Capital Gains Tax Brackets 2026: What Rate Will You Pay on Stocks, Funds and Crypto?

Short answer: For 2026, long-term capital gains (assets held more than one year) are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your taxable income. The 0% rate covers taxable income up to $49,450 for single filers, $98,900 for married couples filing jointly, and $66,200 for heads of household. The 15% rate runs up to $545,500, $613,700, and $579,600 respectively, and 20% applies above that. Short-term gains (held one year or less) are taxed as ordinary income at 10% to 37%, and higher earners may owe an extra 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax.

These numbers come straight from the IRS’s official 2026 inflation adjustments (Revenue Procedure 2025-32). This refreshed guide adds what the first version left out: how gains “stack” on top of your other income, the 2026 ordinary brackets that apply to short-term gains, new deductions that give retirees more room in the 0% bracket, year-end harvesting moves, state rules (including Florida and Washington), and where the 2027 thresholds stand. It is general education for U.S. readers, not tax advice.

2026 capital gains tax at a glance

• Long-term rates: 0%, 15%, 20% (same three rates as 2025; only the income thresholds rose with inflation)
• Short-term gains: taxed as ordinary income under the 2026 brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%)
• Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT): 3.8% on top when modified AGI tops $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly), or $125,000 (married filing separately). These thresholds are not indexed for inflation
• Highest common federal rate on long-term stock gains: 23.8% (20% plus 3.8% NIIT), before any state tax
• Exceptions: collectibles and the taxable part of qualified small business stock gains top out at 28%; unrecaptured section 1250 real estate gain at 25%
• Loss offset: net capital losses can reduce ordinary income by up to $3,000 a year ($1,500 if married filing separately), and the rest carries forward

2026 long-term capital gains brackets by filing status

These are taxable-income thresholds for tax years beginning in 2026, from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03.

Single (unmarried individuals who are not heads of household)

• 0%: taxable income up to $49,450
• 15%: over $49,450 up to $545,500
• 20%: over $545,500

Married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouse

• 0%: taxable income up to $98,900
• 15%: over $98,900 up to $613,700
• 20%: over $613,700

Head of household

• 0%: taxable income up to $66,200
• 15%: over $66,200 up to $579,600
• 20%: over $579,600

Married filing separately

• 0%: taxable income up to $49,450
• 15%: over $49,450 up to $306,850
• 20%: over $306,850

Estates and trusts (for reference)

• 0%: up to $3,300
• 15%: over $3,300 up to $16,250
• 20%: over $16,250

What changed from 2025: the rates stayed the same and the thresholds went up. In 2025, the 0% ceiling was $48,350 (single and MFS), $96,700 (MFJ), and $64,750 (HoH). The 15% band ended at $533,400 (single), $600,050 (MFJ), $566,700 (HoH), and $300,000 (MFS).

One sourcing note: as of October 20, 2026, the IRS’s plain-English Topic No. 409 page still shows the 2025 thresholds. If you see those older numbers quoted elsewhere, that is likely why. The 2026 amounts above come from the revenue procedure itself, which is the official source.

How capital gains “stack” on top of your other income

This is the part most bracket charts skip, and it is why “I sold $40,000 of stock, so I’m in the 15% bracket” is usually wrong.

The IRS taxes your income in layers:

• Layer 1, ordinary income: wages, interest, short-term gains, non-qualified dividends, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, and so on, minus your deductions. This layer fills the regular brackets first.
• Layer 2, preferential income: long-term capital gains and qualified dividends sit on top of layer 1. Each dollar gets 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on where it lands on the taxable-income ladder.

Worked example, single filer, gain straddling two rates:

• Taxable ordinary income after the standard deduction: $35,000
• Long-term gain from selling an index fund: $25,000
• Total taxable income: $60,000
• Room left under the $49,450 ceiling for the 0% rate: $49,450 − $35,000 = $14,450, taxed at 0%
• The remaining $10,550 of gain is taxed at 15%, or $1,582.50
• Effective federal rate on the whole $25,000 gain: about 6.3%, not 15%

Two consequences follow:

• A gain can be split across rates. Only the slice above a threshold moves up, never the whole gain.
• A long-term gain never pushes your wages into a higher ordinary bracket, because ordinary income fills the brackets first. But a large gain can raise your AGI, which can affect NIIT, the taxable share of Social Security benefits, Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA) two years later, and other income-based limits.

