Crypto Tax Calculator 2026

How crypto capital gains tax works in 2026

The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, not as cash. That means every time you dispose of crypto, you create a taxable event. Selling Bitcoin for dollars, trading Ethereum for another token, or spending crypto on goods all count as disposals.

Your gain or loss is simple math: proceeds minus cost basis. Cost basis is what you paid to acquire the coins, including any acquisition fees. Proceeds are what you received, net of selling fees. If proceeds are higher, you have a capital gain. If they are lower, you have a capital loss.

This calculator models one combined disposal: your total cost basis against your total proceeds. For a side-by-side look at how the same rules apply to stocks and real estate, see the Capital Gains Tax Calculator.

Short-term vs. long-term: why the holding period matters

The one-year mark is the single most important date in crypto taxes. Crypto held for one year or less produces a short-term gain, taxed as ordinary income at rates from 10% to 37%. Crypto held for more than one year produces a long-term gain, taxed at the preferential rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%.

The gap is large. A taxpayer in the 24% ordinary bracket who waits past the one-year mark can move the same gain into the 15% long-term band, cutting the rate by nine percentage points. On a $20,000 gain, that works out to roughly $1,800 saved by holding a little longer.

Short-term gains stack on top of your other income, so the calculator finds your ordinary tax with and without the gain and reports the difference. To see how the ordinary brackets line up, the Tax Bracket Calculator breaks them down. If you mine or stake crypto as a business, that income is taxed differently, and the Self-Employment Tax Calculator can help.

Net Investment Income Tax and high earners

On top of the capital gains rate, an extra 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax can apply. It hits when your modified adjusted gross income passes a threshold: $200,000 for single and head of household filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly, and $125,000 for married filing separately.

The tax applies to the lesser of your net investment income (here, the crypto gain) or the amount your income exceeds the threshold. These thresholds are written into statute and are not indexed for inflation, so a strong crypto year can pull more taxpayers into NIIT territory over time. A high earner with a long-term gain could see a combined top rate of 23.8%.

Because crypto gains often arrive without any tax withheld, you may need to send the IRS estimated payments during the year. The Estimated Quarterly Tax Calculator can size those payments.

Handling crypto losses and the $3,000 rule

If you sold crypto for less than you paid, you have a capital loss, and losses are useful. They offset capital gains dollar for dollar. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 of the net loss against ordinary income each year ($1,500 if married filing separately).

Any loss beyond that limit does not disappear. It carries forward to future tax years, where it can offset future gains or another $3,000 of ordinary income. This calculator shows both the deductible amount and the carryover when you enter a loss.

One detail unique to crypto: the wash-sale rule, which blocks loss deductions on stocks repurchased within 30 days, does not currently apply to cryptocurrency. That gives crypto holders more room for tax-loss harvesting, though rules can change.

Treat every figure here as an estimate, not tax advice. Your actual liability depends on your full return, your state, and details this single-event tool does not capture.