Tax Efficient Investing Goes AI: The Best Robo Advisors for Tax-Loss Harvesting

Tax-loss harvesting can benefit your portfolio but it isn't necessarily easy to DIY. That's where a robo advisor can come in handy. Many robo advisors out there automate tax-loss harvesting through algorithms, doing the hard work for you by identifying losing investments to sell to offset capital gains or taxable income, and then using that money to buy a comparable asset to maintain your portfolio's desired asset allocation.

Read on to learn about some of the best robo advisors for tax-loss harvesting, including details on which accounts are eligible for the feature and how exactly it works.

• Tax-loss harvesting available for any taxable accounts
• Must meet $500 minimum to open account and access tax-loss harvesting

Wealthfront offers tax-loss harvesting on any taxable accounts, with no additional minimum investment needed to access the feature aside from the robo-advisor's base account minimum of $500. Tax-loss harvesting is not offered for retirement accounts like 401(k) plans or IRAs (this is par for the course, as it won't work with these accounts), nor does the robo-advisor recommend it for 529 plans.

With Wealthfront, tax-loss harvesting is done by selling any exchange-traded fund (ETF) that has declined in value at a loss and then replacing it with another highly correlated ETF. While the selected ETFs have highly correlated returns and comparable volatility and expense ratios to the ETFs being sold, they track different indices so as to avoid triggering the wash-sale rule (an IRS rule that prohibits selling an investment at a loss and then repurchasing it within 30 days for tax purposes).

The platform's tax-loss harvesting approach results in the portfolio's risk and return profile remaining the same. Plus, losses can offset any typical investment income or gains, which can result in tax savings that can then be reinvested and compounded over time.

• Need at least $50,000 invested to access tax-loss harvesting
• Must enroll to receive tax-loss harvesting services

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios does offer tax-loss harvesting, but only to those with invested assets of at least $50,000 in their account, which is a much higher minimum than the $5,000 required to open an account. Additionally, clients who are interested in receiving this service must enroll to access it.

Like many robo-advisors, Schwab's tax-loss harvesting aims to lower taxable income and offset capital gains by selling any ETF that's fallen a certain amount below the original price paid for it and then replacing it with another ETF that is within the same asset class. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios automates this service, with its algorithm monitoring portfolios on a daily basis to look for possible tax-loss harvesting opportunities.

• Tax-loss harvesting offered on all accounts with no additional minimum needed
• No extra trading costs to harvest losses

Betterment's automated Tax Loss Harvesting+™ is available to any of its clients, with no additional minimum needed to access the feature. The robo-advisor's algorithm checks regularly for harvesting opportunities in an effort to offset investment income and gains while maintaining the portfolio's asset allocation and anticipated returns.

Beyond the basics, Betterment notes that its Tax Loss Harvesting+™ tool offers a number of extras, such as protecting not just harvested losses but also any customer-realized losses, as well as ensuring IRA deposits won't ruin harvesting by causing a wash sale. Plus, Betterment advertises no extra trading costs to harvest losses and no short-term capital gains tax.

• Need at least $100,000 to open an account and use tax-loss harvesting
• Tax-loss harvesting offered at a stock level
• Relatively high annual fee applies to accounts

Personal Capital offers tax-loss harvesting and other tax-optimization tactics across the board — though you'll need to meet the robo advisor's steep $100,000 to get started. Unlike many robo advisors, which focus on ETFs, Personal Capital provides tax-loss harvesting at a stock level, selling depreciated stocks at a loss and replacing them with an alternate security.

However, potential clients should be aware that aside from its steep minimum, Personal Capital also charges a comparatively high annual fee of 0.89%. That being said, not everything is automated with Personal Capital like it is with many robo advisors — clients will get access to a live financial advisor (with a dedicated advisor assigned for some client tiers).

• Tax-loss harvesting available when you sign up for a managed account ($2,000 minimum)
• Algorithm scans for tax-loss harvesting opportunities asset class by asset class

Any clients who meet SigFig's $2,000 minimum investment requirement to open a managed account will have access to tax-loss harvesting through the platform. For accounts in which tax-loss harvesting is activated, SigFig can choose to sell losses to offset any gains in an attempt to lower the client's tax liability. 

The platform's tax-loss harvesting algorithm scans portfolios by asset class. It will initiate a swap when it has identified that it will provide enough realizable losses, and when losses are at a level at which they can cover any trading costs. The algorithm is designed to avoid triggering the wash-sale rule.