ChurnAlpha

For index & factor investors

Before you switch,
know the hurdle.

Selling a fund with gains in a taxable account costs you money on day one. ChurnAlpha shows exactly how much, and the annual return your new investment must earn just to break even.

  • Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
  • Your assumptions, our math. No predictions, no picks.
  • No account, no brokerage login.

Free switch-cost check

Updates as you type
$
$
%
yrs
%/yr
%/yr
Add fund fees optional

Expense ratio plus any advisory fee. If you enter fees, enter the returns above before fees.

%/yr
%/yr
Tax due the day you sell
—
Break-even hurdle rate
—
per year, after tax, over
Keep: after-tax value at the end—
Switch: after-tax value at the end—
Difference—

Educational use only. These results are arithmetic on your assumptions, not investment, tax or legal advice. They may not fit your situation. Check with a qualified professional before you act. Terms

Simplified: flat tax rate, both paths fully sold at the end, no loss offsets or step-up.

How the hurdle works

Switching isn't free. The tax you pay today shrinks the money that compounds from here on, so the new investment has to outperform just to catch up. Your broker can show you the tax. ChurnAlpha shows you the hurdle.

01

Price the friction

Tax on the gain you realize today, and the smaller balance you reinvest.

02

Compare like for like

Both paths are sold and taxed at the end, so you compare spendable dollars, not paper values.

03

Solve for break-even

The hurdle is the return where both paths end equal. It's a threshold, not a forecast.

Case studies

Real decisions, worked through with the full math.

0% capital gains

The 0% capital gains bracket: when switching costs almost nothing

A quiet year turns a $16,000 tax bill into $4,000 or less. How the 0% bracket works, how to use the room, and what it can cost elsewhere.

Read the case study →

Dividend drag

The invisible tax: curing dividend drag in a taxable account

A fund losing 1.2% a year to taxes versus a tax-efficient ETF. When switching pays, why the drag is smaller than it looks, and when asset location wins.

Read the case study →

Index fund → factor tilt

The real cost of switching from an index fund to a factor tilt

$200,000 with an $80,000 gain. What does selling cost, and how much does small-cap value have to beat the index by to make it worth it?

Read the case study →

All 7 case studies →

The full engine

The free check uses one flat rate and one lot. Real portfolios have dozens of lots, losses to harvest and heirs to think about. The full engine handles all of it, including importing your actual lots.

ChurnAlpha Pro · $39 one-time

One payment unlocks the full engine and the tax-lot import, with future updates included. Newsletter subscribers get an early-bird code.

See what's in Pro

  • Tax-lot import new

    Load your brokerage's CSV and see the tax on selling every lot, the cheapest lots to sell first, a loss-harvesting planner, and wash-sale warnings. Read in your browser, never uploaded.

  • Losses, offsets and carryforwards

    Model harvested losses against gains and ordinary income.

  • Legacy mode and low-income years

    Compare against holding for heirs with a step-up in basis, or price a sale in the 0% bracket.

  • Chart, break-even year and sensitivity

    Watch both paths over time and see outcomes across a range of returns and horizons.

  • One-page PDF report new

    Save the full comparison to share with a spouse or advisor.

Questions

Is this investment advice?

No. ChurnAlpha is an educational calculator. It never tells you to buy or sell anything. You supply every assumption, and it calculates what the decision you're weighing would cost.

What is a break-even hurdle rate?

It's the yearly return a new investment has to earn, after all taxes on both paths, for switching to leave you exactly as well off as keeping what you have. If you expect the new investment to beat the hurdle, switching pays. If not, it doesn't.

Doesn't my brokerage already show this?

Many brokerages estimate the tax on a sale before you confirm it. That's half the picture. ChurnAlpha adds the other half: the return your new investment has to earn to make that tax worth paying, compared fairly against keeping what you have. Your broker shows the tax. ChurnAlpha shows the hurdle.

Can I compare expense ratios or an advisor's fee?

Yes. Open “Add fund fees” under the calculator and enter each side's yearly fees, such as a 0.85% fund against a 0.05% ETF, or a 1% advisory fee against none. Enter returns before fees, and the hurdle is shown before the new investment's own fee.

Where does my data go?

Nowhere. The numbers you type and any brokerage file you load are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Can I load my brokerage's cost-basis file?

Yes, with the tax-lot import in ChurnAlpha Pro. It reads CSV and Excel files laid out like Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard and E*TRADE exports, and most other files with a symbol, a value and a cost basis, including trade histories. It shows the tax on selling every lot. If your brokerage's file doesn't load, tell us which one.

What does the free check leave out?

Multiple lots, short-term gains, loss offsets and carryforwards, yearly distributions and step-up in basis. The full engine covers all of those. Always confirm tax details with a professional.

Does it work for retirement accounts?

Switching inside an IRA or 401(k) usually triggers no tax, so the hurdle is simply the return difference. ChurnAlpha is built for taxable accounts, and the lot import shows retirement-account holdings separately.