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Capital Gains Tax Calculator
By Priya Raman, policy and tax writer
This is the bill without the exchange: two federal taxes, priced separately, on a real estate sale you complete outright.
This is the bill without the exchange: two federal taxes, priced separately, on a real estate sale you complete outright.
| Line item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Section 1250 depreciation recapture | 25% |
| Long-term capital gains, selectable | 0%, 15%, or 20% |
| Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), optional | 3.8% |
Federal only, tax year 2026. State tax would layer on top.
Because the IRS taxes it separately. This calculator pulls the depreciation you took out of the gain first, taxes that slice at 25% under Section 1250, and only then applies your long-term rate to what's left.
No. The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax only applies once your income clears certain federal thresholds. Leave the toggle off if you're not sure it applies, and confirm with a preparer before filing.
It means the capital-gain portion of your tax is zero. Depreciation recapture at 25% still applies separately if you claimed any, and NIIT can still apply if you selected it.
This page shows what you'd owe if you sold outright with no exchange. The 1031 exchange calculator shows the same sale routed through a like-kind swap, where some or all of this bill defers instead.
Net proceeds here is sale price minus selling expenses minus total tax, not minus basis. Basis already did its job inside the gain calculation, so subtracting it twice would understate what you actually keep.
Sell an investment property outright and the IRS does not treat your gain as one number. It pulls out whatever you claimed in depreciation and taxes that piece at 25% under Section 1250, then applies your long-term capital gains rate, zero, 15, or 20 percent, to what remains. Cross certain income thresholds and the 3.8% NIIT adds a third layer across the whole gain.
See what this same sale looks like routed through a 1031 exchange instead.