Tax-loss harvesting calendar for Indian RSU holders: when to harvest, what to target, how to execute

Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling securities at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce your tax bill. Indian investors have a structural advantage over US peers: no wash sale rule means you can sell and immediately repurchase the same stock. But executing it correctly still requires knowing when to act, which lots to target, and how to report it.

This guide is the execution handbook — platform-specific, calendar-driven, with an ITR-2 reporting walkthrough.

The Indian financial year calendar for tax-loss harvesting

The Indian financial year runs April 1 to March 31. Capital gains and losses are assessed for each FY. Everything must happen before March 31 to count for that year.

Month	What to do
April–June	Review Q1 RSU vests; identify any lots with cost basis above current price
July–September	Mid-year check; update gain/loss estimates; pay advance tax (June 15, Sep 15)
October–November	Critical window: most RSU vests happen in Q3 (Oct/Nov for many companies); assess new lots immediately
December–January	Full-year gain/loss picture is clear; plan which lots to harvest before March 31
February	Execute harvesting; repurchase immediately; confirm new lots are recorded correctly
March 1–25	Final sweep; any remaining underwater lots; settlements take 2 business days (T+2)
March 26–31	Last 5 days; trade by March 26–27 to ensure settlement by March 31

Critical timing note: US stock trades settle T+2 (trade date + 2 business days). A sell executed on March 29 settles March 31 — that's within the financial year. But confirm with your platform that their settlement calendar aligns. To be safe, complete harvesting by March 25.

Step 1: Identify underwater lots

An underwater lot is one where the current market price is below the lot's cost basis (vest-date FMV for RSU lots).

Fidelity NetBenefits (ARM, Broadcom, Fortinet, PANW, Workday, etc.)

1. Log in → Stock Plan → Holdings
2. Each row is one lot: vest date, shares, cost basis per share, current price, unrealised gain/loss
3. Lots showing a negative gain/loss figure are underwater
4. Filter by "Unrealised Gain/Loss" column — sort ascending to see worst lots first

Export: Download → Transaction History → CSV. This gives you all lots with cost basis for your spreadsheet.

E*Trade / Morgan Stanley at Work (Texas Instruments, PANW on some grants)

1. Log in → Stock Plan → Holdings
2. Same lot-level view; sort by "Unrealised G/L"
3. Download transaction history for full lot detail

Vested / INDmoney / Rovia (ETF and stock purchases via LRS)

1. Portfolio view shows overall P&L; for lot-level detail, go to transaction history
2. Each buy transaction is a separate lot — match buy date, buy price, and current price manually
3. Rovia's platform shows lot-level detail directly in the holdings view (one of its strengths for this purpose)

Build a spreadsheet: For each lot, record:

• Security name
• Purchase/vest date
• Cost basis in USD
• Cost basis in INR (purchase date TTBR × USD cost basis)
• Current price in USD
• Current price in INR (today's TTBR × USD price)
• Unrealised gain/loss in INR
• Holding period (days since vest/purchase)
• STCG or LTCG classification (< 24 months = STCG)

Sort by INR unrealised loss descending. These are your harvesting candidates.

Step 2: Decide which lots to harvest

Not every underwater lot is worth harvesting. Apply this filter:

Harvest if:

• The loss is meaningful (> ₹50,000 — worth the transaction and CA time)
• You have gains this year the loss can offset (same or other securities)
• The lot is STCG (< 24 months) — STCG losses are more flexible in offset than LTCG losses
• You plan to stay invested in the security (repurchase immediately; no opportunity cost)

Skip if:

• The lot is approaching LTCG eligibility (< 2 months away from the 24-month mark) — wait and sell as LTCG instead; 12.5% > slab rate loss might not be worth taking STCG now
• The loss is trivial (< ₹20,000 on a small lot) — transaction costs and admin may not justify
• You have no gains to offset this year and your loss carry-forward bank is already large

LTCG vs STCG harvest priority:

Lot type	Loss offsets	Priority
STCG loss (< 24 months)	STCG gains first, then LTCG gains	Higher priority — more flexible
LTCG loss (≥ 24 months)	Only LTCG gains	Lower priority — limited offset

Step 3: Execute the harvest — platform by platform

Fidelity NetBenefits

1. Stock Plan → Holdings → select the specific lot
2. Click "Sell" on that specific lot (Fidelity allows lot-level sell orders)
3. Order type: Limit order at or near current market price (avoid market orders for thinly traded stocks; use for liquid ETFs)
4. Confirm the lot being sold matches your target (check cost basis displayed)
5. Order executes during US market hours (9:30 AM–4:00 PM ET = 7:00–9:30 PM IST)

After selling: Immediately place a buy order for the same quantity at market or limit price. No waiting period required.

