To my knowledge, there's no wash sale rule on gains. Only losses. One can sell a stock, pay the gains, and buy it back immediately at current market value maki

To my knowledge, there's no wash sale rule on gains. Only losses. One can sell a stock, pay the gains, and buy it back immediately at current market value making the holdings cost basis today's market value. Why would you do such a thing? Exactly as the GP said, to take advantage of better capital gains rates during a low income year. Another fun one is deliberately realizing small gains in a kid's UTMA account then paying a modest sum to file taxes for the kid. Only works for a specific amount of gains/income each year so read up first.