Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
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
$1,946
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How to use this
- 1Enter other taxable income (before capital gains) ($).
- 2Enter filing status.
- 3Enter unrealized long-term capital gain available ($).
- 4Read your gain you can harvest completely tax-free on the right — it updates as you type.
- 5Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Other taxable income (before capital gains): 40000 $
- Filing status: Single
- Unrealized long-term capital gain available: 20000 $
Results
- 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: $1,946
What each field means
Inputs
- Other taxable income (before capital gains) ($)
- The other taxable income (before capital gains) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 40000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Filing status
- Pick the option that matches your situation — the maths changes per option. Choices: Single, Married filing jointly.
- Unrealized long-term capital gain available ($)
- The unrealized long-term capital gain available used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 20000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Gain you can harvest completely tax-free
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total room left in 0% bracket
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Additional gain taxed at 15%
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Tax owed on the 15% portion
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Does realized gain itself count toward the income threshold?
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.
Can I immediately buy back the same investment after harvesting a gain?
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.
Who is this strategy actually useful for?
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.
Does this affect my state taxes too?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Tax-Loss Harvesting Benefit Calculator
Quantify the tax savings from realizing losses to offset gains and income.
Wash Sale Risk Window Calculator
Find the exact dates you must avoid repurchasing a security after a tax-loss sale.
Asset Location Tax Efficiency Calculator
See the tax savings from placing bonds, REITs, and stocks in the right account types.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). 0% Capital Gains Bracket Harvesting Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">0% Capital Gains Bracket Harvesting Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [0% Capital Gains Bracket Harvesting Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ltcg-zero-bracket-harvesting) (2026).