Vested

1. Go to the security → Sell
2. Select lot: use "Specific Identification" if available; if not, Vested uses FIFO by default
3. If Vested doesn't support specific lot selection for the sell, contact support to specify which lot you're selling before placing the order
4. After sale confirms, place buy order immediately

Note on lot selection in Vested: Vested's lot selection UI has improved but may not support granular lot-level sells for all securities. For ETF positions bought at different times, confirm with support how they handle lot selection.

Rovia

1. Portfolio → security → Sell
2. Rovia's interface allows specific lot selection — choose the target lot
3. Place limit or market sell order
4. Place repurchase order immediately after confirmation

INDmoney

Similar to Vested — place sell order, specify lot if interface allows, repurchase immediately.

Step 4: Record the harvest correctly

After selling and repurchasing, record in your spreadsheet:

Sold lot:

• Sale date
• Proceeds in USD
• Proceeds in INR (sale date SBI TTBR × USD proceeds)
• Cost basis in INR (original vest/purchase date TTBR × USD cost basis)
• Capital loss in INR = Cost basis in INR − Proceeds in INR (if negative, it's a loss)
• Holding period (STCG or LTCG)

New lot (repurchase):

• Purchase date (today)
• New cost basis in USD (today's price)
• New cost basis in INR (today's TTBR × USD price)
• This lot starts a fresh 24-month clock for LTCG eligibility

Step 5: Report in ITR-2

Harvested losses appear in Schedule CG of ITR-2.

For STCG losses (< 24 months):

• Schedule CG → Section for Short-Term Capital Gains from assets other than those covered under Section 111A/Section 115AD
• Enter each sale event: full value of consideration (INR proceeds), cost of acquisition (INR cost basis), capital gain/loss
• Net STCG = sum of gains and losses across all STCG transactions
• If net STCG is negative (a loss), it gets set off against STCG gains first, then LTCG gains

For LTCG losses (≥ 24 months):

• Schedule CG → Section 112 long-term capital gains
• LTCG losses can only offset LTCG gains — set off happens automatically in the schedule

Carry-forward: If you can't fully offset the loss this year, the remainder is disclosed in Schedule CFL (Carry Forward of Losses) and carries forward for up to 8 assessment years.

Filing deadline: File ITR-2 on time (July 31 for salaried individuals without audit). Late filing forfeits the carry-forward.

Worked example: November vest, February harvest

Setup:

• Cisco India engineer; 500 CSCO shares vested November 15, 2025 at $60/share
• INR cost basis: $60 × ₹84 TTBR = ₹5,040/share; total = ₹25.2 lakh
• February 2026: CSCO at $48/share
• Unrealised loss: (₹5,040 − ₹4,032) × 500 = ₹5.04 lakh

Harvest decision:

• Has LTCG gains from older CSCO lots sold earlier this year: ₹8 lakh
• STCG loss can offset LTCG gain (after exhausting STCG gains)
• Decision: harvest

Execution:

1. February 10, 2026: Sell 500 CSCO shares at $48; proceeds = $24,000 × ₹84.5 TTBR = ₹20.28 lakh
2. Capital loss = ₹25.2 lakh − ₹20.28 lakh = ₹4.92 lakh
3. Immediately repurchase 500 CSCO shares at $48.10 (new lot, cost basis ₹20.36 lakh)

Tax saving:

• ₹4.92 lakh STCG loss offsets ₹4.92 lakh of ₹8 lakh LTCG gain
• Remaining LTCG: ₹3.08 lakh at 12.5% = ₹38,500 tax
• Without harvest: ₹8 lakh at 12.5% = ₹1 lakh tax
• Tax saved: ₹61,500

The repurchase at $48.10 starts a new 24-month clock. The new lot becomes LTCG-eligible in February 2028.

Common mistakes

1. Missing the March 25 deadline: Selling on March 29 and thinking it settles in FY — it might not if March 31 is a weekend or holiday. Check the settlement calendar.

2. Harvesting a lot that's 1–2 months from LTCG eligibility: A loss harvested as STCG (taxed at slab to offset) may be worth less than waiting and selling at LTCG rates once eligible. Run the numbers.

3. Not repurchasing immediately: You intend to stay invested, but forget to repurchase. The stock rallies. You've locked in the loss but missed the recovery.

4. Using the wrong TTBR date: The sale date TTBR for proceeds, the purchase date TTBR for cost basis. Using today's rate for the cost basis is a common error.

5. Not filing ITR-2 on time: If you harvest ₹5 lakh in losses in February and don't fully offset them this year, you need to carry them forward. A late ITR-2 wipes out that carry-forward. File by July 31.

Related reading

• Wash sale rule and Indian RSU holders — why you can repurchase immediately
• Capital loss carry-forward strategy — building and deploying a multi-year loss bank
• ETF pairs for tax-loss harvesting from India — specific swap pairs to maintain exposure
• Advance tax quarterly calendar — integrating harvesting with quarterly payments