{
  "slug": "ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting",
  "title": "0% Capital Gains Bracket Harvesting Calculator",
  "heading": "0% Long-Term Capital Gains Harvesting Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting",
  "summary": "Find how much gain you can realize tax-free inside the 0% LTCG bracket.",
  "description": "Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0% for taxpayers whose taxable income falls below a threshold ($47,025 single / $94,050 married filing jointly for 2024), 15% in the middle range, and 20% above the top threshold. Gains harvesting means deliberately realizing long-term gains up to the top of the 0% bracket in a low-income year — early retirement, a gap year, a low-earning year before RMDs start — to reset your cost basis higher at zero tax cost, without even needing to stay out of the market (you can sell and immediately rebuy since there's no wash-sale rule for gains, only losses). This calculator figures out exactly how much room you have left in the 0% bracket given your other taxable income, so you know the maximum gain you can harvest this year for free.",
  "formula": "Room in 0% bracket = max(0, 0% bracket ceiling − other taxable income). Harvestable gain = min(unrealized gain, room in 0% bracket). Gains beyond that room are taxed at 15% up to the next threshold.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "otherTaxableIncome",
      "label": "Other taxable income (before capital gains)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "filingStatus",
      "label": "Filing status",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "single",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "single",
          "label": "Single"
        },
        {
          "value": "mfj",
          "label": "Married filing jointly"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "unrealizedGain",
      "label": "Unrealized long-term capital gain available",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "harvestableAt0",
      "label": "Gain you can harvest completely tax-free",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "roomAt0",
      "label": "Total room left in 0% bracket",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "harvestableAt15",
      "label": "Additional gain taxed at 15%",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "taxOwed",
      "label": "Tax owed on the 15% portion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Other taxable income (before capital gains): 40000 $",
      "Filing status: Single",
      "Unrealized long-term capital gain available: 20000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Gain you can harvest completely tax-free: $7,025",
      "Total room left in 0% bracket: $7,025",
      "Additional gain taxed at 15%: $12,975",
      "Tax owed on the 15% portion: $1,946"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter other taxable income (before capital gains) ($).",
      "Enter filing status.",
      "Enter unrealized long-term capital gain available ($).",
      "Read your gain you can harvest completely tax-free on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "otherTaxableIncome": 24000,
        "filingStatus": "single",
        "unrealizedGain": 12000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "otherTaxableIncome": 40000,
        "filingStatus": "single",
        "unrealizedGain": 20000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "otherTaxableIncome": 64000,
        "filingStatus": "single",
        "unrealizedGain": 32000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Does realized gain itself count toward the income threshold?",
      "a": "Yes — this is the trickiest part. The capital gain you realize is stacked on top of your other ordinary income to determine which capital gains bracket it falls into, so the gain effectively 'fills up' the 0% bracket from where your ordinary income leaves off, and only the portion still under the threshold after that stacking is tax-free."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I immediately buy back the same investment after harvesting a gain?",
      "a": "Yes. Unlike tax-loss harvesting, there's no wash-sale rule for gains — you can sell and repurchase the identical security seconds later, resetting your cost basis higher at no tax cost (assuming you're within the 0% bracket) with zero change to your market exposure."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this strategy actually useful for?",
      "a": "People in unusually low-income years: early retirees living off savings before Social Security or pensions start, a year with a big income gap between jobs, or a year with large itemized deductions or business losses that suppress taxable income. It's rarely available to full-time W-2 earners at typical salaries."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this affect my state taxes too?",
      "a": "Most states don't have a preferential capital gains rate and tax gains as ordinary income, so a federal 0% harvest can still generate a state tax bill. Check your specific state's treatment of long-term capital gains before assuming the harvest is entirely tax-free."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/tax-loss-harvesting-benefit",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wash-sale-risk-window",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/asset-location-tax-efficiency"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — 0% Capital Gains Bracket Harvesting Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting)"
}