Form 8960 Calculator
Fill in the key Form 8960 lines: your net investment income, MAGI over the threshold and the 3.8% tax.
Form 8960 NIIT calculator
What Form 8960 calculates
Form 8960 figures the net investment income tax (NIIT), a 3.8% tax on investment income for higher earners (IRC 1411). The tax is 3.8% of the smaller of:
- Net investment income (Line 12): interest, dividends, capital gains, rents, royalties, non-qualified annuities and passive business income, minus allocable expenses, or
- the amount your modified AGI exceeds the threshold: $200,000 single or head of household, $250,000 joint, $125,000 married filing separately.
The thresholds aren't indexed for inflation. Wages, Social Security, tax-exempt interest, IRA and 401(k) distributions and gain on a home sale excluded under section 121 aren't net investment income, though IRA withdrawals can push MAGI over the line.
Worked example
A single filer has $300,000 of MAGI, including $80,000 of interest, dividends and gains. MAGI is $100,000 over the threshold, and net investment income is $80,000, so the smaller amount, $80,000, is taxed: $3,040.00 of NIIT. With $230,000 of MAGI the tax would apply to only $30,000 ($1,140.00). Wages over the same thresholds face the separate 0.9% tax on Form 8959.
Common questions
What is Form 8960?
The form that calculates the 3.8% net investment income tax.
What are the NIIT thresholds?
$200,000 single, $250,000 joint, $125,000 married filing separately, not indexed.
Are IRA withdrawals subject to NIIT?
No, but they raise MAGI, which can make other investment income taxable.
Sources
More paycheck and tax calculators: Form 8949 Calculator · Form 8962 Calculator · Form 8995 Calculator
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General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check important numbers with the official source before acting on them.