Capital Gains Harvesting Room
How much long-term gain fits in the 0% bracket this year, and what does more cost? Every piece below can be linked to, so it opens in a window on your reader's screen, current as of the record. No form to fill in.
2026 law · Reviewed September 4, 2026 · The full page, with methodology and sources · the terms · All tools
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Adjusted gross income, filing status, and a gain on a slider in; the room at 0 percent, the tax as the gain climbs through 15 and 20 percent and the 3.8 percent surtax, and the Medicare tier effect out. In a frame it carries no cookies, no tracking, and a visible link back to the methodology. Your site has to allow frames; most do. The link that opens it in a small window is on the professionals page.
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- In plain words.
- When you sell an investment you have held more than a year for more than you paid, the profit is a long-term capital gain, and the first slice of it is taxed at zero percent if your other income is low enough. This tool takes your income and shows how much gain fits in that zero band, and what happens to a larger gain as it climbs into the 15 and 20 percent bands, the extra 3.8 percent surtax, and the next Medicare tier.
- Why it matters.
- Selling and immediately rebuying resets your cost, so future gains are smaller, and if the gain fits in the zero band it costs nothing. December is when this gets sized, and this shows the room.
- An example.
- A single person with $50,000 of income has about $15,500 of room at zero percent. Taking a $20,000 gain costs about $670, because the last $4,450 is taxed at 15 percent.
- Where it stops.
- It assumes the standard deduction and no dividends already in the picture, which use up room. State tax, and a Social Security benefit that becomes more taxable as income rises, both add to the cost.
The facts
Six quotable sentences from the 2026 tables.
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- Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0, 15, or 20 percent depending on where they land once stacked on top of ordinary income. For 2026 the 0 percent band runs to $49,450 of taxable income on a single return and $98,900 on a joint return; the 15 percent band to $545,500 and $613,700.
- Taxable income is adjusted gross income less deductions; the 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 single and $32,200 joint. The room is the band's top minus taxable ordinary income, and a gain that fits inside it is taxed at zero.
- A single filer with $50,000 of adjusted gross income has $33,900 of taxable income and $15,550 of room at 0 percent; realizing $20,000 of gain costs $668, because the last $4,450 is taxed at 15 percent.
- The net investment income tax adds 3.8 percent on investment income above $200,000 of modified adjusted gross income single and $250,000 joint; the thresholds have not been indexed since 2013.
- Harvesting a gain resets cost basis: the same shares can be bought back the same day, since the wash-sale rule applies to losses, not gains. The gain is real income for every other purpose that year: Medicare premiums two years out, the taxable share of Social Security, and the senior deduction's phase-out.
- Qualified dividends share the same bands, so they are already in the stack before a harvested gain is added.
The 2026 capital gains bands
The three bands and the surtax threshold, both statuses.
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| Rate | Single, taxable income | Married filing jointly, taxable income |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Up to $49,450 | Up to $98,900 |
| 15% | $49,450 to $545,500 | $98,900 to $613,700 |
| 20% | Above $545,500 | Above $613,700 |
| Net investment income tax, 3.8% | MAGI above $200,000 | MAGI above $250,000 |
Cite and link.
The clean address, a citation generated from the record so it can never carry a stale review date, and an address for every section so you can point a reader at the exact table or method.
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- Link
- https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room
- Citation
- Considerate Capital, "Capital Gains Harvesting Room," reviewed September 4, 2026, https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room.
Link to a section
- The calculator https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#calculator
- The facts https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#facts
- The bands https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#key-numbers
- How the stacking works https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#how-it-works
- Methodology https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#methodology
- Sources https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#sources
- Revision history https://consideratecapital.com/tools/capital-gains-harvesting-room#revision-history
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