What you'll owe when you sell — and how much holding for a year longer saves, since long-term gains get their own lower brackets.
Your wages and other income before this sale. It sets which long-term bracket (0%, 15%, or 20%) the gain falls into.
| Federal capital-gains tax | |
| Net investment income tax (3.8%) | |
| State tax | |
| Total |
This capital gains tax calculator estimates what you'll owe when you sell an asset, and shows how much holding it past one year saves. Short-term gains are taxed at your ordinary income rate; long-term gains get their own 0%, 15%, or 20% brackets, with the 3.8% net investment income tax layered on for higher earners.
Your gain is the sale price minus your cost basis. If you held the asset a year or less, the gain is taxed as ordinary income at your marginal bracket. Held longer, it falls into the long-term 0%, 15%, or 20% brackets, stacked on top of your other taxable income. For higher earners, the 3.8% net investment income tax is added on top of either.
It depends on how long you held the asset and your income. Assets held over a year qualify for long-term rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%; assets held a year or less are taxed at your ordinary income rate, which can be much higher.
Short-term gains (assets held one year or less) are taxed as ordinary income at your regular bracket. Long-term gains (held more than a year) are taxed at the preferential 0/15/20% rates, so timing a sale past the one-year mark can cut the bill substantially.
The NIIT is an extra 3.8% tax on investment income, including capital gains, for single filers with income over $200,000 or married couples over $250,000. It applies on top of the regular capital gains tax.
Holding an asset more than a year qualifies it for the lower long-term rates. Offsetting gains with realized losses (tax-loss harvesting) and timing sales into lower-income years can reduce the bill further.
Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income, with no preferential rate — and a few have no income tax at all. Enter your state rate to include it in the estimate.
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