Tax-Loss Harvesting
See how selling losing investments can offset your gains and reduce taxes.
Tax Before vs After Harvesting
Where Your Losses Went
Unused losses carry forward to future years.
Loss allocation
Harvest breakdown
| Metric | Amount | Share | Change |
|---|
Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator — Turn Losses Into Tax Saved
GainsOffset = min(losses+gains, gains), IncomeOffset = min(remaining, $3k), Carryover = remaining−income, TaxSaved = (gainsOffset+incomeOffset)×rate.
Why this calculator matters
Gains $20k, losses $25k, carryover $5k, 30% → offset $20k gains + $3k income, $7k carryover, saved $6,900.
Numbers beat narratives. Move a single slider — return 8%→10%, years 20→25, monthly 5k→7k — and the left side answers instantly. That instant feedback is the whole product: you don’t need a spreadsheet, you need a feel for the trade-off.
Formula — the exact math we run
totalLoss = realized+carryover, gainsOffset = min(totalLoss, gains), incomeOffset = min(remaining, 3000)
Net = return − fee (if you entered a fee). Real = nominal / inflation. n = 12 for monthly, 4 for quarterly, 1 for yearly, 365 for daily. All money fields follow the currency you pick in the header.
Try this example — verify it yourself
Gains $20k, losses $25k, carryover $5k, 30% → offset $20k gains + $3k income, $7k carryover, saved $6,900.
Then change one thing — add 5 years, cut the fee from 1% to 0.1%, or raise inflation 3%→6% — and watch the real value move. That delta is the decision.
What each input actually does
- Starting amount: one-time capital. Small but early beats large but late.
- Monthly / yearly amount: the habit. For 20+ year horizons, this input drives >60% of the final number.
- Return & inflation: nominal lies, real tells the truth. Use real = nominal − inflation for planning. Conservative real for India is 7–8% for equity, 2–3% for debt.
- Years & compounding: years is the exponent. Frequency matters <1% vs monthly; fee matters 20–30%.
- Advanced: frequency, inflation, fee. Fees look tiny (0.5%) but are charged on a growing balance — that’s why they snowball.
What the outputs mean
- Final / corpus: what the account shows.
- Invested: what you put in.
- Gain / interest / earnings: the difference — the part that did no extra work.
- Real (inflation-adjusted): what it buys today. Compare real across decades, not nominal.
- Chart & table: hover the chart, audit the table. The gap between the two lines is your compounding; when it widens fast, you’re in the good part.
Assumptions — where it can be wrong
- Constant return — markets aren’t. This is a median path.
- No extra withdrawals, no missed contributions, on-time compounding.
- Taxes/fees only if you entered them. For taxable, either lower the return or add the fee.
- Currency symbols change formatting, not the amount — 5000 means 5000 in the selected currency.
Make it useful — 30-second tests
- Slider test: move return 8→12→6 and years 15→25. Notice how 6% at 25y beats 12% at 15y — time > rate.
- Fee test: set fee 0→1% and watch 30y corpus drop 25–30%. Then switch to a 0.1% fund.
- Switch test: use the top “Switch” dropdown to hop to a related calculator without going home — compare lumpsum vs SIP for the same goal.
- Share test: copy the URL after tuning — send it to a friend; they see your exact sliders and chart.
Common questions
Is this private? Yes. All math runs in your browser; we never see your numbers. The URL stores the inputs, not a server.
How close to reality? Formula-accurate, assumption-dependent. Use conservative real returns and round down for planning.
Can I see the steps? Yes — the yearly table shows Invested vs Balance row by row. The difference is earnings; its growth rate is the compounding.
Does changing currency convert? No — it only changes the symbol/formatting. 5000 means 5000 in that currency.
Can I export? Where you see Export CSV (SIP, PPF, etc.), it exports the exact schedule. Else copy the share URL.
When does a fee matter most? Always, but especially long horizons and large balances — that’s when the base for the fee is biggest.
When to use this vs the other calculators
Harvest smart: offset gains, use $3k income, carry the rest. Don’t wash-sale.
Inputs
Fill inputs → Show Result
Results stay hidden until you click
- Use presets to jump to common values
- Drag slider or use +/- for fine-tune
- Share URL saves every input
No server, no tracking. Every keystroke recalculates locally and syncs to URL for bookmarking.