Capital Gains Holding Period Calculator

About this calculator

The capital gains holding period determines whether a profit from selling an asset is taxed as a short-term or long-term capital gain. Under U.S. federal tax rules, an asset held for one year or less generates a short-term gain, taxed at your ordinary marginal income tax rate (as high as 37% at the top federal bracket), while an asset held for more than one year qualifies for preferential long-term capital gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20% depending on taxable income) — a difference that can easily be worth thousands of dollars on the same profit.

Investors, traders, and tax preparers use this calculation to decide whether to hold an appreciated position a little longer to cross the one-year threshold before selling, a strategy sometimes explicitly planned around in year-end tax planning, since selling one day before the anniversary of purchase versus one day after can move the same dollar of gain from the top ordinary rate down to a much lower long-term rate.

This calculator takes your purchase date, sale date, and gain amount, determines whether the holding period qualifies as short-term or long-term, and estimates the tax owed at the applicable rate based on your income bracket.