Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on where your total income lands — and the gain stacks on top of your other income. Enter your numbers and see exactly which bands your gain falls into, including the 3.8% net investment income tax for high earners.
Calculate Your Capital Gains Tax
Taxable income after deductions, not counting the capital gain itself.
Gain taxed at 0%
Gain taxed at 15%
Gain taxed at 20%
Net investment income tax (3.8% NIIT)
Federal tax on your gain
Effective rate on the gain
You keep (gain after federal tax)
How Capital Gains Tax Works in 2026
Sell an asset you held more than one year and the profit is a long-term capital gain, taxed under its own three-rate system. Sell within a year and the gain is short-term — taxed as ordinary income at your regular 10%–37% rates. The one-year line is the single biggest lever in investment taxes.
Your gain stacks on top of your other income: ordinary income fills the brackets first, then the gain fills whatever room is left in the 0% band, then 15%, then 20%.
Thresholds are on taxable income (after deductions), per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — see the table below.
A gain can split across bands: if the 15% ceiling falls in the middle of your gain, part is taxed at 15% and the rest at 20%.
The 3.8% NIIT applies on top when modified AGI passes $200,000 (single/head of household), $250,000 (joint), or $125,000 (separate). Those thresholds are fixed by law and never inflation-adjusted.
Special rates exist: collectibles gains up to 28%, unrecaptured Section 1250 real-estate gain up to 25%. This calculator covers the standard 0/15/20 system.
2026 Long-Term Capital Gains Thresholds (Taxable Income)
Filing status
0% up to
15% up to
20% above
Single
$49,450
$545,500
$545,500
Married filing jointly
$98,900
$613,700
$613,700
Head of household
$66,200
$579,600
$579,600
Married filing separately
$49,450
$306,850
$306,850
Worked example: a single filer with $90,000 of other taxable income sells stock held three years for a $30,000 gain. Total taxable income is $120,000 — above the $49,450 zero band, far below the $545,500 ceiling — so the entire gain is taxed at 15%: $4,500. That is exactly the default calculation above.
Trying to lower the bill? Timing matters — see what your regular income tax looks like with our paycheck calculator, and if retirement accounts are part of the picture, our RMD calculator.
Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, based on your taxable income and filing status. For single filers the 0% rate runs up to $49,450 of taxable income and the 15% rate up to $545,500; above that the rate is 20%. Short-term gains are taxed at your ordinary income rates, 10% to 37%.
However much room is left in the 0% band after your other income fills it. A married couple with $80,000 of other taxable income has $18,900 of room below the $98,900 joint threshold, so their first $18,900 of long-term gain is taxed at 0% and the rest at 15% (until the upper ceiling).
An extra 3.8% tax on investment income, including capital gains, when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly), or $125,000 (married filing separately). It applies to the smaller of your net investment income or the amount your income exceeds the threshold.
Yes, but a big exclusion usually shields it: if you owned and lived in the home for at least two of the last five years, you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly). Only gain above the exclusion is taxed, and the part from depreciation on a rental period can face the 25% unrecaptured rate.
Yes — capital losses offset capital gains dollar for dollar, and up to $3,000 of leftover loss per year offsets other income, with the remainder carried forward. Selling losing positions to bank losses against a big gain (tax-loss harvesting) is a standard year-end move, but buying the same asset back within 30 days triggers the wash-sale rule.
Most do — usually as ordinary income at the state’s normal rates, with no special lower capital gains rate. A few states (like Washington) have their own capital gains tax, and no-income-tax states have none. This calculator covers federal tax only; add your state’s rate for the full picture.
Disclaimer: Estimate based on IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 thresholds and the standard 0%/15%/20% system. It does not cover collectibles (28%), unrecaptured Section 1250 gain (25%), qualified small business stock, AMT, loss carryovers, or state taxes. The NIIT is estimated using your total income including the gain plus a standard deduction as a MAGI proxy. Confirm important sales with a tax professional before December 31.
