Updated for Tax Year 2026

Capital Gains Tax Calculator

Calculate federal capital gains tax on stocks, real estate, and investments. Covers long-term rates (0%, 15%, 20%) and short-term rates for 2026, including NIIT. Updated with IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 thresholds.

Last updated · 2026 capital gains thresholds and NIIT checked against IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32

2026 LTCG Thresholds
0% / 15% / 20% Rates
NIIT 3.8% Included
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Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Long-Term & Short-Term · 2026
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Wages and other income already taxed. Used to determine your capital gains bracket.

Enter the sale price, cost basis, and your income to calculate capital gains tax.

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2026 Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates

In 2026, long-term capital gains are taxed at 0% while taxable income stays at or below $49,450 for single filers ($98,900 married filing jointly), 15% up to $545,500 ($613,700) and 20% above that. Gains on assets held one year or less use ordinary rates. Enter the sale price, cost basis and your other income above to see the federal tax on your gain.

Long-term capital gains rates (assets held over 1 year) are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total taxable income. Thresholds are indexed for inflation per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and apply to tax returns filed in 2027.

Filing Status0% Rate15% Rate20% Rate
SingleUp to $49,450$49,451 to $545,500Over $545,500
Married Filing JointlyUp to $98,900$98,901 to $613,700Over $613,700
Head of HouseholdUp to $66,200$66,201 to $579,600Over $579,600
Married Filing SeparatelyUp to $49,450$49,451 to $306,850Over $306,850

Short-term capital gains (assets held 1 year or less) are taxed at ordinary income rates: 10% to 37% depending on your bracket. There is no 0% rate for short-term gains.

NIIT (Net Investment Income Tax): An additional 3.8% applies if your Modified AGI exceeds $200,000 (single / HOH), $250,000 (MFJ), or $125,000 (MFS). It applies on top of regular capital gains tax.

Special rates: Collectibles (coins, art, antiques) are taxed at a maximum 28% long-term rate. Section 1250 real estate unrecaptured depreciation is taxed at a maximum 25% rate.

Tax on a $30,000 Gain at Different Incomes

Federal tax on a $30,000 gain for 2026, standard deduction, including the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax where it applies. Other income means wages and similar income before the deduction.

Other incomeSingle, long-termSingle, short-termJoint, long-termJoint, short-term
$30,000$0$3,600$0$3,104
$50,000$2,168$4,950$0$3,460
$75,000$4,500$6,600$0$3,600
$100,000$4,500$6,764$0$3,600
$150,000$4,500$7,200$4,500$6,600
$250,000$5,640$10,970$5,640$8,340
$600,000$7,140$11,640$5,640$11,640

Holding past the one-year mark saves the most in the middle of the income range. A single filer with $75,000 of other income pays $4,500 on a long-term gain against $6,600 short-term, and a couple earning up to $100,000 pays nothing on the long-term gain at all.

How Gains Stack on Top of Your Income

Long-term gains are taxed after your ordinary income fills the brackets. Take a single filer with $40,000 of wages and a $40,000 long-term gain.

  1. Wages minus the $16,100 standard deduction leave $23,900 of ordinary taxable income.
  2. The 0% rate runs to $49,450, so the first $25,550 of the gain is tax-free.
  3. The remaining $14,450 is taxed at 15%: $2,168.

The gain does not raise the tax on the wages, and wages do not become taxable at 15%. The only effect runs one way: more ordinary income uses up more of the 0% space. Total income of $80,000 is also well under the $200,000 threshold for the Net Investment Income Tax.

Ways to Lower Capital Gains Tax

  • Wait past one year. The gain moves from ordinary rates (up to 37%) to 0%, 15% or 20%.
  • Use the 0% band in low-income years. A gap year, early retirement or a year with a large deduction can let you realize gains up to $49,450 of taxable income (single) or $98,900 (joint) at 0%.
  • Offset with losses. Losses cancel gains in full, and up to $3,000 of net loss ($1,500 married filing separately) comes off other income each year, with the rest carried forward.
  • Home sale exclusion. Up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 joint) on a main home is excluded if you owned and lived in it for two of the last five years.
  • Give appreciated shares instead of cash. Donating stock held over a year to a qualified charity avoids the gain, and itemizers can generally deduct its fair market value.

For the tax on the rest of your income, use the tax bracket calculator.

