Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Use our capital gains tax calculator to estimate your potential bill on investments sold for a profit in 2026.
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When you sell investments for a profit, you may owe capital gains tax on the money you make. How much you pay is determined by how long you owned the asset before selling it, as well as your taxable income and filing status.
How to calculate capital gains tax
How you calculate capital gains depends on the length of time you owned the asset before selling it. Below, we'll break down how short-term and long-term calculations work — as well as how our calculator estimates taxes owed on a single asset sold for a profit.
How to calculate short-term capital gains tax
Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income, which means they are subject to the same tax rates as regular income, such as that from your job. Those tax rates can range from 10% to 37%, depending on how much you make and your filing status.
How our calculator estimates short-term gains tax
In this scenario, let's assume the following:
Filing status: Single filer.
Short-term gain: $4,500.
Projected 2026 taxable income: $50,000.
Total taxable income, including gain: $54,500.
According to the 2026 tax rates for a single filer, tax on $54,500 of taxable income, of which $4,500 is a short-term gain, would be determined as follows:
Your estimated total tax, including that on your gain, would be $6,702 ($1,240 + $4,560 + $902). Of that sum, the tax directly tied to the capital gain, which fell in the 22% bracket, would be $990 ($4,500 x 22%).
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How to calculate long-term capital gains
Long-term capital gains follow a different tax structure from short-term gains. Holding onto an asset for more than a year means your gains are exposed to more favorable tax rates — you may pay a combination of 0%, 15% and 20% on the gain, rather than ordinary income tax rates, which can reach 37%. Per the IRS, most people pay no more than 15% on capital gains.
To assess which portions of your gain are subject to 0%, 15% or 20%, you'll need to review the tax brackets for long-term gains. These differ from ordinary income tax brackets. Your ordinary income plays a role in determining your taxable income for long-term capital gains calculations (it fills up the brackets first), even though that income isn't taxed at the long-term rate.
Tax rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0% | $0 to $49,450 | $0 to $98,900 | $0 to $49,450 | $0 to $66,200 |
15% | $49,451 to $545,500 | $98,901 to $613,700 | $49,451 to $306,850 | $66,201 to $579,600 |
20% | $545,501 or more | $613,701 or more | $306,851 or more | $579,601 or more |
Short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income according to federal income tax brackets. | ||||
How our calculator estimates long-term gains tax
In this scenario, let's assume the following:
Filing status: Single filer.
Long-term gain: $15,000.
Projected 2026 taxable income: $50,000.
Total taxable income, including gain: $65,000.
In this case, your ordinary income fills up all of the 0% bracket and a small part of the 15% bracket. That ordinary income will be taxed according to regular tax rates, even though it's used here to determine how much tax you’ll pay on the capital gains portion of your income. Here, your capital gain then falls into the 15% bracket and will be taxed at that rate.
When it comes to determining your total tax, you'll need to review both regular ordinary income tax rates as well as the long-term capital gains tax rates. In this example scenario, the estimate for total taxes owed is $8,002 ($1,240 + $4,512 + $2,250), of which $2,250 ($15,000 x 15%) is related to the long-term gain.
Ordinary income
10%: $0 to $12,400 = $1,240.
12%: $12,401 to $50,400 = $4,512.
Capital gain
15%: $50,000 to $65,000 = $2,250.
Key Terms
Long-term capital gain: This refers to assets that were owned for more than a year before their sale.
Short-term capital gain: This refers to assets that were sold within a year or less of their original purchase.
Taxable income: This refers to your gross income after you've subtracted your tax-deductible 401(k) and IRA contributions, your standard or itemized deductions, plus any other deductions you're entitled to.