Using tax loss harvesting

Tax loss harvesting is a strategy where you sell holdings that are currently at a loss to offset realised capital gains elsewhere in your portfolio. TrackMyShares analyses your positions and identifies these opportunities.

Note: Tax loss harvesting information is for educational purposes. Always consult a tax professional before making decisions based on this data.

Accessing tax loss harvesting

1. Open a transaction-based or consolidated portfolio
2. Click the menu (three dots) in the portfolio header
3. Select Tax loss harvesting

This feature requires a PRO plan and a portfolio with transaction history.

Understanding the summary

The top of the page shows three summary cards:

Realised gains this FY

Your total capital gains from sales completed during the selected financial year, broken down into:

• Short-term gains — From holdings sold within 12 months of purchase
• Long-term gains — From holdings sold after 12 months

Total harvestable losses

The combined unrealised losses across all holdings currently in your portfolio that are trading below their cost basis. This is the maximum amount you could harvest by selling those positions.

Estimated tax savings

How much you could potentially save on tax if you harvested the available losses, calculated as:

Harvestable losses × Your marginal tax rate

Adjust the tax rate slider to match your situation for a more accurate estimate.

Customising your analysis

Use the settings bar to adjust:

Setting	Options
Financial year	Last 5 years available
Tax region	Australia, US, Canada, UK, New Zealand
Marginal tax rate	0% to 100%
Currency	USD, AUD, EUR, GBP

The report updates automatically when you change any setting.

Reading the opportunities table

The table lists every holding with an unrealised loss, sorted by the largest loss first. Each row shows:

• Symbol — Ticker and company name
• Current price — Latest market price
• Unrealised loss — How much the position is down
• Recommended action — What the analysis suggests

Recommended actions

Action	Meaning
Sell all	Your unrealised loss is less than or equal to your realised gains — selling the full position would offset gains
Sell partial	Your unrealised loss exceeds your realised gains — you only need to sell part of the position to offset
Hold	You have no realised gains to offset, so harvesting wouldn't provide a tax benefit this year

Viewing lot details

Click any row to expand it and see individual purchase lots:

• Purchase date — When you bought the shares
• Quantity — Number of shares in this lot
• Cost basis — What you paid per share
• Current value — What the lot is worth now
• Unrealised loss — Loss on this specific lot
• Holding period — Days held and whether it's short-term or long-term

This detail helps you decide which specific lots to sell if you're doing a partial harvest.

Wash sale warnings

A wash sale occurs when you sell a holding at a loss and repurchase the same or a substantially identical security within 30 days. Tax authorities in many jurisdictions disallow the loss deduction when this happens.

TrackMyShares automatically detects potential wash sales and displays warnings showing:

• Symbol — The affected holding
• Sale date and quantity — When and how much you sold
• Repurchase date and quantity — When and how much you rebought
• Disallowed loss — The portion of the loss that may not be deductible

Warning: If a wash sale is flagged, the loss from that sale may not be usable for tax offset purposes. The disallowed loss is typically added to the cost basis of the replacement shares.

Avoiding wash sales

To use tax loss harvesting effectively:

• Wait at least 31 days before repurchasing the same security
• Consider purchasing a similar (but not substantially identical) holding during the waiting period
• Check the wash sale warnings before executing any trades

How the analysis works

Cost basis method

TrackMyShares uses the FIFO (first in, first out) method to match purchase lots to sales. The oldest shares are considered sold first.

Holding period classification

• Short-term — Held for less than 365 days
• Long-term — Held for 365 days or more

This distinction matters because long-term gains often receive preferential tax treatment.

Loss offset order

The analysis considers:

1. Your realised gains for the financial year
2. Available unrealised losses in your current holdings
3. The optimal amount to harvest to offset those gains

Tips for tax loss harvesting

Before the end of the financial year

Review your tax loss harvesting page to identify opportunities before the deadline. Losses must be realised (sold) within the financial year to offset that year's gains.

Keep records

If you act on harvesting opportunities, ensure your transactions are recorded in TrackMyShares so future reports remain accurate.

Consider the bigger picture

Tax loss harvesting reduces your tax bill today, but selling a position means you no longer benefit if it recovers. Consider whether the tax savings outweigh the potential future gains.