Capital Gains Tax Calculator 2026: Long-Term & Short-Term Capital Gains Tax
Estimate federal and state capital gains tax on stocks, crypto, a home sale, or rental property, at this year's long-term capital gains tax rates and short-term rates.
+$20,000
Your capital gain stacks on top of this number, which decides your tax rate.
Add any other investment sales from the same year, plus loss carryforwards from prior years. Gains and losses offset each other before tax is calculated. Enter every amount as a positive number, and leave out the sale above — it's already included.
Choose your state to see your full capital gains tax
These figures cover federal capital gains tax only. State tax on a gain ranges from nothing at all to over 13%, so pick your state in the form to finish the picture.
+$20,000
before any taxes
$0
$50,000
sale price minus fees & tax
0.0%
of your taxable profit
How your profit is figured
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| What you sold it for | $50,000 |
| What you paid | -$30,000 |
| Profit | $20,000 |
| Tax on this sale | $0 |
| Profit you keep | $20,000 |
The $30,000 you originally paid isn't taxed. It's just your own money coming back.
2026 long-term rates (Single)
Only $3,900 of your $20,000 profit gets taxed in these bands:
- Covered by your standard deduction first-$16,100
- Left for the bands below$3,900
| Rate | Your taxable income | Taxed at this rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Up to $49,450 | $3,900 |
| 15% | $49,450 to $545,500 | – |
| 20% | Over $545,500 | – |
Tax on this sale
| Type | Tax |
|---|---|
| Long-term gain at 0%on $3,900 | $0 |
| Total tax | $0 |
Held over a year, so your gain gets the lower 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term rates. Yours reaches 0%, which comes to $0. We don't have state tax data for yet.
How capital gains tax works
What is capital gains tax?
- It's tax on the profit when you sell something for more than you paid.
- You only owe it when you sell, not while it's just gone up in value.
- Your profit: $50,000 sold − $30,000 paid = $20,000. That's what gets taxed, not the full sale price.
You held it more than a year
- It's a long-term gain, taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, which is lower than regular income rates.
- Yours tops out at 0%, or $0 of federal tax.
- All of it fits in one band: $3,900 at 0%.
- Your gain sits on top of your other income, after the $16,100 standard deduction for a single filer. Leftover deduction covers $16,100 of the gain.
What this means for these shares
- Only the shares you sold are taxed, not the ones you still hold.
On top of the federal tax
- State tax: not included yet for your state, so your real total may be higher.
- Total: $0 in tax, leaving you $20,000 of your $20,000 profit.
Ways to pay less
- Tax-loss harvesting: sell losing investments to cancel out gains. Up to $3,000 a year of extra losses can also lower your other income.
- Spread a big sale over several years.
- Donate investments that have gained value instead of selling them.
- Trade inside an IRA or 401(k).
Not covered: wash sales, 1031 exchanges, installment sales, and the alternative minimum tax.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about capital gains tax.
- It's the tax on the profit when you sell something for more than you paid, like stocks, crypto, a home or rental property.
- Only the gain is taxed: the sale price minus what you paid and certain costs.
- Gains on things held over a year get lower long-term rates. Gains held a year or less are taxed like wages.
- Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% federally, depending on your taxable income.
- Single filers pay 0% up to $49,450 of taxable income, 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.
- Short-term gains are taxed at your regular income tax rates, from 10% to 37%.
- The same 0%, 15% and 20% long-term rates, with slightly lower income limits.
- Single filers paid 0% up to $48,350 of taxable income, 15% up to $533,400, and 20% above that.
- Married couples filing jointly paid 0% up to $96,700, 15% up to $600,050, and 20% above that.
- Heads of household paid 0% up to $64,750 and 15% up to $566,700. These come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40.
- Something you owned for a year or less gives a short-term gain, taxed like wages.
- Something you owned for more than a year gives a long-term gain, taxed at the lower 0%, 15% or 20% rates.
- Example: a single filer earning $60,000 saves about $1,583 in federal tax on a $20,000 stock gain by holding past one year.
- It works out your gain as the sale price minus what you paid. For property, it also subtracts selling costs and improvements.
- It stacks the gain on top of your other income, since your total income decides which rate bands the gain falls in.
- It figures your federal, state and net investment income tax with and without the sale. The difference is the tax the sale causes.
- It uses the standard deduction, not itemized deductions.
- You can exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 if married filing jointly.
- To qualify, you generally must have owned the home and lived in it for 2 of the last 5 years.
- Gain from depreciation, such as for a home office or rental use, can't be excluded.
- A loss on selling your own home can't be deducted.
- It's an extra 3.8% federal tax on investment income, including capital gains.
- It applies when modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 joint, or $125,000 married filing separately.
- It's charged on the smaller of your investment income or the amount over the threshold.
- Yes. Losses first cancel out gains from the same year.
- A net loss left over can reduce your other income by up to $3,000 a year, or $1,500 if married filing separately.
- Anything beyond that carries forward to future years.
- Crypto follows the same short-term and long-term rules as stocks.
- Long-term gains on collectibles, like art, coins and precious metals, are taxed at up to 28%.
- On rental property, the part of the gain from depreciation you took is taxed at up to 25%.
- Most states with an income tax tax capital gains as regular income.
This is an estimate for the 2026 tax year, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures are simplified and don't include every credit or deduction. Talk to a tax professional before making decisions.