Tax Loss Harvesting on Robinhood Chain

Markets move both ways, and most wallets hold a mix of winners and losers. Tax loss harvesting is the practice of selling an asset that has dropped below what you paid for it, so that the loss is realized in this tax year and can offset gains you have already made. It does not turn a bad trade into a good one, but done within the rules it can move a tax bill in your favour.

This post explains how it works in general, where the rules differ between countries, what it costs on Robinhood Chain, and how PONSUM helps you find candidates. Nothing here is a recommendation to trade: check your local rules or ask an accountant before you act.

How it works

For tax purposes a capital gain or loss usually exists only once you dispose of an asset. While you hold a token that has fallen in value, the loss is unrealized, and in most countries it does nothing for your tax return. Once you sell, the loss is realized.

A made-up example with round numbers shows the idea. Earlier in the year you sold some ETH for a gain of $3,000. You also hold a stock token you bought for $2,000 that is now worth $1,200. If you sell that token before the tax year ends, you realize an $800 loss, and in many countries your net gain for the year becomes $2,200 instead of $3,000.

Whether you then buy the token back, and when, is where the rules start to matter.

Wash sale and repurchase rules

Many tax systems have rules against selling an asset only to buy it straight back, a pattern often called a wash sale. The details differ a great deal. As of 2026, in broad terms:

• United States. The wash sale rule stops you claiming a loss on stock or securities if you buy substantially identical ones within 30 days before or after the sale. It has not been extended to crypto assets by statute, although changes have been proposed. How it applies to tokens that track stocks, such as Robinhood Tokens, is not settled, so take advice before relying on a quick repurchase.
• United Kingdom. Crypto assets follow share matching rules. If you buy the same asset back within 30 days of selling it, the sale is matched with the new purchase instead of your older cost, which can wipe out the loss you meant to realize.
• Canada. The superficial loss rule denies a loss when you, or someone affiliated with you, buy the same property within 30 days before or after the sale and still hold it when that period ends. The denied loss is added to the cost of the new purchase instead.
• Australia. There is no fixed number of days, but the tax office has said that selling and quickly buying back mainly to create a loss can be treated as a wash sale, and the loss denied.

Other countries have their own rules, and some have none that apply to crypto assets. If you are unsure, the safest assumption is that buying back the same asset quickly invites questions.

How losses are used

A realized loss only helps if your country lets you set it against something. Again in broad terms, as of 2026:

• In the United States, capital losses offset capital gains first. If the losses are larger, up to $3,000 a year, or $1,500 if married filing separately, can offset ordinary income, and the rest carries forward.
• In the United Kingdom, losses offset gains in the same tax year, and unused losses can be carried forward if you report them to HMRC within the time limit.
• In Canada, half of a capital loss is an allowable capital loss that offsets taxable capital gains. Unused amounts can generally be carried back three years or forward indefinitely.
• In Australia, capital losses reduce capital gains before any discount is applied, and unused losses carry forward.

Some countries do not tax gains on assets held for long enough, and there a loss on a long-held asset may not count at all. Your own country's rules decide whether harvesting helps.

What it costs on Robinhood Chain

Selling onchain is not free. Three costs are worth checking before you harvest a loss:

• Gas. Fees on Robinhood Chain are usually small, but they are paid in ETH on every transaction, including any repurchase.
• Price impact. A swap moves the pool's price. Robinhood Tokens are often much deeper against USDG than against WETH, and some WETH pools hold very little, so the route you trade through matters.
• Pool fees. Uniswap pools charge a fee on each swap, and the rate is set per pool.

If these costs add up to more than the tax the loss would save, harvesting it makes no sense.

Finding candidates with PONSUM

The Harvest view in PONSUM lists holdings that are currently worth less than their cost basis, using live prices from the deepest pools on Robinhood Chain. For each one it shows the amount, the cost, the current value, the unrealized loss and how long you have held it. The view is free. The tax-loss harvesting report, which you can keep with your records, comes with a plan.

A sensible routine looks like this:

1. Make sure the import is complete and Review is clear, because a missing purchase makes a cost basis wrong.
2. Choose your country and cost basis method, since both change which lots a sale uses.
3. Open Harvest and note the candidates, their holding periods and the date your tax year ends.
4. Check your country's repurchase rules before deciding whether and when to buy back.
5. After you sell, sync again and confirm the loss appears in the tax summary for the right year.

Timing matters most near the end of a tax year, and year ends differ. The Robinhood Chain tax guide lists the dates for several countries.

A note on risk

Harvesting changes your portfolio. While you are out of a position the price can rise, and if you buy something similar instead, it may not behave the same way. Tax should be one input into a decision, not the only one. PONSUM shows the numbers; what you do with them is up to you and, where it matters, your accountant.

PONSUM is software, not tax advice. Check your local rules or ask an accountant.