, though only up to $3,000 against ordinary income in a single year. The Wash Sale Rule deserves attention too: when you sell for a loss, repurchasing a substantially identical security within 30 days before or after that sale disqualifies the loss.