What are the 2027 long-term capital gains tax brackets?+
For tax year 2026 — the confirmed figures that apply to the return filed in 2027 — long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total taxable income, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Single filers pay 0% up to $49,450, 15% from $49,450 to $545,500, and 20% above $545,500; married filing jointly pay 0% up to $98,900, 15% from $98,900 to $613,700, and 20% above $613,700. The IRS has not yet published official tax-year-2027 capital gains thresholds — those are expected around October 2026 — so this calculator uses the latest confirmed 2026 schedule, which is what actually applies to gains realized in 2026 and reported on the return filed in 2027. Expect the 2027 thresholds to rise by a modest inflation adjustment once published, following the same pattern as prior years.
How is the capital gains bracket different from ordinary income brackets?+
The capital gains bracket structure differs from ordinary income brackets in two ways: it uses only three rates (0%, 15%, and 20%) instead of the seven ordinary-income rates (10% through 37%), and your long-term gain stacks on top of your existing ordinary taxable income rather than being taxed as a separate, standalone amount. That stacking means your gain fills bracket space starting exactly where your ordinary income leaves off, so a large enough gain can span more than one capital gains bracket in a single year. Because the capital gains brackets are also wider than ordinary brackets at comparable income levels — the 15% bracket alone spans from $49,450 to $545,500 for single filers in tax year 2026 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32) — most investors with moderate income pay a lower rate on long-term gains than on their last dollar of ordinary income.
What are the 2027 tax brackets for married filing jointly?+
For married couples filing jointly, the tax-year-2026 brackets — the confirmed figures that apply to the return filed in 2027 — are 10% up to $24,800, 12% up to $100,800, 22% up to $211,400, 24% up to $403,550, 32% up to $512,450, 35% up to $768,700, and 37% above that, according to IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The IRS has not yet published official tax-year-2027 brackets; those are expected around October 2026 and will apply to income earned in 2027, filed in 2028. Until that release, the 2026 figures above are the correct, IRS-confirmed numbers for planning the return most married couples are filing in the current season. Each threshold typically rises by a modest inflation adjustment each year, so treat these as a close approximation, not a final figure, once the 2027 schedule is officially confirmed.
How much wider are married filing jointly brackets than single brackets?+
Married filing jointly brackets are almost exactly double the single-filer thresholds through the 32% bracket, then narrow relative to double above that point. For tax year 2026 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32), the 22% bracket starts at $50,400 for single filers and $100,800 for married filing jointly — precisely double — but the 35% bracket runs from $512,450 to $768,700 for joint filers versus $256,225 to $640,600 for single filers, which is no longer a clean doubling. That narrowing at the top is the structural source of the so-called marriage penalty: two high-earning single people who marry can end up with more of their combined income taxed at 35% than they would have if each had filed separately as singles. Below the 32% bracket, marrying generally has a neutral or favorable effect on your combined bracket exposure.
