Calculator - Portfolio Drag
After-Tax Portfolio Drag Analyzer
Estimate the annual tax and expense drag inside a taxable portfolio, then see how that drag compounds against the pre-tax path over time.
Educational tool only. This page uses simplified assumptions for education and planning conversations. It is not tax, legal, investment, or CPA advice. Verify every assumption with a qualified professional before making transactions or filing decisions.
Executive summary
Run the model to inspect annual drag
Outputs update in the browser as inputs change.
Key numbers
Dollar values are estimates from simplified annualized assumptions.
Pre-tax ending value -
Estimated annual tax drag -
Expense-ratio drag -
Dividend tax drag -
Capital-gain distribution drag -
After-tax ending value -
Difference between pre-tax and after-tax -
Effective annual after-tax return -
Drag breakdown
Annual drag shown as rate and first-year dollar estimate.
Warning flags
Do-next checklist
- Compare this portfolio to a lower-turnover ETF or lower-yield alternative before changing accounts.
- Check the fund distribution history instead of relying only on the most recent yield.
- Review embedded gains and tax lots before selling or exchanging shares.
- Ask a CPA or advisor to review state rules, NIIT exposure, phaseouts, and foreign tax credit treatment.
Assumptions
- - Educational only: this model uses simplified annualized estimates and does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice.
- - Dividend and capital-gain distribution taxes are treated as annual drag against return.
- - Final liquidation tax is estimated on growth above the initial investment at the long-term capital gains plus state tax rate.
- - The model does not account for AMT, NIIT, phaseouts, wash sales, foreign tax credits, exact tax-lot accounting, charitable gifting, or all state/local rules.
- - Inputs are sample defaults, not current-year tax law recommendations.