Capital Gains Tax: How It Works, Rates and Calculator

If you own investments or regularly sell assets you own, it's important to understand the potential tax implications.

Capital gains taxes are the taxes you pay on profits made from the sale of assets, such as stocks or real estate. How much you pay depends on what you sold, how long you owned it before selling, your taxable income and your filing status.

Holding onto an asset for more than a year before selling generally results in a more favorable tax rate of 0% to 20%, whereas assets sold within a year or less of ownership are subject to regular income tax rates, ranging from 10% to 37%.

• Capital gains taxes apply to assets that are "realized," or sold. This means that the returns on stocks, bonds or other investments purchased through and then held unsold within a brokerage are considered unrealized and not subject to capital gains tax.

• One important caveat is investments that produce dividends. Even when the underlying stock remains unsold, income you receive from certain dividends may be considered a capital gain.

• Assets held within tax-advantaged accounts — such as 401(ks) or IRAs — aren't subject to capital gains taxes while they remain in the account. Instead, you may pay regular income taxes when it comes time to make a qualified withdrawal, depending on what type of account it is.

» Selling a home? Taxes on the sale of a home can work differently.

Most items people own are considered capital assets. This can include investments, such as stocks, bonds, cryptocurrency or real estate, as well as personal and tangible items, such as cars or boats.

When you sell a capital asset for a higher price than its original value, the money you make on that sale is called a capital gain. And when you sell an asset for less than its original value, the money you lose is known as a capital loss.

The difference between your capital gains and your capital losses is your net profit. For example, if you sold a stock for a $10,000 profit this year and sold another at a $4,000 loss, your net capital gain is $6,000.

» Having trouble deciding whether to sell? A qualified financial advisor can help.

Capital gains can be subject to either short-term tax rates or long-term tax rates. Short-term capital gains are treated as ordinary income and taxed according to ordinary income tax brackets. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%.

Some exceptions:

• High-earning individuals may also need to account for the net investment income tax (NIIT), an additional 3.8% tax that can be triggered if your income exceeds a certain limit.

• Long-term capital gains on so-called “collectible assets” can be taxed at a maximum of 28%. This includes items such as coins, precious metals, antiques and fine art. Short-term gains on such assets are taxed at the ordinary income tax rate^[0]

  Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409 Capital Gains and Losses: Capital Gain Tax Rates. Accessed Apr 30, 2024.

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» Dive deeper: See the federal income tax brackets.

Profits from the sale of an asset held for more than a year are subject to long-term capital gains tax. The rates are 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on taxable income and filing status. Per the IRS, most people pay no more than 15%

Short-term capital gains tax is a tax on profits from the sale of an asset held for one year or less. Short-term capital gains are taxed according to your ordinary income tax bracket: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% or 37%.

» Ready to crunch the numbers? Try our capital gains tax calculator.

In 2024, single filers with a taxable income of $47,025 or less, joint filers with a taxable income of $94,050 or less, and heads of households with a taxable income of $63,000 or less pay 0% on qualified realized long-term gains.

If your taxable income exceeds those amounts, you may be subject to 15% and 20% tax rates. Short-term capital gains held for a year or less are taxed at regular income tax rates.

The following rates and brackets apply to long-term capital gains sold in 2024 (reported on taxes filed in 2025).

The following rates and brackets apply to long-term capital gains sold in 2025 (reported on taxes filed in 2026).

Use this capital gains calculator to estimate your taxes on assets sold in 2024 (taxes filed in 2025). This calculator is meant for general estimating purposes and does not take into account factors that may affect your total tax picture, such as standard or itemized deductions.

» MORE: Estimate your refund or bill with NerdWallet's tax calculator.

1. Hold on

Whenever possible, hold an asset for longer than a year so you can qualify for the long-term capital gains tax rate, because it's significantly lower than the short-term capital gains rate for most assets. Our capital gains tax calculator shows how much that could save.

» Dive deeper: Read more about taxes on stocks, and how to pay less.

2. Use tax-advantaged accounts

These include 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and 529 college savings accounts, in which the investments grow tax-free or tax-deferred. That means you don’t have to pay capital gains tax if you sell investments within these accounts. Roth IRAs and 529 accounts, in particular, have big tax advantages. If you follow the account rules, you can withdraw money from those accounts tax-free. With traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, your money grows tax-deferred, then you pay taxes when you take distributions in retirement.

» Learn more about different retirement accounts.

3. Rebalance with dividends

Rather than reinvest dividends in the investment that paid them, rebalance by putting that money into your underperforming investments. Typically, you'd rebalance by selling securities that are doing well and putting that money into those that are underperforming. But using dividends to invest in underperforming assets will allow you to avoid selling strong performers — and thus avoid the capital gains that would come from that sale.

» Learn more about the dividend tax rate and how it works.

4. Use the home sales exclusion

If you sold a house the previous year, you may be able to exclude a portion of the gains from that sale on your taxes. To qualify, you must have owned your home and used it as your main residence for at least two years in the five-year period before you sell it. You also must not have excluded another home from capital gains in the two-year period before the home sale. If you meet those rules, you can exclude up to $250,000 in gains from a home sale if you’re single, and up to $500,000 if you’re married filing jointly.

» Learn more about how capital gains on home sales work.

5. Look into tax-loss harvesting

The IRS taxes your net capital gain, which is simply your total long- or short-term capital gains (investments sold for a profit) minus the corresponding long- or short-term total capital losses (investments sold at a loss). The strategic practice of selling off specific assets at a loss to offset gains is called tax-loss harvesting. This strategy has many rules and isn't right for everyone, but it can help to reduce your taxes by lowering the amount of your taxable gains.

If your net capital loss exceeds your net capital gains, you can also offset your ordinary income by up to $3,000 ($1,500 for those married filing separately). Any additional losses can be carried forward to future years to offset capital gains or up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.

6. Consider a robo-advisor