Calculation & Conversion / Calculators

Capital Gains Tax Calculator

A capital gains tax calculator estimates the federal tax owed on the profit from selling an asset, using the holding period to decide whether the gain is taxed at short-term ordinary rates or the lower long-term rates.

Runs locally. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

How to use

1
Enter what you paid and what you sold for
Type the purchase price and the sale price. The tool subtracts them to get your capital gain, and shows a note instead of a tax bill if the sale was at a loss.
2
Enter how long you held the asset
Type the holding period in days. Anything over 365 days qualifies for long-term treatment, which is usually taxed at a lower rate.
3
Add your income and filing status
Enter your annual income and choose single or married filing jointly. Both the long-term rate and any net investment income tax depend on your income level.
4
Read the breakdown
The summary shows the gain, whether it is short or long term, the applicable federal rate, the total tax including NIIT, and the after-tax proceeds you keep.

Key facts

Long-term rates (2026)Long-term capital gains, from assets held more than one year, are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on taxable income; short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income.Source:IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Additional 3.8% NIITA 3.8% net investment income tax can apply on top of capital gains tax when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).Source:IRS net investment income tax
Finance ad valueFinancial-services calculators attract high-intent searches, and finance-category ad RPM commonly runs in the $15 to $50 range.Source:Ad benchmarking

How this calculator works

The gain is the sale price minus the purchase price. Taxable income is approximated as annual income minus the 2026 federal standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married joint), with the gain stacked on top of it. A short-term gain (held 365 days or fewer) is taxed by running the ordinary bracket schedule twice, with and without the gain, and taking the difference. A long-term gain (held more than 365 days) is taxed the same way but against the 0/15/20% long-term schedule.

An additional 3.8% net investment income tax is applied to the portion of the gain that pushes modified adjusted gross income above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married joint). State capital gains taxes are not included, and the model does not handle capital loss carry-forwards, wash sales, installment sales, or the alternative minimum tax, so the figure is an estimate and not tax advice.

Sources and standards

Disclaimer

This is an educational calculator, not financial advice. The result is an arithmetic projection of the figures you enter: it does not know your full circumstances, the terms of a specific offer, or the tax and regulatory rules that apply where you live. Confirm any figure against the terms of the product itself, or with a licensed professional, before acting on it.

Last reviewed: 19 September 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains?

A short-term gain comes from an asset held one year or less, and it is taxed at your ordinary income tax rates. A long-term gain comes from an asset held more than one year, and it is taxed at the lower long-term rates of 0%, 15% or 20% depending on your taxable income. Holding an asset a single day past the one-year mark can therefore change the rate substantially.

What are the 2026 long-term capital gains rates?

For tax year 2026 the long-term rates are 0%, 15% and 20%. Single filers pay 0% on taxable income up to $49,450, 15% up to $545,500, and 20% above that. Married couples filing jointly pay 0% up to $98,900, 15% up to $613,700, and 20% above that. The rate depends on your taxable income, which is why this tool asks for your annual income.

Do I also owe the net investment income tax?

Possibly. An additional 3.8% net investment income tax applies to investment income when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. It is charged only on the smaller of your net investment income and the amount by which your income exceeds that threshold, so it does not apply to most filers.

How is cryptocurrency taxed?

Cryptocurrency is treated as property rather than currency, so selling or exchanging it is a taxable disposal exactly like selling a stock. Enter the price you bought at and the price you sold at, plus how long you held it, and the same short-term and long-term rules apply. Mining income and staking rewards are generally ordinary income rather than capital gains.

How is the holding period counted?

The holding period starts the day after you acquire the asset and includes the day you dispose of it, so an asset must be held for more than one year to qualify for long-term treatment. Buying on January 1 and selling on January 1 the next year is exactly one year and is therefore short term; selling one day later makes it long term.

Short term, long term, and the line between them

The holding period decides the rate before anything else does

A gain on an asset held for one year or less is short term and is taxed at ordinary income rates, the same schedule that applies to a salary. A gain on an asset held for more than one year is long term and is taxed at the capital gains rates of 0%, 15% or 20%.

The cliff is real and it is sharp. Selling on day 365 is short term; selling on day 366 is long term. On a $15,000 gain for a single filer in the 22% bracket, that one day is the difference between $3,300 and $2,250 of federal tax.

Your whole income decides the long-term rate

The 0/15/20% bands apply to taxable income, not to the gain on its own. The gain stacks on top of other income and is therefore taxed in the highest bands you reach. That produces a result many people find counterintuitive: a modest gain can be taxed at 20% for a high earner, while a large gain can be entirely untaxed for someone whose other income is small.

Because the bands are progressive, one large gain can straddle two of them: part taxed at 15% and the part above the threshold at 20%. This calculator applies the schedule twice, once with the gain and once without, and taxes the difference. That is the correct way to handle the stacking, and it is why the answer is never simply the gain multiplied by one rate.

Two more things that change the answer

The net investment income tax adds 3.8% on investment income once modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. It applies only to the smaller of net investment income and the excess above the threshold, so it is not 3.8% of the whole gain for everyone over the line.

State tax is absent from this model and can be substantial, particularly in states that tax capital gains as ordinary income. Capital losses, loss carry-forwards, wash sales, the home-sale exclusion and the alternative minimum tax are also outside the model.

2026 long-term capital gains rate bands
Filing status	0% band	15% band	20% band
Single	Up to $49,450	$49,450 to $545,500	Above $545,500
Married filing jointly	Up to $98,900	$98,900 to $613,700	Above $613,700

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