Capital Gains Tax Calculator

It depends on how long you held the asset. If you held it one year or less, the profit is a short-term gain taxed as ordinary income at your marginal rate. If you held it more than a year, it's a long-term gain taxed at the favorable 0%, 15%, or 20% rate. Enter your numbers above to compare both.

Short-term gains apply to assets held one year or less and are taxed at ordinary income rates (up to 37%). Long-term gains apply to assets held more than one year and get preferential rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%. Holding past the one-year mark can dramatically cut your tax.

For 2025, the 0% rate applies to long-term gains up to $48,350 of taxable income for single filers ($96,700 married filing jointly). The 15% rate applies up to $533,400 single ($600,050 joint), and 20% applies above that. The brackets stack on top of your other taxable income.

Your long-term gains stack on top of your ordinary taxable income. The portion that falls in the 0% band is tax-free, the next portion is taxed at 15%, and any amount above the upper threshold is taxed at 20%. That's why a large gain can be partly 0% and partly 15%.

High earners (modified AGI above $200,000 single / $250,000 married filing jointly) may owe an extra 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax on investment gains. This calculator does not include it, so high-income taxpayers may owe a bit more.

No. If you sell for less than you paid, you have a capital loss, not a gain — no tax is due. Losses can offset other capital gains and up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year, with the rest carried forward.