Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Enter your taxable income and this year’s capital gains or losses. This works out the federal tax on the gain using the 2026 brackets from Rev. Proc. 2025-32: the long-term gain across the 0, 15 and 20 percent bands, the short-term gain at ordinary rates, and the 3.8 percent net investment income tax. Free, no signup.
What this assumes
Federal tax only. State and local tax is not included. The income you enter is treated as taxable income after the standard or itemized deduction, and the same figure plus the net gain stands in for modified adjusted gross income when the net investment income tax is tested, because this page has no AGI figure. Qualified dividends, collectibles, unrecaptured section 1250 gain, section 1202 stock, the alternative minimum tax, and prior-year loss carryovers are not modeled. Estimates only, not tax advice.
Your 2026 return
Federal tax on a $25,000.00 net gain
Total federal tax
$3,750.00
$0.00 short-term, $3,750.00 long-term, $0.00 net investment income tax.
Effective rate on the gain
15%
Total tax divided by the net gain, on top of $13,412.00 already owed on the income alone.
Net investment income tax
$0.00
Income plus gain of $110,000.00 does not exceed the $200,000 threshold for single.
Where the gain lands
Your $85,000 of taxable income fills the brackets first. The short-term gain stacks on top of it at ordinary rates, and the long-term gain stacks on top of both, so the 0, 15 and 20 percent bands are measured against total taxable income, not against the gain on its own.
| Slice | Taxable income | Amount | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term | $85,000 to $110,000 | $25,000.00 | 15% | $3,750.00 |
| Total | $25,000.00 | 15% | $3,750.00 |
The part a calculator cannot do
This page prices a gain you already know the size of. The harder question is which positions across every account carry a gain or a loss right now, at what holding period, and what realizing one would change on the figures above. Helm reads the holdings in the accounts you connect, read-only, and shows each position’s unrealized gain, its holding period, and the harvestable losses screened against the wash sale window. It cannot see accounts you have not connected.
See your own positionsThe 2026 long-term capital gains brackets
The 0, 15 and 20 percent rates are measured against total taxable income, with the gain stacked on top of everything else. These are the 2026 amounts from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 3.03.
| Filing status | 0% up to | 15% up to | 20% above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $49,450 | $545,500 | $545,500 |
| Married filing jointly | $98,900 | $613,700 | $613,700 |
| Married filing separately | $49,450 | $306,850 | $306,850 |
| Head of household | $66,200 | $579,600 | $579,600 |
The 2026 ordinary brackets, which short-term gains use
A gain on something held one year or less is ordinary income. Each rate applies to taxable income up to the figure shown, from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 3.01.
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | up to $12,400 | up to $24,800 | up to $12,400 | up to $17,700 |
| 12% | up to $50,400 | up to $100,800 | up to $50,400 | up to $67,450 |
| 22% | up to $105,700 | up to $211,400 | up to $105,700 | up to $105,700 |
| 24% | up to $201,775 | up to $403,550 | up to $201,775 | up to $201,750 |
| 32% | up to $256,225 | up to $512,450 | up to $256,225 | up to $256,200 |
| 35% | up to $640,600 | up to $768,700 | up to $384,350 | up to $640,600 |
| 37% | above $640,600 | above $768,700 | above $384,350 | above $640,600 |
The 3.8 percent on top
The net investment income tax under IRC section 1411 is 3.8 percent of the lesser of net investment income and the excess of modified adjusted gross income over $200,000 for single and head of household filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately, per IRS Topic 559. Those thresholds are written into the statute and do not move with inflation, so a 20 percent gain above them is a 23.8 percent gain.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 2026 long-term capital gains tax rates?
Long-term gains are taxed at 0, 15 or 20 percent depending on total taxable income. For 2026, the 0 percent rate applies up to $49,450 of taxable income for single filers and $98,900 for married filing jointly; the 15 percent rate runs up to $545,500 single and $613,700 joint; and 20 percent applies above that. The figures are from Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
How are short-term capital gains taxed?
A gain on an asset held one year or less is added to ordinary income and taxed at the ordinary brackets, which for 2026 run from 10 percent to 37 percent. It is not eligible for the 0, 15 and 20 percent long-term rates.
Does a long-term gain push ordinary income into a higher bracket?
No. Ordinary income is taxed first and fills the brackets from the bottom. The long-term gain stacks on top of it, and only the gain is measured against the 0, 15 and 20 percent thresholds. A large gain can move part of itself from 0 to 15 percent or from 15 to 20 percent, but it does not change the rate on wages.
What is the net investment income tax?
A separate 3.8 percent tax under IRC section 1411 on the lesser of net investment income and the amount by which modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for single and head of household filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly, or $125,000 for married filing separately. Capital gains count as net investment income. The thresholds are set in the statute and are not indexed for inflation.
What happens when capital losses exceed capital gains?
Short-term and long-term results are netted against each other first. If the year nets to a loss, up to $3,000 of it ($1,500 for married filing separately) is deducted against ordinary income under IRC section 1211(b), and the rest carries forward to later years under section 1212(b), keeping its short-term or long-term character.
Related reading
Not tax advice. Federal only; state tax is not included. Bracket figures are the 2026 amounts published by the IRS, and the IRS pages linked above win if they differ from anything on this page.