Short-term capital gains: the 2026 ordinary brackets

If you held an asset one year or less, the gain is short-term and is taxed exactly like wages. These are the 2026 brackets from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.01 (taxable income):

Single

• 10%: up to $12,400
• 12%: $12,401 to $50,400
• 22%: $50,401 to $105,700
• 24%: $105,701 to $201,775
• 32%: $201,776 to $256,225
• 35%: $256,226 to $640,600
• 37%: over $640,600

Married filing jointly

• 10%: up to $24,800
• 12%: $24,801 to $100,800
• 22%: $100,801 to $211,400
• 24%: $211,401 to $403,550
• 32%: $403,551 to $512,450
• 35%: $512,451 to $768,700
• 37%: over $768,700

Head of household

• 10%: up to $17,700
• 12%: $17,701 to $67,450
• 22%: $67,451 to $105,700
• 24%: $105,701 to $201,750
• 32%: $201,751 to $256,200
• 35%: $256,201 to $640,600
• 37%: over $640,600

Married filing separately uses the single brackets up to $256,225, then 35% up to $384,350 and 37% above that.

Holding-period rules that matter:

• Your holding period starts the day after the trade date you bought and ends on the trade date you sell. The settlement date does not count (IRS Publication 550).
• “More than one year” means a purchase on March 10, 2025 becomes long-term on a sale on March 11, 2026 or later.
• Every dividend reinvestment creates a new lot with its own clock. Selling “everything” can mix short-term and long-term lots.
• Mutual fund capital gain distributions (Form 1099-DIV, box 2a) are reported as long-term no matter how long you owned the fund.

Taxable income, not gross income, sets your rate

Your capital gains rate depends on taxable income, meaning AGI minus the standard or itemized deduction. Deductions decide how much of the 0% band you can actually use.

2026 standard deduction (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.14):

• Married filing jointly: $32,200
• Head of household: $24,150
• Single or married filing separately: $16,100
• Additional amount for age 65+ or blind: $1,650 per qualifying spouse if married, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse

New for 2025 through 2028: the $6,000 senior deduction. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, each taxpayer age 65 or older can claim an extra $6,000 deduction ($12,000 if both spouses qualify) on top of the existing additional standard deduction. It phases out above modified AGI of $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (joint), per the IRS.

What that means for the 0% bracket (illustration): a married couple, both 65 or older, could deduct up to $32,200 + $3,300 + $12,000 = $47,500 in 2026. With AGI of about $146,400, which is still under the $150,000 phase-out, their taxable income would be about $98,900, right at the top of the 0% band. The exact answer depends on how much of their Social Security is taxable and on other items, so run the numbers before acting.

For a rough AGI estimate, try the AGI calculator. For deciding where future gains should happen, our Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA and 401(k) vs IRA guides cover the account side.

The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax

The NIIT (IRC section 1411) is a separate 3.8% tax. Per IRS Topic No. 559, it applies to the lesser of:

• your net investment income (including most capital gains, dividends, interest, and passive rental income), or
• the amount by which your modified AGI exceeds $250,000 (MFJ or qualifying surviving spouse), $200,000 (single or HoH), or $125,000 (MFS)

Key points:

• The thresholds are fixed by statute and do not rise with inflation, so more households cross them each year.
• It can stack on the 15% rate (an 18.8% combined federal rate on affected gains) as well as the 20% rate (23.8%).
• It does not apply to wages, tax-exempt municipal bond interest, or the excluded part of a home-sale gain.
• You figure it on Form 8960.

Rates that are not 0%, 15%, or 20%

Per IRS Topic No. 409, some gains have different maximum rates:

• Collectibles (art, antiques, coins, stamps, and similar): up to 28%
• Taxable part of section 1202 qualified small business stock gain: up to 28%
• Unrecaptured section 1250 gain (depreciation on real property): up to 25%

If you are selling rental property, physical gold or coins, or startup shares, do not assume the standard schedule covers the whole gain.

Qualified dividends share the same brackets

Qualified dividends are taxed at the same 0%, 15%, and 20% rates and stack the same way. A big qualified-dividend year uses up 0% or 15% room that a planned stock sale might otherwise have used. Non-qualified dividends are taxed as ordinary income. To model a dividend portfolio’s income, see the dividend investing calculator.

Four 2026 examples (illustrative only)

These ignore state tax, AMT, credits, and wash-sale wrinkles.

Example A: Single filer fully in the 0% band

• Wages: $40,000, minus the $16,100 standard deduction = $23,900 taxable before the sale
• Long-term gain: $20,000, bringing taxable income to $43,900
• All of it is at or below $49,450, so the federal tax on the gain is $0, and $5,550 of 0% room is still unused

Example B: Married couple in the 15% band

• Taxable income before the sale: $120,000
• Long-term ETF gain: $30,000, bringing taxable income to $150,000
• That is between $98,900 and $613,700, so tax on the gain is 15% of $30,000 = $4,500 (no NIIT if MAGI stays under $250,000)

Example C: Single filer crossing into 20% plus NIIT

• Taxable income before the sale: $520,000
• Long-term gain: $50,000, bringing taxable income to $570,000
• First $25,500 of gain (up to $545,500) at 15% = $3,825
• Remaining $24,500 at 20% = $4,900
• NIIT on the $50,000 gain at 3.8% = $1,900
• Federal total on the gain is about $10,625, an effective 21.25%

Example D: The cost of selling one month early

• Married couple, taxable income before the sale: $180,000
• Short-term $40,000 gain (held 11 months): $31,400 at 22% + $8,600 at 24% = $8,972
• Long-term $40,000 gain (held 13 months): 15% = $6,000
• Waiting saves about $2,972 in federal tax, but only if the investment still makes sense to hold. Tax timing should never override your plan

Year-end moves to consider before December 31

Gains and losses on exchange-traded securities count in the year of the trade date (IRS Publication 550), so these moves need to happen by the last trading day of the year.

