Tax-Loss Harvesting
Tax-loss harvesting provides a mean of improving the after-tax return on taxable investments. It is the practice of selling securities at a loss and using those losses to offset taxes from gains from other investments and income. Depending on how much loss is harvested, losses can be carried over to offset gains in future years. Tax-loss harvesting often occurs in December, with December 31 being the last day to realize a capital loss. Taxable investment accounts identify realized gains incurred for the year and find losses to offset those gains. Doing so allows the investor to avoid paying capital gains tax. If the investor wants to repurchase the same investment, they must wait 31 days to avoid a wash sale. For example, suppose a taxable account currently has $10,000 of realized gains that were incurred during the calendar year, yet, within its portfolio is Apple stock with an unrealized loss of $9,000. If the Apple stock was sold on or prior to December 31, the investor would realize $1,000 ($10,000 gains - $9,000 Apple loss) in capital gains.
Abiding by the wash-sale rule, if the stock was sold on December 31, the investor would need to wait until January 31 to repurchase it.
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