Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Calculate your capital gains tax for stocks, real estate, and investments. See the difference between short-term and long-term rates.
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Proceeds Breakdown
Estimate only. Capital gains tax depends on your complete tax situation including AMT, Net Investment Income Tax (3.8% for high earners), and state taxes. Consult a tax professional for large capital gains.
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How Capital Gains Tax Works
The holding period is the single most important factor in capital gains taxation. Holding an asset for more than one year converts a short-term gain (taxed as ordinary income) to a long-term gain (taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%). On a $50,000 gain, this difference can be worth thousands of dollars. See our crypto tax calculator for digital asset gains.
- Long-term rates are dramatically lower than short-term. Short-term gains are taxed at your ordinary income rate (up to 37%). Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total income. For most middle-income taxpayers, the long-term rate is 15% — less than half the short-term rate.
- The 0% rate is available to lower-income taxpayers. Single filers with taxable income below approximately $44,000 pay 0% on long-term capital gains. This creates a powerful tax planning opportunity for retirees and lower-income years.
- Net Investment Income Tax adds 3.8% for high earners. Single filers with modified AGI above $200,000 (or $250,000 married) pay an additional 3.8% Medicare surtax on net investment income including capital gains. This brings the effective top long-term rate to 23.8%.
- Capital losses offset capital gains dollar-for-dollar. If you have realized losses in other investments, they can offset your gains, reducing your taxable capital gain. Up to $3,000 of net capital losses can also offset ordinary income annually, with excess losses carried forward to future years.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Long-term capital gains tax rates are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total taxable income and filing status. The 0% rate applies to lower-income taxpayers. Most middle-income taxpayers pay 15%. High-income taxpayers pay 20%, plus an additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, for an effective rate of 23.8%.
You must hold the asset for more than 12 months — one year plus at least one day — to qualify for long-term capital gains rates. The holding period begins the day after your purchase date and ends on the date of sale. Selling even one day short of 12 months triggers short-term rates.
Most homeowners qualify for the home sale exclusion: up to $250,000 of gain is excluded from tax for single filers, $500,000 for married filing jointly. Requirements: you must have owned and lived in the home as your primary residence for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale. Gains above the exclusion are taxed at long-term rates if held over a year.
Tax-loss harvesting is selling investments at a loss to offset capital gains realized in the same year, reducing your taxable gain. The wash-sale rule prevents you from buying the same or substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale. Unused losses carry forward to future years indefinitely.
Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income at the state income tax rate — there is no preferential state rate for long-term gains in most states. California taxes capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income (up to 13.3%). Only a few states (like Colorado) provide a partial exclusion.