About The Capital Gains Ledger
Capital gains tax answers you can actually verify — because a number you can't check isn't an answer, it's a guess.
Published & last reviewed · The Capital Gains Ledger — Editorial Desk
The Capital Gains Ledger is an independent, ad-supported educational site that estimates U.S. capital gains tax and shows its work. Every result reveals the exact formula, the 2026 bracket it used, and a link to the governing statute — IRC §1(h), §1411, or §121. There's no email wall and no sign-up. This is general information for learning, not tax advice.
Why does this site exist?
Most "capital gains calculators" hand you a single dollar figure and ask you to trust it. You can't see the arithmetic, you can't see which bracket it used, and you certainly can't see the law behind it. That's a black box — and a black box is useless the moment your situation is even slightly unusual.
We built The Capital Gains Ledger on the opposite principle, which we call Show Our Work: for every figure we display, you can open the math, follow it line by line, and click straight through to the statute or IRS publication it rests on. If a 2026 dollar threshold is a projection rather than a finalized number, we label it (est.) instead of pretending it's settled. The tool loads first, answers immediately, and never asks for your email.
What do we stand for?
Show the formula
Net gain, holding period, bracket stacking, and any surtax are all displayed as arithmetic you can reproduce by hand — never a hidden result.
Cite the law
Long-term rates trace to IRC §1(h), the 3.8% surtax to §1411, the home exclusion to §121. We never invent a citation.
Flag the estimates
Projected 2026 breakpoints carry an explicit (est.) tag and are owner-verifiable against the final IRS release.
Respect your privacy
The calculation runs entirely in your browser. No account, no email gate, and your figures never leave the page.
Who is this for?
The Ledger is written for people staring down a real decision and wanting to understand the tax before they act:
- Investors weighing whether to sell stocks or crypto now or hold past the one-year mark for long-term rates.
- Homeowners checking how much of a sale gain the §121 exclusion shields.
- DIY filers who'd rather learn how the 0/15/20% bands stack than accept a number on faith.
- Anyone double-checking a figure a broker, an app, or another calculator handed them.
If that's you, every page is designed so you leave understanding why the number is what it is — not just what it is.
Where do the numbers come from?
We work from primary sources only — the statutory text and the IRS's own publications and worksheets — and we link them so you can confirm every figure yourself. See our full methodology for the step-by-step engine and edge-case testing.
Primary sources (linked, not just named)
Is this tax advice?
No — and we want to be blunt about it. The Capital Gains Ledger is an educational tool, not a tax preparer, and nothing here creates a client relationship. Our estimates cover the common federal path and a state's top marginal rate where you select one. They do not model AMT, §1250 depreciation recapture, the 28% collectibles rate, wash-sale rules, or loss carryforwards.
About, answered
Who is The Capital Gains Ledger for?
Anyone estimating a U.S. capital gains tax bill before they file — investors selling stocks or crypto, homeowners weighing a sale, and DIY filers who want to understand the number rather than just accept it. If you've ever wanted a calculator to show its arithmetic and cite the law, it's built for you.
Is this tax advice?
No. The Ledger is an independent educational publication offering general information for the 2026 tax year — not tax, legal, or investment advice — and using it does not create a client relationship. Your real return can involve AMT, depreciation recapture, the 28% collectibles rate, wash-sale rules, and loss carryforwards we don't model. Verify with a licensed tax professional before filing.
How do you keep the numbers accurate?
Every figure shows its formula and links its primary source — the statutory text of IRC §1(h), §1411, and §121, plus IRS Topic No. 409 and Publications 550 and 523. Projected 2026 thresholds are marked (est.) and owner-verifiable against the final IRS release. We never invent a citation. See the methodology for details.