Capital Gains Tax Calculator (2026)
Stocks, crypto, and real estate — enter your buy and sell dates and it derives short vs long-term, then shows the exact formula, the 2026 bracket it used, and the law behind it.
Reviewed & updated · 2026 tax-year figures · Federal + all 50 states + D.C.
Long-term capital gains (assets held more than 1 year) are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on where the gain stacks on top of your other taxable income (IRC §1(h)). Short-term gains (held 1 year or less) are taxed as ordinary income, 10%–37%. High earners add a 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (IRC §1411). A primary home gets a $250k/$500k exclusion (IRC §121).
Net proceeds $54,750$5,250
Show our work the exact math
Estimates only, for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice. Dollar thresholds marked est. are projected 2026 figures, owner-verifiable against the final IRS release.
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How this calculator works & where the numbers come from
No black box. This tool applies the same four steps the IRS worksheet in Publication 550 uses: (1) net gain = proceeds − basis; (2) classify by holding period; (3) for long-term gains, subtract the standard deduction from ordinary income and stack the gain across the 0/15/20% bands per IRC §1(h); (4) add the 3.8% NIIT where modified AGI crosses the §1411 threshold. Short-term gains are computed as the true marginal difference — ordinary tax with the gain minus ordinary tax without it — not a flat top-rate shortcut.
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Primary sources (linked, not just named)
- 26 U.S.C. §1(h) — capital gains rates
- 26 U.S.C. §1411 — 3.8% NIIT
- 26 U.S.C. §121 — home-sale exclusion
- IRS Topic No. 409 — Capital Gains and Losses
- IRS Topic No. 701 — Sale of Your Home
- IRS Publication 550 — Investment Income
- IRS Publication 523 — Selling Your Home
- IRS Notice 2014-21 — virtual currency as property
Capital gains tax by state
Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income at their top marginal rate; nine levy no such tax. Rates below are 2026 top marginal figures, owner-verifiable. Pick a state in the calculator to fold it into your receipt, or open a state hub:
See the California hub — the template we clone across all 50 states & D.C.
U.S. territories
Residents of U.S. territories generally file under the territory's own tax system rather than the 50-state framework this calculator models. The federal starting point differs by territory:
- Puerto Rico — a separate tax system administered by the Departamento de Hacienda. Bona-fide residents generally exclude Puerto Rico–source income from U.S. federal tax under IRC §933, and capital gains are taxed under Puerto Rico's own code.
- Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands & the Northern Mariana Islands — “mirror code” territories that apply the U.S. Internal Revenue Code as their local income tax, so the federal long-term capital-gains framework applies but the tax is paid to the territory.
- American Samoa — maintains its own income tax code, largely modeled on the Internal Revenue Code.
See the full U.S. territories capital gains guide for each one, or go straight to IRS Publication 570 (Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Possessions) and your territory's tax authority. This calculator models the 50 states and D.C.; territory figures are not modeled here.
Capital gains tax, answered
How is capital gains tax calculated in 2026?
Capital gains tax is your net gain — sale price minus cost basis — taxed at a rate set by how long you held the asset and your taxable income.
Held one year or less? It is short-term and taxed as ordinary income (10%–37%). Held more than a year? It is long-term and taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% under IRC §1(h), based on where the gain stacks on top of your other taxable income. High earners add the 3.8% NIIT (§1411).
What is the long-term capital gains tax rate for 2026?
For 2026, long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%. A single filer pays 0% while taxable income stays at or below ~$49,450, 15% up to ~$545,500, and 20% above that. Married-filing-jointly breakpoints are ~$98,900 and ~$613,700. These are projected 2026 figures, owner-verifiable against the final IRS release.
At what income do you pay 0% capital gains tax?
You pay 0% when your total taxable income (ordinary income plus the gain, after the standard deduction) lands at or below the 0% ceiling — about $49,450 single, $98,900 joint in 2026. Only the slice of gain that stacks above the ceiling gets taxed at 15%. The calculator highlights the exact bracket row your gain lands in.
How do I avoid capital gains tax legally?
Legitimate levers include holding more than a year for long-term rates, harvesting losses, using the $250k/$500k home exclusion (§121), and timing a sale into a low-income year to reach the 0% band. You can also gift appreciated assets and use tax-advantaged accounts. See the full how-to-avoid guide. This is education, not personalized advice.
How much is capital gains tax on a home sale?
You can exclude up to $250k of gain if single, $500k if married filing jointly (§121), if you owned and lived there 2 of the last 5 years. Only gain above the exclusion is taxed, at long-term rates. Measure gain from adjusted basis: purchase price + improvements + selling costs. Details on the home-sale hub.
How is crypto capital gains tax calculated?
The IRS treats crypto as property (Notice 2014-21), so selling, trading, or spending it triggers a gain or loss. Held ≤ 1 year → short-term ordinary income; > 1 year → 0/15/20% long-term. Every taxable disposition counts, including crypto-to-crypto swaps. More on the crypto hub.
Why trust this over a bank calculator?
A blunt take from people who have picked apart a thousand finance pages: most "calculators" bury a toy tool under a wall of filler, gate the real answer behind an email, and never let you check a single number. We flipped it. The tool loads first. It shows its arithmetic. It links the actual statute. If a figure is a 2026 projection, we say so instead of pretending it is gospel. That is the whole pitch — and it is the standard we would hold anyone else to.