Strategies

Capital gains tax guides

Short educational articles that sit next to the calculator. For how we model federal, NIIT, and state tax, seemethodology.

• 2026-08-18Short-term vs long-term capital gains explainedLearn how the one-year holding period separates short-term and long-term US capital gains tax rates for 2025 and 2026.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18How to use the 0% long-term capital gains bracketHow the 0% federal long-term capital gains bracket works, how gain stacking fills it, and who may still owe state tax.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18State capital gains tax: zero, flat, and high-tax statesHow US states tax capital gains: zero-tax states, flat rates, graduated brackets, and special rules in Washington, North Dakota, and Montana.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18US capital gains tax rates for 20262026 federal long-term capital gains brackets, ordinary rates for short-term gains, and NIIT after IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18How to calculate capital gains tax (federal formula)Step-by-step federal capital gains formula: sale proceeds minus basis minus expenses, then short-term vs long-term rates, NIIT, and state tax.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) 3.8% on capital gainsWhen the 3.8% NIIT applies to capital gains, MAGI thresholds by filing status, Form 8960, and how it stacks on long-term rates.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Wash-sale rule for stocks and ETFsHow the 30-day wash-sale rule can disallow a capital loss on securities, what substantially identical means, and how crypto currently differs.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18How crypto capital gains tax works in the USIRS property treatment for Bitcoin and other crypto: taxable sales, swaps, spending, holding periods, and wash-sale differences vs stocks.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Section 121 home sale exclusion ($250,000 / $500,000)How the IRC Section 121 primary residence exclusion works: 2-of-5-year tests, $250,000 and $500,000 limits, and what happens to remaining gain.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18How tax-loss harvesting works to offset capital gainsHow tax-loss harvesting can offset capital gains in a taxable account, the 30-day wash-sale trap, and how losses carry forward.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Capital gains tax on RSUs, stock options, and ESPPs explainedHow RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPPs are taxed at vest, exercise, and sale — including cost basis and short-term vs long-term capital gains.Read guide →
• 2026-08-181031 exchange rules: how to defer capital gains on real estateHow a like-kind 1031 exchange can defer capital gains on investment real estate, key timing rules, and how it differs from the Section 121 home exclusion.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Do you pay capital gains tax in an IRA or 401(k)?Why trades inside a traditional IRA or 401(k) usually are not taxed as capital gains, and how taxable brokerage accounts differ.Read guide →
• 2026-08-18Capital gains tax rates on collectibles, gold, and precious metalsWhy long-term collectibles and many forms of gold can face a 28% federal ceiling instead of the usual 20% long-term capital gains cap.Read guide →