Tax-loss harvesting

• Sell positions that are below cost to realize losses that offset gains.
• Net losses beyond your gains can offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income, with any remainder carried forward indefinitely.
• Wash-sale rule: if you buy substantially identical stock or securities within 30 days before or after the sale, including inside your IRA or Roth IRA, the loss is disallowed (Publication 550). Normally the disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the new shares, so it is only deferred. If the repurchase happens in an IRA or Roth IRA, it is not added to basis, so the loss is effectively gone for good. Swapping into a similar but not identical fund is the usual workaround. Ask a tax pro what counts as “substantially identical.”

Tax-gain harvesting (the 0% bracket trick)

• If your taxable income will be under the 0% ceiling, you can sell long-term winners, pay $0 federal tax, and buy back right away to reset your cost basis higher.
• The wash-sale rule applies to losses, not gains.
• This works best in low-income years: a sabbatical, early retirement before Social Security, or a layoff gap. Our case study on being laid off in your late 30s with a seven-figure portfolio shows why those years matter.

Watch fund distributions

• Many mutual funds pay capital gain distributions late in the year, and those are taxable even if reinvested. Index ETFs often distribute fewer gains. See index fund vs ETF for why.
• Buying a fund in a taxable account just before its distribution date can hand you a tax bill on gains you never enjoyed.

Other moves

• Specific-lot identification: tell your broker which lots to sell, such as long-term, high-basis shares, instead of defaulting to first-in, first-out.
• Give appreciated shares instead of cash to charity to avoid realizing the gain, subject to AGI limits.
• Rebalance inside tax-advantaged accounts where possible. Our asset allocation by age guide explains how to keep your mix on target.
• Check estimated taxes: a large gain can mean you need to make estimated payments (IRS Topic 409; Publication 505).

Crypto, home sales, and inherited assets

Crypto and other digital assets

• The IRS treats digital assets held as investments as property. The same holding-period rules and 0%, 15%, 20% schedule apply to long-term gains, and short-term gains are ordinary income.
• Swapping one coin for another, or spending crypto, is a taxable disposal.
• Brokers now report digital asset sales on Form 1099-DA, starting with 2025 transactions. Keep your own records of date, units, and dollar cost basis anyway. To estimate a trade’s profit before taxes, try the crypto profit calculator.

Selling your main home

• You may exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly) if you owned and lived in the home for at least 2 of the last 5 years before the sale (IRS Topic No. 701).
• Gains above the exclusion are generally long-term capital gains if you owned the home more than a year.

Gifts and inheritances

• Basis and holding-period rules differ for gifted and inherited property. IRS Topic 409 points to Publications 551 and 544. Inherited assets are generally treated as long-term and usually get a basis based on value at the date of death, which can erase decades of built-in gain. Confirm the details for your situation.

State capital gains taxes: Florida, Washington and everyone else

Federal brackets are only part of the bill.

• Most states with an income tax tax capital gains as ordinary income at state rates, so high-tax states can add a lot on top of 15% or 20%.
• Florida does not impose a personal income tax (Florida Department of Revenue), so Florida residents owe no state tax on capital gains. Federal rates still apply.
• Washington has no wage income tax but does levy an excise tax on long-term capital gains above a large annual standard deduction ($278,000 for 2025). The rate is 7%, and starting with tax year 2025 an extra 2.9% applies to Washington capital gains over $1 million (Washington Department of Revenue).
• State rules on holding periods, home sales, and small-business stock do not always match federal rules. Check your state revenue department before treating the federal rate as your all-in cost.

For comparing a taxable bond’s yield with a tax-free municipal bond, see the tax-equivalent yield calculator.

2027 capital gains brackets: what we know so far

As of October 20, 2026, the IRS has not released its 2027 inflation adjustments. Its “inflation-adjusted tax items by tax year” page still lists 2026 as the latest year, and no 2027 revenue procedure has appeared in its newsroom. For timing, the 2026 figures came out on October 9, 2025 (IR-2025-103) and the 2025 figures on October 22, 2024 (IR-2024-273), so an announcement in the coming weeks would be normal.

