● Money & small business
2026 capital gains tax: how much on a $20,000 gain by income (single & married)
Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% — but the rate depends on your total taxable income, gain included, not the gain by itself. The gain stacks on top of your other income, so the same $20,000 gain can be tax-free for one household and taxed at 15% or 20% for another. Below are the 2026 breakpoints and the tax on a $20,000 gain at ordinary incomes from $30,000 to $700,000.
2026 long-term capital gains brackets
| Rate | Single (taxable income) | Married filing jointly (taxable income) |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | up to $49,450 | up to $98,900 |
| 15% | $49,451 – $545,500 | $98,901 – $613,700 |
| 20% | over $545,500 | over $613,700 |
"Taxable income" is income after your standard or itemized deduction — the same base as ordinary income tax, and it includes the gain itself. With only the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint) and no other income, a single filer can have gain plus other income up to $65,550 before any of it is taxed above 0%; for a joint filer, $131,100.
Single filer: tax on a $20,000 long-term gain
| Ordinary income | Tax on ordinary income | Tax on the $20,000 gain | Rate(s) on the gain | Total federal tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $1,420.00 | $0.00 | 0% | $1,420.00 |
| $50,000 | $3,820.00 | $667.50 | 0% then 15% | $4,487.50 |
| $75,000 | $7,670.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $10,670.00 |
| $100,000 | $13,170.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $16,170.00 |
| $150,000 | $24,734.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $27,734.00 |
| $200,000 | $36,734.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $39,734.00 |
| $500,000 | $138,134.25 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $141,134.25 |
| $700,000 | $209,000.25 | $4,000.00 | 20% | $213,000.25 |
Married filing jointly: tax on a $20,000 long-term gain
| Ordinary income | Tax on ordinary income | Tax on the $20,000 gain | Rate(s) on the gain | Total federal tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% | $0.00 |
| $50,000 | $1,780.00 | $0.00 | 0% | $1,780.00 |
| $75,000 | $4,640.00 | $0.00 | 0% | $4,640.00 |
| $100,000 | $7,640.00 | $0.00 | 0% | $7,640.00 |
| $150,000 | $15,340.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $18,340.00 |
| $200,000 | $26,340.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $29,340.00 |
| $500,000 | $102,608.00 | $3,000.00 | 15% | $105,608.00 |
| $700,000 | $171,268.50 | $4,000.00 | 20% | $175,268.50 |
A joint filer with $30,000 of other income and a $20,000 gain — $50,000 total — owes $0 in federal tax: both fall inside the standard deduction and the 0% bracket. The same numbers for a single filer come to $1,420, because a single filer's standard deduction is $16,100 lower.
How the stacking works
Take the single filer at $50,000: taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction is $33,900, taxed at ordinary rates for $3,820. The $20,000 gain then stacks from $33,900 to $53,900. The 0% bracket has room from $33,900 up to $49,450 — $15,550 of the gain — taxed at 0%. The remaining $4,450 (from $49,450 to $53,900) falls above the 0% breakpoint and is taxed at 15%: $667.50. Total tax on the gain: $667.50, an effective 3.3% rate on the $20,000 — well under the 15% headline rate, because part of it was free.
What's not included
- The net investment income tax (NIIT). A 3.8% surtax applies to investment income once modified AGI passes $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly — on top of the rates above, not instead of them.
- Short-term gains (held one year or less) aren't capital gains for this purpose: they're taxed as ordinary income, at the rates in our 2026 tax brackets guide.
- Qualified dividends follow this same 0%/15%/20% schedule, and stack the same way.
- State income tax is separate; most states tax capital gains as ordinary income.
Every figure above uses the same 2026 ordinary-income brackets and standard deductions as our income tax calculator (that tool computes ordinary income only, not capital gains) and the 2026 long-term capital gains breakpoints from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Not financial advice; a tax professional can account for your itemized deductions, the NIIT and state tax.