Estimate the federal tax owed on a stock or investment sale using official 2026 IRS brackets, and see exactly why holding period changes everything.
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2026 Capital Gains EstimatorFederal tax only — results update live
Purchase price (cost basis)
Sale price
Other taxable income
Filing status
Single
Married Filing Jointly
Holding period
Short-term (≤ 1 year)
Long-term (> 1 year)
Long-term treatment requires holding the asset for more than one year before selling
Capital gain
$0
sale price minus cost basis
Estimated federal tax owed
$0
on the gain
What you'd save by waiting for long-term treatment
$0
difference vs. short-term (ordinary income) tax treatment
You keep
$0
gain minus estimated tax
Effective rate on gain
0%
tax owed ÷ gain
NIIT applies?
No
3.8% surtax on high incomes
Understanding capital gains tax
Why the one-year mark is the single most important date on this page
A capital gain is the profit from selling an asset for more than you paid. How that gain is taxed depends almost entirely on how long you held it. Short-term gains, on assets held one year or less, are taxed as ordinary income at your regular federal bracket, up to 37% in 2026. Long-term gains, on assets held more than one year, get preferential rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your total taxable income.
This means selling an appreciated stock one day before versus one day after the one-year mark can mean paying more than double the tax rate on the exact same gain. If a sale is close to that anniversary and there's no urgent reason to sell now, waiting can be one of the simplest tax-planning decisions available to any investor.
For 2026, long-term rates apply at 0% up to $49,450 of taxable income (single) or $98,900 (married filing jointly), 15% up to $545,500 ($613,700 MFJ), and 20% above that. This calculator estimates federal tax only, using these official 2026 IRS thresholds; state capital gains taxes are separate and vary by state.
Gains "stack" on ordinary income
Your capital gain doesn't get its own separate bracket in isolation. It's added on top of your other taxable income to determine which long-term rate applies, which is why your "other taxable income" input changes the result even though it isn't taxed as a capital gain itself.
The 3.8% NIIT surtax
Above $200,000 of modified AGI (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly), an additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax applies on top of the regular capital gains rate. This calculator flags when you're likely in that range.
Losses can offset this
If you're also holding a position at a loss, selling it in the same tax year can offset some or all of this gain through tax-loss harvesting, directly reducing what you owe. See our Tax-Loss Harvesting guide for how that works.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask about capital gains tax
Does this calculator include state taxes?+
No, this tool estimates federal tax only. State treatment of capital gains varies widely, some states tax them as ordinary income, some offer preferential rates, and a handful have no state income tax at all. Add your state's estimated tax separately.
What if I have a capital loss instead of a gain?+
A loss isn't taxed, instead it can offset other capital gains dollar for dollar, and up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year if your losses exceed your gains, with any excess carried forward to future years. This is the basis of tax-loss harvesting.
Do capital gains inside a 401(k) or IRA get taxed this way?+
No. Gains realized inside tax-advantaged retirement accounts aren't taxed as capital gains at all. Traditional account withdrawals are eventually taxed as ordinary income regardless of what generated the growth, and Roth withdrawals are tax-free if requirements are met.
Are dividends taxed the same way as capital gains?+
Qualified dividends are taxed at the same preferential long-term capital gains rates. Non-qualified (ordinary) dividends are taxed as ordinary income, similar to short-term capital gains. Whether a dividend is qualified depends on how long you held the underlying stock.
Is this calculator exact enough to file my taxes with?+
No, treat this as a planning estimate. It doesn't account for state taxes, the Alternative Minimum Tax, itemized deductions, or every edge case in the tax code. Use IRS Schedule D and Form 8949, or a tax professional, for your actual filing.
The bigger picture
Holding period is one of the few taxes you fully control
Most taxes are simply owed based on what happened during the year. Capital gains are different: the decision of when to sell, and specifically whether to cross the one-year mark, is entirely within your control and can make a dramatic difference to what you actually keep.
As an international tax attorney, this is exactly the kind of planning question worth getting specific guidance on, particularly when a sale is large, near a bracket threshold, or involves foreign tax considerations.
Want help planning a specific sale?
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