What is capital gains tax? Here’s when you owe, plus strategies to reduce your bill.

When you own something, it’s likely a capital asset. Capital assets are anything you own for personal use or as an investment. It could be a sofa, a car, your home, a stock, a bond, or almost anything else.

When you sell it, you either make money or lose money. The difference between what you paid for it and what you sold it for is either a capital gain or a capital loss. (That’s a bit of a simplification since you might have received something as a gift and then sold it.)

Depending on how much you made, how long you had it, and a few other factors, you might owe taxes on the capital gain. On the flip side, you might be able to deduct some of your losses.

There are two types of capital gains, short-term and long-term.

If you own an asset for one year or less, it is short-term. Anything longer than that is long-term.

The amount of taxes you may or may not owe depends on how long you have had the asset. It’s called the holding period.

To determine your holding period, count from the day after you acquired the asset up to and including the day you got rid of it. That assumes you know the date, but if the asset was a gift, an inheritance, or something else, you might not. (We’ll get into those rules in the section about adjusted basis.)

The tax rates differ for short- and long-term capital gains. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your income. Short-term gains are taxed as regular income at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% or 37%.

The takeaway for taxpayers: You’re likely to owe less in taxes when you hold an asset for the long term.

You owe taxes when you have a net capital gain. Figuring it involves some math.

Take your net long-term capital gains for the year and subtract your net short-term capital losses for the year. The result is your net capital gain.

So, if you have $15,000 in net long-term capital gains and $5,000 in net short-term capital losses, you would owe capital gains taxes on $10,000. The amount you’d actually pay depends on your overall income — more about that later.

Here’s the long-awaited section on an adjusted basis.

Basis is what you paid for something. You need that number to figure out a lot of things, including any gains or losses when you sell.

If you buy a stock or bond, the basis is the price, plus any commissions and recording or transfer fees. If you have a stock or bond you didn’t buy, you determine its price by looking at the fair market value of the stock or bond on the day it was transferred to you. You can also use the previous owner’s adjusted basis if you have it.

“A common mistake is either neglecting to factor in cost basis or misreporting it (possibly due to a lack of paperwork to substantiate the basis),” said Garrett Watson, director of Policy Analysis at the Tax Foundation. “[Doing that] could overstate tax liability or, in some cases, understate it if the basis is reported as too high. Getting these details right with thorough documentation is important.”

Whether or not you owe taxes on your net capital gain depends on your income level, so the tax rate differs depending on how much you make. The more you make in income, the higher the tax rate on your capital gains.

These rates are for taxes due by April 15, 2026 (for assets sold in 2025).

These rates are for taxes due by April 15, 2027 (for assets sold in 2026).

Keep in mind, you don’t usually owe capital gains taxes if your gain is just on paper. You only have to pay when the gain is realized (when you sell the asset). If you haven’t sold it, the gain is unrealized.

Read more: Here’s how to calculate capital gains on real estate

If your capital losses exceed your capital gains, you can use them to lower your income. You can claim the lesser of $3,000 or your total net loss.

If your net capital losses are more than that limit, you might be able to carry the loss over to later tax years and use it to offset some gains then.

If you have capital gains or losses to report on your taxes, you will need to fill out a few forms that will go with your Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.

The first is Form 8949, Sales and other Dispositions of Capital Assets. You use this form to gather all the numbers from any 1099-B or 1099-S statements you receive about stock or other market transactions so you can report that number on your Form 1040.

The Form 1099-B is a statement that reports sales from brokerage accounts. The brokerage or financial institution that did the transaction must send you the form, and they also send it to the IRS. Form 1099-S is for real estate transactions.

There are two sections: one for short-term gains and another for long-term gains. In both, you’ll need a description of what you sold, when you acquired it and sold it, the cost basis, and any adjustments. From that, you’ll subtract to get the amount of the gains and losses.

You’ll add up all of the gains and losses for a total of both kinds of gains.

Once you have the totals of both short-term and long-term gains, you’ll transfer those numbers to Schedule D on the Form 1040.

Again, there are separate sections to report short-term and long-term gains as well as any carryover losses.

At the bottom of the form, you’ll do some math and follow other instructions to get the numbers you’ll put on the Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.

The final step is to take the number you get from this form and put it on line 7 of Form 1040.

Note: Consider consulting with a tax professional as calculating capital gains taxes can be complex.

Look at the bright side: You made money, even if you have to pay some capital gains taxes. But there are some strategies you can use to reduce those taxes.

Since the tax rate is lower for long-term capital gains than for short-term capital gains, it makes sense to try to hold on to an asset for at least a year.

You always hear why it’s good to invest in a 401(k) or other retirement plan. Here’s another one: These accounts grow tax-free or tax-deferred, meaning you don’t have to worry about taxes.

“Tax associated with short-term gains and dividends are deferred until withdrawals occur in traditional accounts,” Watson from the Tax Foundation explained.

This strategy also includes investments in traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 529 savings plans, health savings accounts, and others.

Learn more: FSA vs. HSA: Which account is right for you?

We didn’t talk much about capital gains on home sales, but keeping and using your house as a primary residence for at least two years out of the last five might allow you to exclude some of the gain that comes from a sale of the home.

If you qualify, you can exclude up to $250,000 if you’re single or $500,000 if married and filing jointly.

Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy where you sell something at a loss to offset gains you made on other investments and then reinvest that money into a similar investment.

It’s a complex strategy with many rules and regulations about timing, what you can and can’t invest in, and more. It’s best to get professional advice because if done correctly, you can save a lot of money in taxes.

As with many tax concepts, capital gains can be a bit confusing. It’s OK to ask for help.

“A tax professional can help determine the proper gross income and cost basis for determining tax owed, which itself can be very helpful and generate tax savings,” Watson said.

Another scenario where a professional can help is figuring out the “step up in basis” rule, “where an asset’s cost basis is set at fair market value when it is inherited,” Watston explained. “This could still generate a tax bill if there’s a realized gain above that fair market value upon sale, but it may be much less than otherwise expected if someone is not familiar with how step up in basis adjustments work.”

A capital gains tax is a tax you pay on the difference between what you paid for an asset and what you made when you sold it.

What is the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains?

The amount of time you have the asset determines if it is a short-term or long-term gain. One year or less is short-term and longer than a year is long-term.

The tax rates are different for short-term and long-term capital gains and depends on your taxable income. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%. Short-term gains are taxed as regular income either at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% or 37%.

You pay capital gains when you sell the investment (realize the sale).