Method and sources. Long-term gains are stacked on top of ordinary taxable income and taxed at 0%, 15% and 20% using the 2026 thresholds; short-term gains are the extra ordinary income tax they cause; collectibles use ordinary rates capped at 28%. Net Investment Income Tax is 3.8% of the smaller of the gain and modified AGI above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint (not indexed). Every figure above was computed that way. Sources: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, IRS Topic 409 (capital gains and losses), IRS Topic 559 (Net Investment Income Tax), IRS Publication 523 (selling your home). State tax is not included.
Federal tax only. Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income: state rates vary from 0% to 13.3% (California). Consult a tax professional for your complete situation including state taxes and cost basis adjustments.
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Capital Gains Tax Questions

For long-term capital gains (assets held over 1 year), the 2026 federal rates are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on total taxable income. Single filers pay 0% up to $49,450 in taxable income, 15% from $49,451 to $545,500, and 20% above that. For MFJ, the 0% threshold is $98,900 and the 20% rate starts above $613,700. Short-term gains (held 1 year or less) are taxed at ordinary income rates of 10% to 37%.

For 2026, you pay 0% federal tax on long-term capital gains if your total taxable income (wages + gains, after deductions) stays within: $49,450 for Single · $98,900 for MFJ · $66,200 for Head of Household · $49,450 for MFS. This creates a tax-planning opportunity: if your income dips below these thresholds in a given year, you can sell appreciated assets tax-free.

The Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) is an additional 3.8% federal tax on investment income for higher earners. It applies when your Modified AGI exceeds $200,000 (Single / HOH), $250,000 (MFJ), or $125,000 (MFS). Investment income includes capital gains, dividends, interest, rental income, and annuities. It is calculated on the lesser of your net investment income or the amount your MAGI exceeds the threshold. The OBBBA did not change the NIIT thresholds for 2026.

You must hold an asset for more than one year (at least 366 days) before selling to qualify for long-term capital gains rates. If you sell on or before the one-year anniversary, the gain is short-term and taxed as ordinary income. The holding period starts the day after purchase and ends on the day of sale. For inherited assets, all gains are automatically treated as long-term regardless of when the heir sells.

For investment real estate, the capital gain is sale price minus adjusted cost basis. The adjusted basis includes the original purchase price plus improvements minus accumulated depreciation. If you claimed depreciation deductions while renting the property, the IRS taxes that portion as "unrecaptured Section 1250 gain" at a maximum rate of 25%. Primary home sales may exclude up to $250,000 in gains (single) or $500,000 (MFJ) if you lived there 2 of the past 5 years.

Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling investments at a loss to offset capital gains. Capital losses reduce capital gains dollar-for-dollar. If losses exceed gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 ($1,500 MFS) of net losses against ordinary income per year. Unused losses carry forward indefinitely to future years. The wash-sale rule disallows the loss if you buy a "substantially identical" security within 30 days before or after the sale at a loss.

Yes. Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income at regular state income tax rates. States with no wage income tax (TX, FL, NV, WY, SD, AK, NH, TN) do not tax capital gains; Washington is the exception, with a separate tax on large long-term gains. California is the highest at 13.3% (ordinary income rate). Some states have preferential rates: Massachusetts taxes long-term gains at 5%. This calculator shows federal tax only: always factor in your state.

Long-term capital gains on collectibles (coins, gold and silver bullion, artwork, antiques, stamps, fine wine) are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28%, higher than the 20% maximum for stocks and real estate. If your ordinary income tax rate is below 28%, you pay your ordinary rate. If it's above 28%, the 28% cap applies. Short-term gains on collectibles are taxed at ordinary income rates with no special cap.

Yes. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property. Selling, trading, or using crypto to buy goods is a taxable event. Short-term gains (held 1 year or less) are ordinary income. Long-term gains (held over 1 year) qualify for 0%, 15%, or 20% rates. As of early 2026, the wash-sale rule does not formally apply to crypto: watch for IRS updates. Always keep records of purchase dates and prices. Even small transactions like buying coffee with Bitcoin must be reported.

Not automatically for most assets. Simply reinvesting proceeds from a stock sale does not defer the capital gain: the gain is taxable in the year of sale. Exceptions: 1031 like-kind exchanges defer real estate gains by reinvesting in similar property · Opportunity Zone investments can defer and reduce gains · Qualified Small Business Stock (Section 1202) may exclude up to 100% of gains for eligible stock held 5+ years. Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) grow without annual capital gains tax.

It depends on your other income. A single filer with $75,000 of wages pays $15,000 on a $100,000 long-term gain, all at 15%, but $23,064 if the gain is short-term. A married couple filing jointly with $120,000 of wages pays $13,335 on the same long-term gain, because $11,100 of it still fits in the 0% band.

Yes. The 3.8% NIIT applies to both short-term and long-term gains, plus dividends, interest and most rental income, once modified AGI exceeds $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly. It is charged on the smaller of your net investment income and the amount of MAGI above the threshold.
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