2025 Capital Gains Tax Rate
For 2025, the Capital Gains Tax Rate figures are $96,700 (Top of the 0% bracket, joint filers), $600,050 (Top of the 15% bracket, joint filers), $48,350 (Top of the 0% bracket, married filing separately) and 9 more figures below.
| Item | Rate | Joint filers | Married filing separately | Heads of household | Single filers | Estates and trusts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top of the 0% bracket | - | $96,700 | $48,350 | $64,750 | $48,350 | $3,250 |
| Top of the 15% bracket | 15% | $600,050 | $300,000 | $566,700 | $533,400 | $15,900 |
| Rate above the 15% bracket | 20% | - | - | - | - | - |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2025-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Rate above the 15% bracketSource: Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2024
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top of the 0% bracket, joint filers | $94,050 | $96,700 | +$2,650 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 15% bracket, joint filers | $583,750 | $600,050 | +$16,300 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 0% bracket, married filing separately | $47,025 | $48,350 | +$1,325 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 15% bracket, married filing separately | $291,850 | $300,000 | +$8,150 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 0% bracket, heads of household | $63,000 | $64,750 | +$1,750 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 15% bracket, heads of household | $551,350 | $566,700 | +$15,350 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 0% bracket, single filers | $47,025 | $48,350 | +$1,325 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 15% bracket, single filers | $518,900 | $533,400 | +$14,500 (+2.8%) |
| Top of the 0% bracket, estates and trusts | $3,150 | $3,250 | +$100 (+3.2%) |
| Top of the 15% bracket, estates and trusts | $15,450 | $15,900 | +$450 (+2.9%) |
| Rate above the 0% bracket | 15% | 15% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Rate above the 15% bracket | 20% | 20% | +0% (+0.0%) |
Top of the 0% bracket
Top of the 15% bracket
$3,250$600,050
One dot per column of the table, on a scale running from the smallest of these amounts to the largest. The scale is logarithmic - each faint line is ten times the one before it, so that the amounts crowded at the low end stay far enough apart to read. The table states which dot is which.
Who it applies to
All individual taxpayers, estates, and trusts with long-term capital gains filing a 2025 federal income tax return.
What changed this year, and why
Inflation-adjusted income thresholds for the long-term capital gains tax rate brackets for taxable years beginning in 2025, as published under section 1(h) of the Internal Revenue Code in Revenue Procedure 2024-40.
Common questions
- Are these rates for long-term or short-term capital gains?
- Long-term capital gains are taxed at three rates depending on your taxable income and filing status: no tax on gains within the lowest bracket, 15% on gains in the middle bracket, and 20% on gains above that bracket. Short-term capital gains are taxed at ordinary income tax rates.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Room left in the 0% capital gains bracket takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
What the lower rates actually apply to
The reduced capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, and 20% apply specifically to your net capital gain. Net capital gain is defined as the amount by which your net long-term capital gain for the year exceeds your net short-term capital loss. The IRS also maintains separate rates of 25% and 28% for certain types of gains such as collectibles and qualified small business stock. The tax treatment depends on your filing status and taxable income. For 2025, the 0% rate applies to joint filers with income up to $96,700, to heads of household with income up to $64,750, to single filers with income up to $48,350, and to married filing separately with income up to $48,350. The 15% rate applies to joint filers with income between $96,700 and $600,050, to heads of household with income between $64,750 and $566,700, to single filers with income between $48,350 and $533,400, and to married filing separately with income between $48,350 and $300,000. Income above these thresholds is taxed at 20%.
The term “net capital gain” means the amount by which your net long-term capital gain for the year is more than your net short-term capital loss. For 2025, the maximum capital gain rates are 0%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 28%.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
How long you must hold to get the long-term rate
For 2025, the IRS classifies capital gains and losses based on how long you held the investment property before selling or trading it. You begin counting the day after you acquired the property, and the day you disposed of it counts toward the total. If you held the property for more than one year, any resulting gain or loss is treated as long-term. Long-term capital gains qualify for the preferential federal capital gains tax rates of 15% or 20%, depending on your taxable income and filing status, and some taxpayers may pay no tax at all on long-term gains. For example, in 2025, joint filers with taxable income at or below $600,050 pay no more than 15% on long-term gains, while amounts above that threshold are taxed at 20%. If you held the property one year or less, the gain or loss is short-term, and short-term gains are taxed at ordinary income tax rates, which are typically higher than the long-term capital gains rates. Meeting the more-than-one-year holding period is therefore important for qualifying for the lower brackets on the 2025 federal capital gains tax schedule.
If you hold investment prop- erty more than 1 year, any capital gain or loss is a long-term capital gain or loss. If you hold the property 1 year or less, any capital gain or loss is a short-term capital gain or loss.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
How much of a loss you can deduct in one year
When your capital losses exceed your capital gains for the year, you can claim a capital loss deduction. Your allowable capital loss deduction is the lesser of $3,000 ($1,500 if you are married and file a separate return) or your total net loss as shown on line 16 of Schedule D (Form 1040). You can use your total net loss to reduce your income dollar for dollar, up to the $3,000 limit. If your total net loss exceeds the yearly limit, you can carry over the unused part to the next year and treat it as if you had incurred it in that next year. If part of the loss is still unused, you can continue carrying it over to later years until it is completely used up. When you carry over a loss, it remains classified as long-term or short-term. A long-term capital loss you carry over reduces the next year's long-term capital gains before it reduces short-term capital gains.
