Your numbers
Income after deductions and before these crypto sales. Your crypto stacks on top of it.
Held one year or less (short-term)
Held more than one year (long-term)
Add up all sales in each group. Cost basis is what you paid including fees.
Your estimate
—See result ↓
How to use this calculator
- Choose a tax year and filing status. Rates and brackets come from the IRS inflation tables for that year.
- Enter your other taxable income. Use your income after deductions and before any crypto sales.
- Add your sales. Enter total proceeds and total cost basis for short-term and long-term sales.
- Read your estimate. It updates as you type and explains each part in plain words.
The numbers shown at first are only an example. Replace them with your own.
How the estimate works
- Netting. Short-term gains and losses net against each other and so do long-term. Then the two net results offset one another.
- Short-term gains are added to your other income and taxed at regular federal brackets.
- Long-term gains are taxed at 0% 15% or 20% depending on where your total taxable income lands.
- Net losses can reduce other income by up to $3,000 a year and the rest carries forward.
The tax shown is the extra federal tax caused by your crypto sales. It is the difference between your total tax with and without them.
What is not included
- State and local taxes
- The 3.8% net investment income tax and the alternative minimum tax
- Income from staking mining or airdrops
- Married filing separately and other special cases
- Carryover losses from earlier years
For the official rules see the IRS page on digital assets. To learn when crypto is and is not taxed read do you pay taxes on crypto if you don’t sell.
Frequently asked questions
How are crypto gains taxed in the US?
The IRS treats crypto as property. When you sell or trade it for more than your cost basis you have a capital gain. Gains on assets held one year or less are short-term and taxed like regular income. Gains on assets held longer than one year are long-term and taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on your income.
What is cost basis?
Cost basis is what you paid for the asset including fees. Your gain or loss is the sale proceeds minus your cost basis. Enter the totals for all your sales in each category.
What counts as short-term and long-term?
Short-term means you held the asset for one year or less before selling. Long-term means you held it for more than one year. Lower long-term rates are one reason many investors hold for longer.
How are crypto losses used?
Losses first offset gains of the same type and then the other type. If you still have a net loss you can deduct up to $3,000 against other income each year. Anything above that carries forward to future years.
Does this calculator include state taxes?
No. It estimates federal income tax on capital gains only. Many states also tax gains and the rules vary. It also leaves out the 3.8% net investment income tax and the alternative minimum tax but it warns you when your income is high enough that the 3.8% tax may apply.
Is trading one crypto for another taxable?
Generally yes. The IRS treats exchanging one digital asset for another as a disposal so you would report a gain or loss. Staking rewards and income from mining or airdrops can be taxed as income and are not covered here.
Is this tax advice?
No. This is a simple estimate for education. Your real tax depends on details this tool does not know. Use official IRS guidance or a licensed tax professional before you file.
More from CCF
Educational content only. CCF provides general education about digital assets, trading and investing. This tool gives estimates from the numbers you enter. It is not individualized financial, investment, legal or tax advice and CCF does not guarantee any outcome or return.