Tool · TLH
Tax-loss-harvesting partner finder
Find a near-substitute for any catalog fund — same exposure, different index — so a loss can be realized without tripping the wash-sale rule. Candidates are ranked by holdings overlap and labelled with their tracking index so wash-sale-risky swaps are visually obvious.
VTI · Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
US Total Market·Tracks CRSP US Total Market Index·ER 0.030%
No candidates clear the 30% overlap floor. Drop the threshold, allow same-index funds, or pick a different starting ticker — funds with very narrow holdings (single-sector, gold, single-country) often have no near-substitutes in the catalog.
How to read this
Tax-loss harvesting sells a position at a loss to realize the tax deduction, then immediately re-establishes the same exposure via a different security so the portfolio's allocation barely moves. The IRS wash-sale rule (§1091) disallows the loss if you buy a "substantially identical" security within 30 days before or after the sale.
"Substantially identical" is not statutorily defined for funds. The IRS has not formally ruled on ETF-to-ETF swaps. The convention this site uses — and that the Bogleheads wiki has used for ~20 years without a documented audit failure — is:
- Different index (e.g. CRSP US Total Market ↔ S&P Total Market) is the conventional safe-harbour swap.
- Same index (IVV ↔ VOO ↔ SPLG all track S&P 500) is conventionally treated as wash-sale risk — same securities, same weights, just different wrappers.
Overlap % is the sum of min(weight_a, weight_b) across every security held in both funds — "what fraction of your dollar exposure stays the same after the swap." High overlap means the swap holds your allocation steady; very low overlap means the replacement fund is a different bet, not a TLH partner.
Bps difference shows how much more (or less) the replacement charges. Even "permanent" TLH partners come with a small cost difference; factor that into the savings if you don't plan to swap back.
This tool flags wash-sale risk on benchmark match. It does not constitute tax advice — confirm any harvest with your own CPA, especially across multiple accounts (the wash-sale rule applies portfolio-wide, including spouse + IRA).
Wash-sale classification uses benchmark-index match as a heuristic; the IRS has not formally ruled on ETF-to-ETF swaps. Holdings overlap is computed off the latest SEC N-PORT filings (typical 30–60 day lag). See the methodology for how overlap is calculated.
PlainIndex publishes data and editorial commentary — nothing here is tax or investment advice. The wash-sale rule applies portfolio- wide (including IRA and spouse accounts); confirm any actual harvest with a tax professional.