Limit on deduction. Your allowable capital loss deduc- tion, figured on Schedule D (Form 1040), is the lesser of: • $3,000 ($1,500 if you are married and file a separate return), or • Your total net loss as shown on line 16 of Schedule D (Form 1040). You can use your total net loss to reduce your income dol- lar for dollar, up to the $3,000 limit.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
The loss you cannot deduct if you buy back in
You cannot deduct losses from sales or trades of stock or securities in a wash sale unless the loss was incurred in the ordinary course of your business as a dealer in stock or securities. A wash sale occurs when you sell or trade stock or securities at a loss and within 30 days before or after the sale you buy substantially identical stock or securities, acquire substantially identical stock or securities in a fully taxable trade, acquire a contract or option to buy substantially identical stock or securities, or acquire substantially identical stock for your individual retirement arrangement. If your loss was disallowed because of the wash sale rules, you add the disallowed loss to the cost of the new stock or securities, and the result becomes your basis in the new stock or securities. This adjustment postpones the loss deduction until you dispose of the new stock or securities. Your holding period for the new stock or securities includes the holding period of the stock or securities sold.
A wash sale occurs when you sell or trade stock or se- curities at a loss and within 30 days before or after the sale you: 1. Buy substantially identical stock or securities, 2. Acquire substantially identical stock or securities in a fully taxable trade, 3. Acquire a contract or option to buy substantially iden- tical stock or securities, or 4. Acquire substantially identical stock for your individual retirement arrangement (IRA) or Roth IRA.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
The extra tax on top of the capital gain rate
In addition to the capital gains tax rates, there is a Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) that applies to certain investment income. The NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of your net investment income or the amount of your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) that is over a threshold amount based on your filing status. For married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, the threshold is $250,000. For married filing separately, the threshold is $125,000. For single or head of household, the threshold is $200,000. The NIIT applies to income such as interest, dividends, capital gains, rental and royalty income, and non-qualified annuities. It does not apply to income exempt from tax such as municipal bond interest or distributions from qualified retirement plans. You report the NIIT on Form 8960, Net Investment Income Tax - Individuals, Estates, and Trusts. The NIIT is separate from and in addition to the regular capital gains tax rates.
Net investment income tax (NIIT). The NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of your net investment income or the amount of your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) that is over a threshold amount based on your filing status. Filing Status Threshold Amount Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse $250,000 Married Filing Separately $125,000 Single or Head of Household $200,000
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
Certain hedges force you to recognize the gain before you actually sell
Certain hedging transactions - such as entering into a short sale against the box, acquiring an offsetting put or call option, or entering into a futures contract that locks in the value of an asset you already own - are treated by the IRS as a "constructive sale" of the appreciated financial position. When a constructive sale occurs, the taxpayer must recognize gain as though the underlying stock, partnership interest, or debt instrument had actually been sold at its fair market value on the date of the constructive sale. This rule accelerates the recognition of gain that would otherwise be deferred until the taxpayer actually closes the position. Importantly, the constructive sale also resets the holding period for the position, so a new holding period begins on the date of the constructive sale. When the taxpayer later closes out the original transaction, the gain or loss is adjusted by the amount already recognized on the constructive sale, preventing double taxation. The constructive sale rules apply to appreciated financial positions in stock, partnership interests, and certain debt instruments. Related-party transactions undertaken with a view toward avoiding the constructive sale treatment are also caught by these rules.
You are treated as having made a constructive sale when you enter into certain transactions involving an appreci- ated financial position (defined later) in stock, a partner- ship interest, or certain debt instruments. You must recog- nize a gain as if the position were disposed of at its fair market value (FMV) on the date of the constructive sale. This gives you a new holding period for the position that begins on the date of the constructive sale.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
There is no flat-rate line - a worksheet blends the rates against your income
Taxpayers who have qualified dividends or net capital gain do not apply a single flat rate to their total gain. Instead, the IRS requires the use of the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet to blend the applicable rates across the taxpayer's taxable income. The worksheets apply the rates in layers: first the lowest rate to gain that falls within that rate's bracket, then the next rate to gain that falls in the next bracket, and so on up through the brackets. For 2025 the top of the lowest bracket is $96,700 for joint filers, $48,350 for single filers and married filing separately, and $64,750 for heads of household; the next bracket ends at $600,050 for joint filers, $300,000 for married filing separately, $533,400 for single filers, and $566,700 for heads of household; and gain above those thresholds is taxed at the highest rate. Because the worksheets layer the rates against the taxpayer's actual income, the effective tax rate on capital gains depends on the taxpayer's filing status and total taxable income.
Tax computation using maximum capital gain rates. Use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Work- sheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet (whichever ap- plies) to figure your tax if you have qualified dividends or net capital gain.
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (IRS)
- Top of the 0% bracket, joint filers
Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns and Surviving Spouse $96,700
- Top of the 15% bracket, joint filers
Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns and Surviving Spouse $96,700 $600,050
- Top of the 0% bracket, married filing separately
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $48,350
- Top of the 15% bracket, married filing separately
Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns $48,350 $300,000
- Top of the 0% bracket, heads of household
Heads of Household $64,750
- Top of the 15% bracket, heads of household
Heads of Household $64,750 $566,700
- Top of the 0% bracket, single filers
All Other Individuals $48,350
- Top of the 15% bracket, single filers
All Other Individuals $48,350 $533,400
- Top of the 0% bracket, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $3,250
- Top of the 15% bracket, estates and trusts
Estates and Trusts $3,250 $15,900
- Rate above the 0% bracket
For taxable years beginning in 2025, the maximum zero rate amounts and maximum 15 percent rate amounts under § 1(j)(5)(B), as adjusted for inflation, are as follows:
Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (IRS)
- Rate above the 15% bracket
other gain 1 and the regular tax rate that would apply is 37% your taxable income is... $600,051 or more if married filing jointly or surviving spouse; $566,701 or more if head of household; $300,001 or more if married filing separately; $533,401 or more if single; or $15,901 or more if estate or trust… 20%