---
title: "Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator"
description: "See how much tax you save by selling an investment at a loss to cancel out capital gains, using your province and income."
canonical_url: "https://www.canooq.ca/tools/tax-loss-harvesting-calculator"
author: "Thomas Tremblay"
reviewed_at: "2026-10-30"
---

# Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator

See how much tax you save by selling an investment at a loss to cancel out capital gains, using your province and income.

## What this tool answers

See how much tax you save by selling an investment at a loss to cancel capital gains, based on your province and income, and what carries over.

## What you need to enter

| Input | Meaning | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What you paid for the investment | Your adjusted cost base: the purchase price plus commissions. Your broker shows it as book value. | 20000 |
| What it is worth today | Market value if you sold now, after commissions. | 15000 |
| Capital gains you have already realized this year | Profit from investments you sold at a gain in a taxable account this year. Use 0 if you have none. | 10000 |
| Your taxable income before any gains | Salary and other income after deductions such as RRSP contributions. Capital gains are added on top. | 85000 |
| Province or territory | Provincial rates change how much tax each dollar of gain costs. | ON |

Results are province-aware: the province you pick changes the tax rates and thresholds applied.

## How it works

The tool subtracts today's value from your cost to find the loss, uses it against this year's gains first, and works out your income tax with and without the sale. The difference is the saving. Any loss left over is valued at your marginal rate on a capital gain.

## Assumptions

This estimate uses what you paid for the investment, what it is worth today, the capital gains you have already realized this year, your other taxable income, and your province. Half of each gain and loss counts for tax. It assumes the loss is not denied by the superficial loss rule and leaves out foreign currency, fees and any gains from earlier years.

## Reading the result

The headline is the tax you save on this year's return. A leftover loss is not wasted: carry it back three years or forward without limit. Remember the replacement you buy has a lower cost base, so the tax is deferred rather than erased unless a later gain meets a lower rate.

## How tax-loss harvesting works

You sell an investment that is worth less than you paid. The loss cancels capital gains you realized elsewhere, which lowers the taxable income on your return. You then buy something similar so your money stays invested.

## The 30-day rule

If you or your spouse buys the same investment within 30 days before or after the sale, the CRA denies the loss. Buy a similar fund that tracks a different index, or wait 31 days.

## A deferral, with a catch

The replacement costs less than your old holding did, so a later sale reports a bigger gain. Harvesting moves tax into the future. It pays most when you use the loss against gains that would otherwise be taxed at a high rate.

## Related Canooq tools

- [Estimate your income tax](https://www.canooq.ca/tools/tax-calculator)

- [See what an RRSP contribution refunds](https://www.canooq.ca/tools/rrsp-refund-estimator)

- [Check your TFSA room](https://www.canooq.ca/tools/tfsa-contribution-room-calculator)

## Common questions

### What is tax-loss harvesting, in plain words?

You sell an investment that is worth less than you paid for it, in a regular investing account. That locks in a capital loss, which cancels profits you made selling other investments, so less of your income is taxed. The same day, you buy a similar investment so your money stays in the market. You end up holding roughly the same thing and paying less tax this year.

### Does it work in a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA?

No. Nothing that happens inside a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA is reported on your tax return: profits there are not taxed, and losses there cannot be claimed. Harvesting only works in a regular, non-registered account, sometimes called a cash or margin account. If your only investments are in registered accounts, you have nothing to harvest, and nothing to pay tax on either.

### How much of a capital gain is taxed?

Half. If you buy shares for $10,000 and sell them for $15,000, your capital gain is $5,000, and $2,500 of it is added to your income. You pay your normal tax rate on that $2,500. At a 30% rate that is about $750. A capital loss works the same way in reverse: half of it cancels taxable gains, which is why the tool shows each dollar of loss saving half of your tax rate.

### Can a capital loss lower the tax on my salary?

No. A capital loss can only cancel capital gains, not employment income, interest or most other income. That is why the tool asks for the profits you have already taken. If you have no gains this year, the loss is not wasted: it carries back to gains from the last three years or forward to any future year.

### What happens if my loss is bigger than my gains?

The part you cannot use becomes a net capital loss. You can send it back to cancel capital gains you reported in any of the three previous years by filing Form T1A with your return, and the CRA refunds the tax you paid on them. You do not need to amend the old returns. Anything still left over carries forward to every future year with no expiry, and the CRA keeps track of the balance on your notice of assessment.

### What is the superficial loss rule?

It is the CRA rule that stops you from selling at a loss and buying the same thing straight back. The loss is denied if you, your spouse or common-law partner, a corporation you control, or your own RRSP or TFSA buys the same or an identical investment in the 30 days before or the 30 days after your sale, and still holds it 30 days after. A denied loss in a regular account is added to the cost of the new purchase, so it comes back later. A loss denied because your RRSP or TFSA bought the investment is gone for good.

### What can I buy instead so I stay invested?

Something similar that is not the same investment. For index funds, the usual answer is a fund from another company that follows a different index. For example, XIC follows the S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index and VCN follows the FTSE Canada All Cap Domestic Index: both hold most of the Canadian stock market, so switching from one to the other keeps your money working without breaking the 30-day rule. Two funds that track the same index are riskier, because the CRA can treat them as identical.

### What is the deadline to harvest a loss for 2026?

Wednesday, December 30, 2026. A sale counts in the year it settles, and Canadian stock and ETF trades settle one business day after you place them. The TSX is closed on December 25 and 28, so a trade on December 30 settles on December 31. A trade placed on December 31 settles in January and counts for 2027.

### Is tax-loss harvesting free money?

Mostly it is tax you pay later instead of now. The replacement you buy costs less than your original did, so if it climbs back and you sell it, you report a bigger gain then. It still pays off in three ways: you keep and invest the saving today, you can pay less overall if you sell the replacement in a lower-income year such as retirement, and a loss carried back turns into a real refund from a year that is already closed. For a saving of a few dollars, the trading fees and your time may not be worth it.

### How do I report a harvested loss?

Your broker sends a T5008 slip or an annual gains and losses summary showing the sale. You report the sale on Schedule 3 of your tax return, and most tax software fills it in from the slip. To carry a loss back to an earlier year, also file Form T1A with this year's return. Keep your own record of what you paid, because the book value on the slip is not always right after transfers or reinvested dividends.

### How accurate is this calculator?

It gives a close planning estimate. It uses 2026 federal and provincial tax brackets with the basic personal amount, and values any carried-back or carried-forward loss at today's rate, since it cannot know your rate in other years. It leaves out fees, foreign exchange on US-dollar holdings, losses you already carry from earlier years, and credits for dependants, tuition or medical expenses. Check your book value on your broker statement before you sell.

## Disclosure

Your tax saving depends on your income, province, the gains you realize this year, and how the CRA treats the replacement you buy. Use this estimate to see the size of the prize, then confirm your adjusted cost base on your broker statement and the superficial loss rules before you sell.