Crypto Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator (US Rules)

Crypto Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator

Tax-loss harvesting means selling coins that are below your purchase price to realise a loss that offsets gains you already took this year. Whether it is worth it depends on which gains the loss lands on: a short-term loss used against short-term gains saves tax at your ordinary rate, while a loss that only offsets long-term gains saves at 0–20%. Enter your realised gains, the losses you could realise and your rates, and the calculator shows the tax with and without harvesting under US netting rules. Rules as of October 2026.

How the netting works

Schedule D nets short-term results with each other and long-term results with each other. If one group is a gain and the other a loss, they offset. What remains is taxed: net short-term gain at ordinary rates, net long-term gain at the long-term rate. If the total is a loss, up to $3,000 ($1,500 married filing separately) reduces ordinary income this year and the rest carries forward with no time limit.

The calculator treats a carryforward from last year as a short-term loss, which is the more common case for active traders; if yours is long-term, enter it in the long-term loss field instead.

before = tax(net ST gains, net LT gains)
after  = tax(ST gains − ST losses harvested, LT gains − LT losses harvested)
saved  = before − after   (a net loss saves up to $3,000 × ordinary rate)

Crypto and the wash-sale rule

The wash-sale rule of §1091 disallows a loss on stock or securities bought back within 30 days. The IRS treats crypto as property rather than a security, so as of October 2026 the rule does not apply to crypto, and selling and immediately buying back is a common practice. Bills to extend the rule to digital assets have been introduced in Congress; check the current law before relying on this. A transaction with no purpose other than the tax loss can still be challenged under economic-substance principles.

Other countries handle it differently: the UK matches a buy-back within 30 days to the sale, Canada denies superficial losses, and Germany ignores losses on coins held more than a year.

Sources and simplifications

IRS Topic 409 (capital gains and losses), 26 U.S.C. §1091 (law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1091) and irs.gov/filing/digital-assets.

Rates are applied flat; enter the long-term rate (0%, 15% or 20%) that matches your bracket.
NIIT and state taxes are not included.
Fees for selling and buying back reduce the benefit; subtract them yourself.

Frequently asked questions

+Is tax-loss harvesting legal for crypto?

Yes. Realising a loss by selling is allowed; the question is only whether a buy-back is restricted, and the US wash-sale rule does not cover crypto as of October 2026.

+How much crypto loss can I deduct per year?

Losses offset capital gains without limit, and then up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year ($1,500 married filing separately). The rest carries forward.

+Is a short-term loss worth more than a long-term one?

Usually. Short-term losses first offset short-term gains taxed at ordinary rates; long-term losses first offset long-term gains taxed at 0–20%.

+When should I harvest?

Before the end of the tax year, and only when the saving exceeds the trading fees and spread of selling and buying back.

Calculations run entirely in your browser; nothing you type is sent to KOT.CASH. Results are estimates for information only and are not financial, tax or legal advice.