Ordinary income uses the lower space first
The federal capital-gain bands are based on taxable income, not on the gain alone. Eligible qualified dividends and net long-term capital gain sit on top of ordinary taxable income in the calculation. That is why two people with the same $20,000 long-term gain can have different amounts taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%.
Suppose a single filer has $60,000 of total taxable income, including $20,000 of eligible qualified dividends and long-term gain. The ordinary portion is $40,000. It fills the first $40,000 of the taxable-income stack, leaving $9,450 of the 2026 0% band for eligible income. The remaining $10,550 falls into the 15% band.
2026 long-term capital gains tax thresholds
Single and head-of-household thresholds
For a single filer, eligible income can remain in the 0% band while the combined taxable-income stack is no more than $49,450. The 15% band then extends through $545,500, and the 20% band begins above $545,500.
For heads of household, the corresponding boundaries are $66,200 and $579,600.
Married-return thresholds
For married couples filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses, the corresponding boundaries are $98,900 and $613,700. For married individuals filing separately, they are $49,450 and $306,850.
These thresholds come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The calculator follows the stacking structure and ordinary-rate comparison in 2026 IRS Publication 505, Worksheet 2-7.
What belongs in the eligible amount
Enter qualified dividends and eligible net long-term capital gain that are already included in total taxable income. A long-term asset is generally held for more than one year, but holding period alone does not establish the amount to enter. Cost basis, adjustments, sales expenses, wash sales, capital-loss netting, carryovers, and transaction classification can change the net gain.
Do not enter sale proceeds. If an investment was sold for $100,000 with $70,000 of adjusted basis, the economic gain may begin at $30,000 before other adjustments—not $100,000. This calculator does not determine basis or prepare Schedule D. For a documented personal main-home sale, first use the 2026 Home Sale Capital Gain Calculator to separate amount realized, adjusted basis, the supported Section 121 exclusion, and potentially taxable gain; carry an amount here only after its long-term and preferential-rate eligibility is established. For incentive stock option shares, first preserve the lot’s separate regular and AMT bases: the 2026 ISO AMT Adjustment Calculator models the exercise-year basis effect, while the 2026 ISO Sale Tax and AMT Basis Calculator classifies one supported 2026 disposition and separates its regular and AMT sale results. For restricted stock units, the 2026 RSU Tax Withholding Calculator keeps vest-date wage value and withholding separate from the later capital result and basis reconciliation. The 2026 Stock Compensation Tax Guide explains the lot-level basis trail for RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPPs before a supported gain is entered here.
Short-term and special-rate gains need different treatment
Net short-term capital gain is taxed with ordinary income rather than in the 0%, 15%, and 20% bands. Collectibles gain and certain Section 1202 gain can be subject to a 28% maximum rate. Unrecaptured Section 1250 gain from depreciated real property can be subject to a 25% maximum rate. Those categories interact with the Schedule D Tax Worksheet and do not belong in the simplified eligible amount.
Stop and use the current return instructions when Form 8615, Schedule J income averaging, a foreign earned income or housing computation, an investment-interest deduction election, alternative minimum tax, or another special worksheet applies. The AMT tool also stops when gains or qualified dividends require its preferential-rate Part III; neither simplified calculator substitutes for tax software or return preparation.
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax is separate
The 0%, 15%, and 20% capital-gain bands do not include the Net Investment Income Tax. The separate 3.8% tax can apply to the lesser of net investment income or modified AGI above the statutory threshold: $200,000 for single and head-of-household filers, $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses, and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately.
Taxable income and modified AGI are different measures, and not every capital gain is necessarily net investment income. This calculator therefore does not infer NIIT from insufficient inputs. After establishing the supported Form 8960 amounts, use the 2026 Net Investment Income Tax Calculator for the separate 3.8% test, and verify the result with the IRS Net Investment Income Tax guidance.
The result includes an ordinary-rate ceiling check
The IRS worksheet compares the preferential-rate calculation with tax computed by applying the ordinary schedules to all taxable income, then uses the smaller amount. This matters because a maximum capital-gain rate is not always a minimum rate. The calculator performs that comparison before reporting the tax attributable to the eligible amount.
The full federal-income-tax estimate shown in the result is the modeled ordinary tax on the ordinary portion plus the eligible-income tax, before credits and additional taxes. The “tax attributable” amount is the difference between that modeled total and ordinary tax on the ordinary portion alone. It is not a promise that selling an asset changes the final return by exactly that amount.
Use the estimate for scenario planning, not tax filing
Compare the ordinary-income portion with the 2026 Federal Income Tax Bracket Calculator. For retirement-income planning, also watch how conversions, distributions, gains, and other income can affect Medicare premiums with the 2026 Medicare IRMAA Calculator. To measure an investment’s performance before tax, use the Investment Return Calculator.
This calculator provides educational 2026 federal rate-schedule arithmetic for a simplified eligible qualified-dividend and net-long-term-capital-gain scenario. It is not tax preparation, tax, legal, accounting, investment, or financial advice. It does not determine basis, holding period, taxable gain, loss netting, carryovers, exclusions, filing status, deductions, credits, NIIT, AMT, state tax, withholding, refund, balance due, or reporting obligations. Verify the result with current IRS forms, instructions, records, software, and qualified guidance before filing or acting. Official sources were accessed July 27, 2026.