All tools Checked September 3, 2026

Tax calculator

Capital Loss Carryforward Calculator

How much of a capital loss may reduce income now, and what may carry into next year?

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Estimates are okay. Use what you know today.

This year
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Prior-year carryovers
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Tax return

What this tool helps you answer

How much of a capital loss may reduce income now, and what may carry into next year?

Capital gains and losses do not all collapse into one number immediately. Short-term amounts are netted, long-term amounts are netted, and those two results are then combined. This calculator makes that sequence visible, applies the federal deduction limit, and estimates the loss character that may remain for the next return.

Transparent method

How the estimate works

See how the estimate is calculated

Combine current short-term gains, current short-term losses, and the short-term loss carried into the year; repeat that process for long-term amounts.

Net the short-term and long-term results against each other to determine whether the return has an overall capital gain or an overall capital loss.

Apply the $3,000 federal deduction limit—or $1,500 when married filing separately—and carry the estimated unused loss forward with its remaining character.

What to check before acting on the result

How to read it

  • Use realized tax lots and the prior return rather than brokerage performance figures.
  • Confirm short-term and long-term character before using the carryover estimate.
  • Check wash sales and year-end transactions before assuming the loss is final.

Not included

  • Wash-sale adjustments across accounts or replacement securities
  • Collectibles, qualified opportunity funds, Section 1256 contracts, or business-property gains
  • Capital-gain distributions, installment sales, or every Schedule D worksheet
  • State capital-loss deductions or carryforward periods

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

How much net capital loss can reduce other federal income?

The general annual limit is $3,000, or $1,500 for married taxpayers filing separately. The unused net loss can generally carry forward.

Do capital-loss carryforwards expire?

For an individual federal return, unused capital losses generally carry forward until absorbed, subject to the tax rules and the taxpayer’s records.

Does a short-term loss offset a long-term gain?

Short-term and long-term categories are netted separately first. If one is a gain and the other a loss, they are then netted against each other.

Where can I find my existing carryover?

Use the prior federal return and its capital-loss carryover worksheet. A broker statement alone may not show the return-level carryover.

Sources

Rules and references behind this calculator

See every published value
Method referenceIRS: Schedule DPublic source used to define this calculator's method and limitsOpen source