0% capital gains harvesting

Find how much long-term gain you can realize at the 0% federal rate in 2026, then see the hidden costs: more taxable Social Security, a smaller senior deduction, the ACA subsidy cliff, and IRMAA.

Educational estimate only — not tax, legal, investment, or financial advice. Results depend on simplified assumptions; see Methodology. Numbers are stored in your browser only unless you export them. Federal tax only, TY2026 constants, standard deduction. Many states tax capital gains as ordinary income. Short-term gains don’t qualify for 0%. See the ACA guide and IRMAA guide.

Household and income

Filing statusYour age65+ adds to the standard deductionSpouse ageOrdinary incomeWages, pension, IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions, interestSocial Security benefitsGross annual, householdGains/qual. dividends already this yearInclude fund capital-gain distributionsLong-term gain to harvestSell and immediately rebuy to reset basis

Health coverage checks

ACA Marketplace this year?ACA household sizeOn Medicare in 20282026 income sets 2028 IRMAA; 0 skips

How 0% capital gains harvesting works

Long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0% while your taxable income stays under $98,900 (married filing jointly, 2026). Ordinary income fills that space first, and gains stack on top. Whatever room is left can be realized tax-free: sell, rebuy right away, and your cost basis resets higher, so you owe less when you sell for real. The wash-sale rule only applies to losses, so rebuying immediately is fine.

Why “0%” isn’t always free

Social Security: gains raise provisional income, which can make more of your benefits taxable at ordinary rates. See the tax torpedo calculator.
Senior deduction: the 2025–2028 $6,000 deduction for people 65+ shrinks by 6% of MAGI over $75,000 ($150,000 joint).
ACA subsidies: gains count in Marketplace MAGI. Going one dollar over 400% of the poverty line can cost the whole premium tax credit. See the ACA MAGI cliff calculator.
IRMAA: this year’s AGI sets Medicare premiums two years from now. See the IRMAA calculator.
State tax: most states tax gains as ordinary income, so the harvest may not be free at the state level.

Roth conversions compete for the same room · RMD + QCD calculator · All calculators

Privacy: plan inputs stay in local browser storage on this device. We don’t upload your balances to a server. Export or clear site data anytime.