Q. I have long term gains in stocks that I could sell matching those gains with the losses, that way avoiding any tax. Would that work?
A. Yes.
You are allowed to offset long term (LT) gains with short term (ST) losses. You must first apply short term losses to any short term gains, you have. But, any additional ST losses can be used against LT gains. If you have no ST gains, then all the ST losses can go against LT gains. If you still have "left over" losses, only $3000 can be deducted this year. The rest carries over to next year.