Until then, projections are all anyone has. Thomson Reuters Checkpoint (September 11, 2026) projects these 2027 long-term capital gains thresholds:

• 0% rate up to: $51,050 (single and MFS), $102,100 (MFJ), $68,350 (HoH)
• 15% rate up to: $563,200 (single), $633,600 (MFJ), $598,400 (HoH), $316,800 (MFS)
• 20% above those amounts

These are estimates, not IRS figures. Use them for rough 2027 planning, and expect us to replace them with the official numbers once the IRS publishes.

Forms and records you will need

• Form 1099-B (or 1099-DA for digital assets) from your broker, as the starting point for proceeds and basis
• Form 8949 to list each sale
• Schedule D (Form 1040) to summarize gains and losses
• Form 8960 if NIIT applies
• Form 1099-DIV for capital gain distributions and qualified dividends
• Your own lot-level basis records for gifts, inheritances, employee stock, transferred accounts, crypto, and wash-sale adjustments

To separate price gains from total return before taxes, the capital gains yield calculator and holding period return calculator help. They do not replace Schedule D.

How this fits a long-term plan

The best way to cut capital gains tax is often to realize less of it:

• Hold broad, low-turnover funds in taxable accounts, or a simple three-fund portfolio. Our guide on how to invest in the S&P 500 covers the low-cost options.
• Max out tax-advantaged space first, using the 2026 401(k) limits and 2026 HSA limits, so less of your growth is ever taxed as capital gains.
• Avoid trading on the calendar. Selling every spring because of seasonal lore usually turns paper gains into taxable ones. We look at what that history really shows in best and worst months for stocks.
• In early retirement, plan withdrawals around the 0% band. See the FIRE movement explained and why the 4% rule may no longer be enough.

Frequently asked questions

What are the capital gains tax brackets for 2026?

For long-term gains, the 0% rate applies up to $49,450 of taxable income (single), $98,900 (married filing jointly), $66,200 (head of household), or $49,450 (married filing separately). The 15% rate applies above those amounts up to $545,500, $613,700, $579,600, and $306,850 respectively. Above that, 20% applies. These figures come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.

What is the 2026 long-term capital gains rate for married filing jointly?

Married couples filing jointly pay 0% on long-term gains that fall within taxable income up to $98,900, 15% on the slice from $98,900 to $613,700, and 20% above $613,700. The 3.8% NIIT can apply on top once modified AGI exceeds $250,000.

What are the 2026 capital gains brackets for head of household?

Heads of household pay 0% on long-term gains within taxable income up to $66,200, 15% from $66,200 up to $579,600, and 20% above $579,600. The NIIT threshold for heads of household is $200,000 of modified AGI.

How are short-term capital gains taxed in 2026?

Short-term gains on assets held one year or less are taxed as ordinary income at the 2026 rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. For single filers, for example, the 22% bracket covers taxable income from $50,401 to $105,700.

What is the net investment income tax threshold for 2026?

The NIIT thresholds are $200,000 of modified AGI for single filers and heads of household, $250,000 for married filing jointly, and $125,000 for married filing separately. They are set by law and not adjusted for inflation. The tax is 3.8% of the smaller of your net investment income or your MAGI above the threshold.

Can I really pay 0% tax on capital gains?

Yes, if your total taxable income, including the gain, stays at or under the 0% ceiling ($49,450 single, $98,900 joint, $66,200 HoH in 2026). Because deductions come off first, a married couple can have AGI well above $98,900 and still qualify. Some investors use low-income years to “harvest” gains at 0% and reset their cost basis.

Is there capital gains tax in Florida?

Florida does not impose a personal income tax, so there is no Florida state tax on individual capital gains. You still owe federal capital gains tax (0%, 15%, or 20% for long-term gains, plus NIIT if it applies) based on the 2026 brackets.

Have the 2027 capital gains brackets been released?

Not as of October 20, 2026. The IRS usually publishes next-year inflation adjustments in October. Thomson Reuters projects 2027 0% ceilings of about $51,050 (single) and $102,100 (joint), but those are estimates until the IRS releases its revenue procedure.

Bottom line

For 2026, plan around three numbers for your filing status: the 0% ceiling ($49,450 single, $98,900 joint, $66,200 HoH), the 15% ceiling ($545,500, $613,700, $579,600), and the NIIT threshold ($200,000 or $250,000 MAGI). Remember that gains stack on top of ordinary income, that short-term gains are taxed like wages, and that your state may add its own tax. Then estimate your full-year taxable income before you sell.

This article is general education for U.S. readers and is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Figures are federal unless noted, are verified against IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRS Topics 409, 559 and 701, IRS Publication 550, and state revenue departments as of October 20, 2026, and can change. 2027 figures are Thomson Reuters projections, not IRS numbers. Confirm your situation with IRS guidance or a qualified tax professional.

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