Capital Gains Tax Rates 2026

Capital gains tax is basically the IRS wanting a cut of your investment wins. Buy low, sell high, pay taxes. It's the price of making money in the markets. But here's the thing — how much you pay depends entirely on how long you held onto that investment.

Short Term vs Long Term

Hold an investment for a year or less? That's a short term capital gain. Congratulations, you get to pay your regular income tax rate. So if you're in the 22% tax bracket, your quick flip just got 22% more expensive.

Hold it for more than a year? Now we're talking long term capital gains rates. These are much friendlier: 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your income level. That's why buy and hold isn't just good investing advice — it's good tax advice too.

The 2026 Tax Brackets

For long term capital gains, here's what you're looking at:

  • 0% rate: Single filers up to $47,025, married filing jointly up to $94,050
  • 15% rate: Single filers from $47,026 to $518,900, married filing jointly from $94,051 to $583,750
  • 20% rate: Above those thresholds

Plus, if you're making serious money (over $200k single, $250k married), you'll pay an extra 3.8% net investment income tax on top of everything else. Because why not?

Calculate Your Capital Gains Tax

Tax Loss Harvesting

Here's where it gets interesting. You can use losses to offset gains. Sell some losers to cancel out your winners. The IRS actually encourages this by letting you deduct up to $3,000 in net losses against your regular income each year.

Just watch out for the wash sale rule. You can't buy back the same stock within 30 days and still claim the loss. The IRS isn't stupid, even if their website design suggests otherwise.

State Taxes Too

Don't forget your state might want a piece of the action. Some states like Florida and Texas don't tax capital gains at all. Others like California will tax them just like regular income. Location matters more than you think when it comes to your investment returns.

Bottom line: time your sales strategically, hold investments for more than a year when possible, and keep good records. Your future self will thank you come tax season.