The 0 % capital gains bracket: how much you can sell tax-free in 2026
Long-term gains are taxed at 0 % as long as your taxable income, gains included, stays under $49,450 for a single filer or $98,900 for a married couple in 2026.
Tax on your gains
$668
Part of the gains is above the 0 % threshold.
| Taxable ordinary income | $3,900 |
| Taxable gains | $50,000 |
| Tax on ordinary income | $390 |
| Top of the 0 % band (taxable income) | $49,450 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · figures read on irs.gov and healthcare.gov · not personal financial advice
Gains on investments held more than a year are taxed at 0 %, 15 % or 20 %, and the rate depends on where the gain sits on top of your other taxable income. For 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 puts the top of the 0 % band at $49,450 of taxable income for a single filer, $66,200 for a head of household and $98,900 for a married couple filing jointly; the 15 % band runs to $545,500 single and $613,700 joint. Since the standard deduction comes off first, a single early retiree with no other income can realize about $65,550 of long-term gains with no federal income tax, and a couple about $131,100. That is why a taxable brokerage account is often the cheapest money to spend before 59½. Ordinary income (401(k) withdrawals, Roth conversions, interest) fills the bands first and pushes gains up; the calculator above shows how much 0 % room is left for yours.
How the stacking works
The tax return stacks income in a fixed order. Ordinary income comes first, reduced by the standard deduction. Long-term gains and qualified dividends sit on top. The part of the gains that falls below the 0 % threshold is taxed at nothing; the part above it at 15 %, and above the second threshold at 20 %. Nothing about the gain itself changes the rate: only what is under it.
Take a couple who left work at 56 and live on two sources: $20,000 from the 401(k) of the last employer, paid without the 10 % under the rule of 55, and $60,000 of long-term gains from selling shares. After the $32,200 joint deduction, taxable ordinary income is $0, taxed $0. The gains sit between $0 and $47,800, all under $98,900: $0 of tax on them, with $51,100 of 0 % room still unused.
How much 0 % room your year leaves
Tax on your gains
$0
| Taxable ordinary income | $0 |
| Taxable gains | $47,800 |
| Tax on ordinary income | $0 |
| Top of the 0 % band (taxable income) | $98,900 |
Where the 0 % band stops
A single filer with $30,000 of ordinary income who sells $60,000 of gains goes past the line. Taxable ordinary income is $13,900; the gains run from there to $73,900, so part of them is above $49,450 and taxed at 15 %: $3,668 in all. Selling the extra shares in January instead of December would put that part into the next year's band.
| Filing status | Standard deduction | 0 % up to (taxable income) | Gains at 0 % with no other income | 15 % up to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 | $49,450 | $65,550 | $545,500 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 | $98,900 | $131,100 | $613,700 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $66,200 | $90,350 | $579,600 |
Gain, not sale price
Only the gain counts, not the cash you receive. Selling $80,000 of shares bought for $50,000 creates $30,000 of gain; the other $50,000 is your own money coming back and is not income. Early in a long holding, most of a sale is basis; late, most of it is gain. That is why a taxable account bought over the years before retirement can fund a large part of a bridge with almost no income on the return, which in turn keeps the Marketplace premium tax credit high (see the subsidy cliff page).
A year of spending from a brokerage account
Picture a couple at 52 who need $70,000 for the year and hold an index fund whose value is half original cost and half gain. Selling $70,000 creates $35,000 of long-term gain and returns $35,000 of basis. With no other income, the gain sits entirely inside the deduction and the 0 % band: federal income tax $0. Their adjusted gross income for the year is $35,000, low enough to keep a sizable premium tax credit on a Marketplace plan, while the 401(k) and IRAs keep growing untouched until the rules open them. The same couple funding the year from a traditional IRA would report $70,000 of ordinary income, owe $4,040 of income tax and, at 52, the 10 % additional tax as well.
The trade-off appears later: every year spent from the brokerage account leaves the pre-tax accounts larger, and their withdrawals after 59½ will be fully taxed. Many plans therefore combine both, selling gains at 0 % and converting a slice of the IRA in the same year, up to the edge of the band that matters most to them.
Harvesting gains on purpose
In a year when you do not need to sell, you can still use the band: sell shares with a gain and buy them back at once. The gain is taxed at 0 %, and the new cost basis is higher, so future sales carry less gain. The wash-sale rule concerns losses, not gains, so buying back at once does not cancel a gain. The move uses room that the same year's Roth conversions would also want, so the two compete: a conversion fills the ordinary brackets first and pushes gains up into the 15 % band.
What can still tax a 0 % gain
- State income tax: most states tax capital gains as ordinary income; see the state pages. Washington taxes large gains through a separate excise.
- Short-term gains, on shares held a year or less, are ordinary income and fill the brackets like wages.
- The 3.8 % net investment income tax applies only above much higher incomes and is not modeled here.