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Property Gains Tax Calculator

Estimate the federal tax when you sell a house, condo, land or rental property in 2026: your adjusted basis and gain, the $250,000 / $500,000 home sale exclusion, depreciation recapture at up to 25%, the 0%, 15% or 20% capital gains rate and the 3.8% net investment income tax.

Updated November 4, 2026. Free, no sign-up; everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is stored.

Property gains tax calculator

Sale price ($)Selling costs: commission, closing ($)Purchase price + buying costs ($)Capital improvements ($)Depreciation taken (rental/office use) ($)

Filing statusOther income this year (AGI before the sale) ($)Owned

Main home: owned and lived in it 2 of the last 5 years (Section 121)

Estimated federal tax on the sale

–

–Adjusted basis

–Total gain

–Section 121 exclusion

–Taxable gain

–Tax on depreciation recapture (max 25%)

–Capital gains tax

–3.8% net investment income tax

–Effective rate

How capital gains tax on property is figured

Adjusted basis = what you paid (including buying costs) + capital improvements − depreciation you took or could have taken.
Gain = sale price − selling costs − adjusted basis.
Exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 married filing jointly) if it was your main home and you owned and lived in it for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale (IRC Section 121), and you haven't used the exclusion in the last 2 years.
Depreciation recapture: gain equal to depreciation after May 6, 1997 (from renting the home or a home office) can't be excluded and is taxed as ordinary income, capped at 25%.
The rest is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% if you owned it more than a year, or at ordinary rates if a year or less.
NIIT: 3.8% on the taxable gain to the extent your MAGI is over $200,000 ($250,000 joint). Excluded home gain isn't subject to it.

2026 long-term capital gains brackets

Rate	Single	Married filing jointly	Head of household
0%	up to $49,450	up to $98,900	up to $66,200
15%	to $545,500	to $613,700	to $579,600
20%	over $545,500	over $613,700	over $579,600

Taxable income including the gain. The gain is stacked on top of your other taxable income.

Property gain tax calculator examples

Main home, married: bought for $400,000, $50,000 of improvements, sold for $900,000 with $54,000 of selling costs. Gain $396,000, under the $500,000 exclusion: no federal tax. Single, the same sale leaves $146,000 taxable: about $21,900 at 15% plus $4,260 of NIIT with $166,100 of other income.

Rental property: no Section 121 exclusion, and all depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%. A 1031 exchange into another investment property can defer the tax. Most states also tax capital gains as ordinary income; this calculator covers federal tax only.

Common questions

How much capital gains tax do I pay on selling a house?

Often none on a main home: up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 married) is excluded if you owned and lived in it 2 of the last 5 years. Gain above that is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%.

How is gain on property calculated?

Sale price minus selling costs minus adjusted basis (purchase price + buying costs + improvements − depreciation).

What is depreciation recapture on a rental?

Gain equal to the depreciation you took is taxed at ordinary rates up to 25%, even if the rest of the gain qualifies for 15%.

Do I pay the 3.8% NIIT on a home sale?

Only on taxable gain, and only to the extent your MAGI is above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. Excluded gain is not included.

What if I owned the property less than a year?

The gain is short-term and taxed at your ordinary income tax rates, up to 37%.

Sources

General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check important numbers with the official source before acting on them.