Crypto Capital Gains Tax Calculator

Federal tax on a net long-term crypto gain, stacked the way the IRS actually does it — the 0%, 15%, and 20% bands fill above your ordinary income, with the optional 3.8% NIIT — plus an honest short-term check, because gains on crypto held a year or less are just ordinary income. Same tested engine as our Capital Gains Tax Calculator; this page adds the crypto-specific rules around it.

Long-term crypto gain (held more than one year)

Example: $30,000 net gain on $40,000 ordinary income, single, 2026 → $9,450 of the gain at 0%, $20,550 at 15% — $3,083.

Short-term crypto gain (held one year or less)

There is no special short-term rate: the gain is ordinary income. This quick check prices it exactly — federal tax with the gain minus federal tax without it. Example: a $10,000 short-term gain on $70,000 taxable income, single, 2026 → $2,200 of additional tax, versus $1,500 had the same gain been long-term.

Income tax only — the 3.8% NIIT can also apply to short-term gains above the MAGI thresholds and is not included here. Married filing separately is not offered in this quick check because this site's ordinary bracket tables do not model MFS. For the full ordinary-income picture, use the Tax Bracket Calculator (it applies your standard deduction) or the Take-Home Pay Calculator (incl. FICA).

The long-term example, stacked

A $30,000 net long-term crypto gain on top of $40,000 of taxable ordinary income, single, 2026: the 0% band runs to $49,450 of taxable income, and ordinary income has already used $40,000 of it. So the first $9,450 of the gain rides free at 0%, and the remaining $20,550 is taxed at 15% — $3,083 in all, an effective 10.27% on the gain. One gain, two rates: whether you sold stock or sold bitcoin, the stacking works exactly the same way, which is why this page and the Capital Gains Tax Calculator share one tested engine. Every figure here is computed by that engine at build time.

Short-term vs long-term: the same gain, two prices

Holding period is the single most expensive detail in crypto taxes. Held more than one year, a gain uses the preferential 0/15/20 bands. Held one year or less, it is ordinary income at your bracket rates — no special treatment at all. The worked contrast above: a $10,000 gain on $70,000 of taxable income (single, 2026) costs $2,200 as a short-term gain but $1,500 as a long-term one — same coins, same sale price, $700 apart. The short-term quick check computes its answer exactly, as the difference between the engine's federal tax with and without the gain. One subtlety if you have both kinds: net short-term gains are part of the ordinary income that long-term gains stack on top of, so add them to the ordinary-income field of the long-term calculator.

Crypto is property — what that means

Since IRS Notice 2014-21, digital assets have been treated as property, not currency, for federal tax purposes — general property-transaction principles apply. The practical consequences, per the IRS's digital-asset guidance:

Taxable disposals: selling crypto for dollars; swapping one digital asset for another (IRS virtual-currency FAQ Q16); and spending crypto on goods or services in any amount. Each is a sale at fair market value, with gain or loss against your basis.
Not taxable: buying crypto with dollars and holding it, and transferring assets between wallets or accounts you own or control (FAQ Q38).
Out of this page's scope: mining, staking rewards, and airdrops are ordinary income when received — a different computation from the capital gain when you later sell.

This calculator starts after the cost-basis work

Both calculators take your already-computed net gain — proceeds minus cost basis, netted across your disposals. Which units you are deemed to have sold is its own discipline: the IRS lets you specifically identify units if your records support it (FAQ Q39), and defaults to first-in, first-out when you do not (FAQ Q41). Basis tracking across wallets, fees, and hundreds of lots is exactly what crypto tax software is for; this page deliberately does not attempt it. Bring the net number, and the calculator prices it correctly.

Broker reporting: Form 1099-DA

As of July 2026, custodial digital-asset brokers must report gross proceeds of sales on Form 1099-DA for transactions on or after January 1, 2025 — the first forms covering 2025 sales arrived in early 2026 — and must add cost basis for covered assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026 (Form 1099-DA instructions). The IRS granted transitional penalty relief for brokers making good-faith 2025 filings (Notices 2024-56 and 2025-33), and the current rules reach custodial platforms, not non-custodial wallets or purely decentralized protocols. Whatever your broker reports, gains are taxable whether or not a form arrives — keep your own records.

The wash-sale question, answered carefully

The wash-sale rule (26 U.S.C. § 1091) disallows a loss when you sell stock or securities and rebuy substantially identical ones within 30 days. Because the IRS treats digital assets as property rather than securities, spot crypto sold at a loss and promptly repurchased is generally not caught by § 1091 under current law — and as of July 2026 no enacted legislation extends the rule to digital assets, though proposals to do so have appeared in draft tax bills repeatedly since 2021. Two real cautions before harvesting losses: crypto exposure held through securities — such as spot-ETF shares — is squarely inside the wash-sale rule; and the Form 1099-DA instructions apply their wash-sale reporting only to digital assets that are also stock or securities (tokenized securities). Rules in this area are actively evolving — verify the current status when you act.

