Tax optimization is free alpha - it improves your after-tax returns without taking additional risk. The average investor leaves 0.5-1.5% annually on the table through suboptimal tax management. For a $5M portfolio, that's $25,000-$75,000 per year.

Tax-loss harvesting is the most accessible strategy: sell positions at a loss to offset gains, then reinvest in similar (but not identical) securities. The key is doing it year-round, not just in December, and avoiding wash sales that disallow the loss.

In this topic, you'll learn to harvest losses systematically, optimize tax-lot selection, place assets in the right accounts, and project your tax liability throughout the year.