South Carolina Capital Gains Tax Calculator: State & Federal Tax on Your Sale
Estimate what you'll owe in 2026 federal and South Carolina capital gains tax on short-term and long-term gains from stocks, crypto, a home sale, or rental property.
+$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.
+$20,000
before any taxes
$240
$49,760
sale price minus fees & tax
1.2%
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 | -$240 |
| Profit you keep | $19,760 |
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 |
| South Carolina income tax (1.2%)on $20,000 | $240 |
| Total tax | $240 |
Held over a year, so your gain gets the lower 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term rates. Yours reaches 0%, which comes to $0. South Carolina generally taxes gains like ordinary income, which adds about $240 on this sale. A few states treat gains differently, so treat this as an estimate.
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
- South Carolina state tax: $240 (1.2% of your taxable profit).
- Total: $240 in tax, leaving you $19,760 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.
How South Carolina capital gains tax applies to your sale
- South Carolina capital gains tax rate: 0% to 6%. South Carolina taxes capital gains as ordinary income in its regular brackets, with no lower rate for long-term gains. With your other income, this gain reaches the 3% bracket and owes $240 in South Carolina state tax, 1.2% of the gain.
- Federal capital gains tax: $0. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% federally, based on your income.
- Total tax on this stock sale: $240. $0 federal plus $240 South Carolina, 1.2% of your taxable gain. You keep $19,760 of your $20,000 profit.
| South Carolina taxable income (single) | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $3,640 | 0% |
| $3,640 to $18,230your top bracket | 3% |
| Over $18,230 | 6% |
Married filing jointly thresholds are roughly double these.
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.