The 3.8% NIIT and crypto

Net investment income includes net gains from the disposition of investment property — crypto included (IRS Tax Topic 559). The 3.8% tax applies to the lesser of your net investment income or your MAGI excess over $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly), or $125,000 (married filing separately) — statutory thresholds that are not indexed for inflation. Worked example from the engine: a $50,000 long-term gain on $220,000 of ordinary income (single, 2026) lands entirely in the 15% band ($7,500), and with MAGI over the threshold the whole gain is also NIIT base — $1,900 more, $9,400 in total. Toggle NIIT on in the calculator and supply your MAGI for the lesser-of rule.

What this tool deliberately leaves out

Scope is federal tax on net crypto capital gains — the following are real, and excluded by design rather than modeled badly:

State and local taxes — most states tax gains as ordinary income.
Cost-basis computation — specific identification vs FIFO, lot tracking, transfer fees; bring the net gain those produce.
Loss netting and carryovers — capital losses offset gains (short against short, long against long, then across), and up to $3,000 of net loss offsets ordinary income annually; this page takes the net result.
Ordinary-income crypto events — mining, staking, airdrops, and getting paid in crypto are income when received; price that side with the Federal Income Tax Calculator.
NIIT on the short-term quick check — the 3.8% surtax can apply to short-term gains too; only the long-term calculator models it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I owe tax just for buying or holding crypto?

No. Buying digital assets with US dollars and simply holding them are not taxable events, and neither is moving crypto between wallets or accounts you own (IRS digital-asset guidance; virtual-currency FAQ Q38). Tax attaches when you dispose: selling for cash, swapping one crypto for another, or spending crypto on goods or services.

Is swapping one cryptocurrency for another taxable?

Yes. Exchanging crypto held as a capital asset for other property — including another cryptocurrency — is a disposal that triggers capital gain or loss (IRS virtual-currency FAQ Q16). A BTC-to-ETH swap is a taxable sale of the BTC at its fair market value, even though no dollars touched your account.

What rate applies to my crypto gain?

It depends on the holding period. Held more than one year, the net gain is long-term and uses the 0%/15%/20% bands, stacked on top of your taxable ordinary income — that is what the main calculator above computes. Held one year or less, the gain is short-term and is taxed as ordinary income at your regular bracket rates, which is what the quick check below the main calculator prices.

Does the wash-sale rule apply to crypto?

As of July 2026, the wash-sale rule in section 1091 applies by its terms to stock or securities, and the IRS treats digital assets as property — so spot crypto sold at a loss and repurchased is generally not caught by it under current law. Proposals to extend the rule to digital assets have appeared in draft legislation repeatedly without being enacted. Two cautions: crypto exposure held through securities (such as spot-ETF shares) IS subject to the wash-sale rule, and the Form 1099-DA instructions apply their wash-sale box only to digital assets that are also stock or securities. Verify the current status before relying on loss harvesting.

Will my exchange report my crypto sales to the IRS?

Custodial brokers must report gross proceeds of digital-asset sales on Form 1099-DA for transactions on or after January 1, 2025, with cost-basis reporting for covered assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026 (Form 1099-DA instructions; IRS penalty relief for good-faith 2025 filings under Notices 2024-56 and 2025-33). The current rules cover custodial platforms — not non-custodial wallets — so your own records remain essential either way.

Does the 3.8% NIIT hit crypto gains?

Yes — net investment income includes net gains from the disposition of property held for investment, which covers crypto (IRS Tax Topic 559). The 3.8% tax applies to the LESSER of your net investment income or the amount your modified AGI exceeds the threshold: $200,000 single or head of household, $250,000 married filing jointly, $125,000 married filing separately. The thresholds are statutory and not inflation-indexed.

Not tax advice: a federal planning estimate for net crypto capital gains, using the taxable ordinary income and net gains you supply, with none of the exclusions listed above modeled. Regulatory claims on this page reflect IRS guidance as of July 2026 — IRS Notice 2014-21, the IRS digital-asset pages and virtual-currency FAQ, the Form 1099-DA instructions, and Tax Topic 559 — and digital-asset rules continue to evolve; confirm against IRS.gov or a tax professional before acting. Values are processed locally in your browser and never transmitted. See the methodology page.