What Are the Capital Gains Tax Rates?

The direct answer

There is no single federal capital-gains tax rate.

For 2026, most net long-term capital gain falls within the regular 0%, 15%, or 20% rate structure. Short-term net capital gain generally enters the ordinary income-tax rate structure instead.

But knowing that you have a long-term gain still does not tell you whether it will be taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%. The calculation depends on your broader taxable income, qualified dividends, capital gains and losses, filing status, and whether any of the gain falls into a special-rate category.

2026 long-term capital-gain thresholds

For regular long-term capital gain, the 2026 thresholds are:

Most remaining regular net capital gain above the applicable 15% ceiling moves into the 20% rate.

These thresholds come from the 2026 inflation adjustments.

Your capital gain does not get its own isolated tax bracket

This is where the common shorthand—“capital gains are taxed at 15%”—breaks down.

The preferential rate calculation uses taxable-income stacking. Ordinary taxable income generally occupies the lower taxable-income space first. Regular long-term capital gain and qualified dividends then use the remaining capacity within the applicable preferential bands.

That means one capital gain can span more than one rate.

Example

Assume a single taxpayer has:

• $40,000 of taxable income other than net capital gain and qualified dividends;
• no qualified dividends; and
• $15,000 of regular long-term capital gain.

For 2026, the top of the single taxpayer's 0% capital-gain band is $49,450.

The first approximately $9,450 of the long-term gain fills the remaining space in that 0% band.

The remaining $5,550 moves into the 15% band.

The $15,000 gain therefore is not simply “a 0% gain” or “a 15% gain.” Different portions can receive different rates. This simplified example ignores NIIT, special-rate gains, deductions, and other return interactions.

A 0% rate does not mean the gain disappears

A gain taxed at 0% is still part of the tax calculation.

The 0% rate does not mean the gain was excluded from income. That distinction can matter when other parts of the return depend on income.

It also does not mean the transaction has no state tax consequences.

A gain can receive a 0% federal capital-gain rate while producing a different state result.

Short-term gains follow a different path

The regular 0%/15%/20% structure generally applies to qualifying long-term net capital gain.

Short-term capital gain generally enters the ordinary-rate structure after capital gains and losses have been netted.

That makes the holding period important before any rate calculation begins.

If you are not sure whether the investment was held long enough to qualify as long-term, start with Short-Term vs. Long-Term Capital Gains.

Not every long-term gain belongs in the regular 0%/15%/20% structure

“Long-term” is a character classification. It does not guarantee that every dollar of gain receives the regular preferential rates.

Separate maximum-rate categories can apply to certain gains, including 28% rate gain and unrecaptured §1250 gain, which is subject to a separate maximum-rate regime capped at 25%.

The tax calculation therefore needs to know not only whether the gain is long-term, but what kind of long-term gain it is.

Capital losses can change the amount that reaches the rate calculation

The rate is applied after the capital-gain and loss netting process.

A $50,000 profitable sale cannot necessarily be analyzed as though $50,000 will enter the long-term capital-gain brackets. Other realized gains, realized losses, and capital-loss carryovers can change the net amount.

See Capital Losses and Carryovers for the netting mechanics.

NIIT is a separate calculation

The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax is not another capital-gain bracket.

It is a separate federal tax calculation under IRC §1411. A taxpayer can therefore need to analyze both the §1(h) capital-gain rate and potential NIIT exposure.

Do not add 3.8% to every capital-gain rate automatically.

See Net Investment Income Tax when income levels make NIIT relevant.

Timing can become a planning decision

When realization is discretionary, the amount of available 0% or 15% capacity can become part of the decision.

But the decision cannot be made from the capital-gain brackets alone. A useful projection may need to incorporate:

• filing status;
• ordinary taxable income;
• qualified dividends;
• other capital gains and losses;
• capital-loss carryovers;
• special-rate gains;
• NIIT exposure; and
• state tax.

A broker can tell you what happened inside the investment account. It generally cannot determine your final federal capital-gain rate because it does not have the rest of your tax return.

For intentional realization of gains, continue to Tax-Gain Harvesting.

For a large realized gain that may create a current-year payment issue, see Large Gain and Estimated Tax.