> the point of tax loss harvesting is to defer capital gains, so you can also defer the capital gains taxes. No, it's not. It is to recognize both taxable cap

> the point of tax loss harvesting is to defer capital gains, so you can also defer the capital gains taxes. No, it's not. It is to recognize both taxable cap gains and deductible cap losses in the same year, to net the tax to zero. Nothing is deferred with tax loss harvesting. My point was, why waste a cap loss offsetting low-tax-rate LT cap gains, when instead with planning it can be used to offset higher-rate ordinary income. >Re: 401(k), you are assuming knowledge of the future that nobody has. No. The context was, "beat the tax man". Using 401k loans for tax planning is near the bottom of the list. Using 401k loans for an unexpected emergency is something else entirely. >extra steps to do a Roth conversion The "extra steps" again was not my point. My point was, if you have $6K aftyer tax money to invest, would you rather get $6K into your Roth, or more like $20K into your Roth by paying the tax on a conversion of pre-tax Trad IRA (which presumably you have accumulated after earnings in your first decade or two of work).