Capital gains tax calculator

How is capital gains tax worked out?

Three steps are common to every country here. First the gain: the sale proceeds minus what you paid and the costs of buying and selling. Second, any capital losses come off. Third, each country decides how much of what is left is taxed, and at what rate. That third step is where the rules part company, which is why this page asks for a country before anything else.

Because most countries tax gains at rates that depend on your other income, the calculator works out the tax on the gain as the difference between your tax with the gain and your tax without it. That way the gain is placed on top of your other income, as the rules require, and no band is counted twice. The table under the result shows each slice of the gain and the rate it meets.

United States: long-term and short-term rates for 2026

Gains on assets held for more than one year are long-term and are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on where they fall once added on top of your other taxable income. Gains on assets held for one year or less are short-term and are taxed as ordinary income. The 2026 thresholds set by the Internal Revenue Service in Rev. Proc. 2025-32 are:

The calculator subtracts the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status unless you enter your own deductions. Example: a single filer with $80,000 of adjusted gross income has $63,900 of taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction. A $20,000 long-term gain sits entirely in the 15% band, so the tax is $3,000. Had the shares been held for under a year, the same gain would be taxed at ordinary rates, costing $4,400.

Above $200,000 of income for a single filer, or $250,000 for a married couple filing jointly, the 3.8% net investment income tax applies as well. A single filer with $300,000 of income and a $100,000 long-term gain pays $15,000 at 15% plus $3,800 of that tax, $18,800 in all.

United Kingdom: rates and the annual exempt amount for 2026/27

For shares and other assets that are not residential property, HM Revenue and Customs sets rates of 18% for gains that fall within the basic-rate band and 24% above it, with an annual exempt amount of £3,000 for 2026/27. Losses come off before the exempt amount.

The basic-rate band is £37,700 of taxable income. Gains use whatever part of it your other income has not filled. With £40,000 of salary, the personal allowance of £12,570 leaves £27,430 of taxable income, so £10,270 of the band is unused. A £20,000 gain minus the £3,000 exempt amount leaves £17,000 taxable: £10,270 at 18% and £6,730 at 24%, a total of £3,463.80.

The personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, which pushes more income into the band and more of the gain to 24%: at £120,000 of income the same gain costs £4,080. Scottish taxpayers use these UK bands for capital gains, not the Scottish income tax bands.

Canada: the inclusion rate and your marginal rate

In Canada only part of a capital gain is taxed: the inclusion rate is one half, after the government cancelled a planned increase to two-thirds on 21 March 2025. The taxable half is added to your income and taxed at your federal and provincial rates. For 2026 the lowest federal rate is 14%, and federal brackets run up to 33% on income over $258,482.

Example in British Columbia: with $80,000 of other income, a $20,000 gain adds $10,000 of taxable income. Federal tax on it is $2,050 at 20.5% and British Columbia tax $770 at 7.7%, so $2,820 in all. The calculator also applies the federal basic personal amount of $16,452, which tapers to $14,829 between net incomes of $181,440 and $258,482, so it handles both very low and very high incomes. British Columbia and Alberta are available now; other provinces will be added once their surtaxes and credits are confirmed at source.

Australia: the 50% discount and the 2026-27 rates

An Australian resident individual who has held an asset for at least 12 months can reduce the net capital gain by 50%. The remainder is added to taxable income and taxed at resident rates, plus the 2% Medicare levy. From 1 July 2026 the rate on income between $18,201 and $45,000 falls from 16% to 15%, under legislation passed in March 2025.

With $90,000 of other income and a $20,000 gain on shares held for more than a year, $10,000 is taxed at 30%, or $3,000, plus a $200 Medicare levy: $3,200. Sold inside 12 months, the full $20,000 is taxable and the bill doubles to $6,400. When the taxable gain crosses a bracket, the calculator splits it: at $130,000 of other income, the first $5,000 is taxed at 30% and the next $5,000 at 37%.

Singapore and the UAE: why the calculator shows no tax

Choosing Singapore or the United Arab Emirates returns a tax of zero, with the reason. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore says gains from selling shares and financial instruments are generally not taxable, though gains from what amounts to trading can be taxed as income. In the UAE, corporate tax reaches individuals only when they run a business or business activity, and Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 excludes personal investment on your own account.

A zero here describes those countries' rules for someone resident there. A resident of one country who invests through another, or who moves during the year, may face tax elsewhere; the calculator does not work out residence.

The same gain under four tax systems

Each row uses a gain of 20,000 in the local currency on shares held for more than a year, from the examples above:

The amounts are in different currencies and are not converted, so read across the columns for the method, not for which country costs more.

What this calculator leaves out

It covers individuals selling shares, funds and similar investments. It does not cover residential property, business disposals or relief schemes, employee share plans, inheritance, or gains inside tax-free accounts. It does not apply US state and local taxes, the alternative minimum tax or the yearly use of losses against other income, Canadian provincial credits, or the Australian low-income Medicare reduction. Where you bought the same shares several times, the cost to enter follows each country's own matching or averaging rules; use the figure your records or your broker's statement give.

Treat the result as an estimate to check against your own return or with a qualified adviser. Each country's figures name their official source and a next-review date at the foot of the page.

Common mistakes when estimating capital gains tax

• Using the sale price as the gain. The gain is the price minus what you paid and the costs.
• Ignoring the holding period. In the US and Australia, one day either side of the year can change the tax a great deal.
• Treating the rate as flat. In the UK and the US, part of a gain can be taxed at one rate and the rest at another.
• Forgetting losses. Losses on other sales in the same year usually reduce the taxable gain.
• Mixing up tax years. The UK year runs from 6 April and Australia's from 1 July; the date of sale decides which rules apply.

Glossary

Cost basis: what you paid for an asset, plus allowable buying costs. Proceeds: what you received when you sold it. Annual exempt amount: the UK allowance of gains taxed at nothing each year. Inclusion rate: the share of a Canadian capital gain that is taxable. CGT discount: the Australian reduction of a gain on assets held at least 12 months. Net investment income tax: an extra US tax of 3.8% on investment income above set income levels.

Frequently asked questions

Courses behind investment tax

Sources and review