Long-term capital gains rate thresholds
Long-term gains (from assets held more than one year) and qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on where they fall in taxable income. This table shows the lines between those rates for each filing status in tax years 2025 and 2026, as the IRS revenue procedure for each year lists them, with the net investment income tax threshold beside them. The calculator stacks a long-term gain on top of the other taxable income and shows how much of it falls in each band.
The rows were read from the cited IRS revenue procedures and Internal Revenue Code sections on October 19, 2026. Tax rules and amounts change. The calculator runs in your browser: nothing you type is uploaded, and the draft of your inputs is kept on this device only.
Not yet covered
A tax year or filing status that has not been read from an official source yet is listed here. Missing means not checked yet, not "no threshold".
Long-term gain split into the 0%, 15%, and 20% bands
Arithmetic on the row's thresholds: the gain is stacked on top of the other taxable income and split where it crosses the 0% and 15% lines. No deductions, no state tax, no gain taxed at other rates, and the net investment income tax only when both of its inputs are entered. Not a return.
Thresholds and arithmetic only; this page does not say what to report or file. Mathproven is not affiliated with the IRS or any agency whose documents are cited here.
What gets checked
- Every row names the IRS revenue procedure and the Code section it was read from, links the official page, and carries the date it was checked. Every tax year and filing status in the table has a row.
- The figures hang together the way the Code sets them: each 0% line is below its 15% line, the single and married-filing-separately 0% lines are half the joint line, and the net investment income tax thresholds are the same in both years, with separate returns at half the joint amount.
- The three parts of the gain are worked out twice: once from where the gain's stretch of taxable income overlaps each band, and once in the order the Code's capital gains rate steps use. Both must agree to the cent, and the parts must add up to the gain.
- Each part sits inside its band, and the parts run end to end from the other taxable income to taxable income with the gain.
- Each band's tax is its rate times its part of the gain, rounded half up to the cent and proved by cross-multiplication. The total is the three bands added together.
- When modified adjusted gross income and net investment income are entered, the net investment income tax is 3.8% of the lesser of net investment income and the income over the row's threshold, worked out a second way. When they are not entered and taxable income with the gain is over that threshold, a warning says that tax is left out.
How it works
- Find the row. Filter by tax year, filing status, or code (such as 2026-MFJ or 2025-HOH), or sort by any column. Each row shows the top of the 0% band, the top of the 15% band, and the net investment income tax threshold, with links to the revenue procedure and the Code section they were read from.
- Enter the two amounts. Pick a tax year and filing status, then enter taxable income other than the long-term gain, and the long-term gain itself. Amounts are read in whole cents.
- See the split. The gain is stacked on top of the other income. The part at or below the 0% line is at 0%, the part above it and at or below the 15% line is at 15%, and the rest is at 20%. Each band's tax is shown, and the three are added up.
- Add the net investment income tax. Optional: enter modified adjusted gross income and net investment income to see 3.8% of the lesser of net investment income and the income over the row's threshold. Leave both blank to skip it.
- Read the certificate. The checks under the table and under the calculator say whether every figure was proved. A result that fails one is marked not verified.
Worked example
A made-up single filer for tax year 2026 with $20,000.00 of taxable income other than the gain and a $600,000.00 long-term gain on crypto held more than one year, so taxable income with the gain is $620,000.00. The row for 2026, single puts the 0% line at $49,450.00 and the 15% line at $545,500.00.
| Rate | Taxable income in the band | Part of the gain | Tax at that rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | Up to $49,450.00 | $29,450.00 | $0.00 |
| 15% | Over $49,450.00 up to $545,500.00 | $496,050.00 | $74,407.50 |
| 20% | Over $545,500.00 | $74,500.00 | $14,900.00 |
| Total | $600,000.00 | $89,307.50 |
The three parts add up to the $600,000.00 gain, and the second calculation gives the same three parts. Tax at those rates: $0.00 + $74,407.50 + $14,900.00 = $89,307.50. With modified adjusted gross income of $640,000.00 and net investment income of $600,000.00 entered, the income over the $200,000.00 threshold is $440,000.00, the lesser of that and $600,000.00 is $440,000.00, and 3.8% of it is $16,720.00.
The example uses made-up names and numbers.
Questions
What counts as long-term?
Section 1222(3) of the Internal Revenue Code calls a gain long-term when the capital asset sold or exchanged was held for more than one year. The holding period split on this site sorts a lot-by-lot worksheet into rows held one year or less and rows held more than one year.
Is the whole gain taxed at one rate?
Not always. The rates apply by bands of taxable income, and the gain counts after the other taxable income. A gain that starts below the 0% line and ends above it is split: the part up to the line at 0%, the part above it at 15%, and any part above the 15% line at 20%.
What does the calculator leave out?
Deductions (it starts from taxable income, which is figured after them), state tax, short-term gains, gain the Code taxes at other rates such as collectibles gain or unrecaptured section 1250 gain, and the net investment income tax unless its two inputs are entered. It is arithmetic on the thresholds, not a return, and it does not say what to report.
Why is the net investment income tax threshold the same in both years?
Section 1411(b) sets it as fixed dollar amounts: $250,000 for a joint return or a surviving spouse, half that for a married person filing a separate return, and $200,000 in other cases. The revenue procedures do not adjust it for inflation. Its rate is 3.8% under section 1411(a)(1).
Why do single and married filing separately share a 0% line but not a 15% line?
The Code sets the 0% line for both at half the joint amount, and the 2025 and 2026 revenue procedures list the same figure for both. The 15% lines are listed separately: for 2025, $300,000 for separate returns and $533,400 for single filers.
What are codes like 2026-MFJ?
Each row's tax year and filing status: S for single, MFJ for married filing jointly or surviving spouse, MFS for married filing separately, and HOH for head of household. The filter box reads them.
How current is the table?
Each row shows the day its source was read. The IRS publishes each year's amounts in a revenue procedure; a new tax year is added only after its revenue procedure has been read.
This tool calculates and checks numbers. It is not legal, tax, or medical advice.
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