Crypto Capital Gains Tax Rates for 2025 and 2026: Brackets, Thresholds and Surtaxes

There is no special crypto tax rate. Crypto gains are taxed under the same capital gains rules as stocks and other investment property. What changes your rate is how long you held the coin, how much other income you have, and in a few cases what kind of asset the token represents.

This guide lays out the numbers for 2025 and 2026, from the IRS inflation adjustment revenue procedures, and how they fit together.

Short-term gains: ordinary rates

Gain on crypto held one year or less is short-term and taxed at ordinary income rates. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 notes that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the seven individual rates permanent: 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35 and 37 percent.

For 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the brackets for single filers as follows: 10 percent up to $12,400 of taxable income; 12 percent over $12,400; 22 percent over $50,400; 24 percent over $105,700; 32 percent over $201,775; 35 percent over $256,225; and 37 percent over $640,600. Other filing statuses have their own tables.

Short-term gain stacks on top of your other ordinary income. A $20,000 short-term crypto gain for someone already in the 24 percent bracket is taxed at 24 percent, or higher if it pushes into the next bracket.

The 2025 ordinary brackets and the 2026 joint brackets

For 2025, Rev. Proc. 2024-40 set the single filer brackets at: 10 percent up to $11,925; 12 percent over $11,925; 22 percent over $48,475; 24 percent over $103,350; 32 percent over $197,300; 35 percent over $250,525; and 37 percent over $626,350.

For 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the joint filer brackets at: 10 percent up to $24,800; 12 percent over $24,800; 22 percent over $100,800; 24 percent over $211,400; 32 percent over $403,550; 35 percent over $512,450; and 37 percent over $768,700.

Standard deductions changed too. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 explains that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act set the 2025 basic standard deduction at $15,750 for single filers and married filing separately, $23,625 for heads of household, and $31,500 for joint filers. For 2026 the amounts are $16,100, $24,150 and $32,200.

Long-term gains: 0, 15 and 20 percent

Gain on crypto held more than one year is long-term and taxed at preferential rates under section 1(h). The rate depends on taxable income, using two inflation-adjusted thresholds: the maximum zero rate amount and the maximum 15 percent rate amount. Long-term gain falling below the first threshold is taxed at 0 percent; between the two, at 15 percent; above the second, at 20 percent.

For 2025, Rev. Proc. 2024-40 sets these thresholds:

• Married filing jointly and surviving spouses: $96,700 and $600,050.
• Married filing separately: $48,350 and $300,000.
• Heads of household: $64,750 and $566,700.
• All other individuals: $48,350 and $533,400.

For 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets them at:

• Married filing jointly and surviving spouses: $98,900 and $613,700.
• Married filing separately: $49,450 and $306,850.
• Heads of household: $66,200 and $579,600.
• All other individuals: $49,450 and $545,500.

The thresholds apply to taxable income, which includes the gain itself. Long-term gain is stacked on top of ordinary income, so ordinary income fills the brackets first.

Collectibles: up to 28 percent

Long-term gain on collectibles is subject to a maximum rate of 28 percent under section 1(h). Ordinary cryptocurrency is not a collectible. Some NFTs may be, under the look-through test in Notice 2023-27, which treats an NFT as a collectible if its associated right or asset is one. See NFTs as collectibles.

The 3.8 percent net investment income tax

On top of the rates above, section 1411 imposes a 3.8 percent tax on the lesser of net investment income or the amount by which modified adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold: $250,000 for joint returns and surviving spouses, $125,000 for married filing separately, and $200,000 for others. Net gain from the disposition of property, including crypto held for investment, is net investment income. Those thresholds are written into the statute and are not indexed for inflation. See net investment income tax on crypto.

So the top federal rate on long-term crypto gain is generally 23.8 percent (20 plus 3.8), and on short-term gain 40.8 percent (37 plus 3.8), before state tax.

Income from crypto is not a capital gain

Staking rewards, mining income, airdrops and crypto received for work are ordinary income when received, taxed at the ordinary rates above regardless of how long you later hold the coins. Only the later sale or exchange of those coins produces capital gain or loss, measured from the value you reported as income. See where to report crypto.

Losses and the $3,000 offset

Capital losses offset capital gains first. If losses exceed gains, section 1211(b) allows up to $3,000 of the excess ($1,500 if married filing separately) to offset ordinary income each year, with the rest carried forward. Because short-term gains are taxed at higher rates, a loss that offsets short-term gain is often worth more than one that offsets long-term gain.

A worked example for 2026

A single filer has $70,000 of wages in 2026 and a $40,000 long-term crypto gain. Assume the standard deduction of $16,100 for single filers under Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and no other items.

• Taxable income is $93,900 ($110,000 minus $16,100).
• Ordinary taxable income is $53,900 ($70,000 minus $16,100). That is above the $49,450 maximum zero rate amount, so none of the gain falls in the 0 percent band.
• All $40,000 of the long-term gain is taxed at 15 percent: $6,000.
• MAGI is well under $200,000, so no net investment income tax.

If the same $40,000 gain were short-term, it would be taxed as ordinary income in the 22 percent bracket, $8,800, plus a bit more at 24 percent for the portion above $105,700 if the total crossed that line. Here it does not; taxable income of $93,900 stays in the 22 percent bracket. Waiting long enough to cross the one-year line saved $2,800.

How the stacking actually works

The long-term rate is not chosen by a single number. It is applied band by band. Picture your taxable income as a column. Ordinary income goes in first, from the bottom. Long-term gain goes on top. Whatever part of the gain sits below the maximum zero rate amount is taxed at 0 percent. Whatever part sits between that amount and the maximum 15 percent rate amount is taxed at 15 percent. Anything above is taxed at 20 percent.

That is why a large gain can be taxed at more than one rate in the same year, and why reducing ordinary income, for example through retirement plan contributions, can pull more of a gain into a lower band. It is also why a year with low wages is such an opportunity. See gain harvesting.

Mixed years: gains, losses and character

Most crypto investors have both gains and losses. Short-term results net against each other, long-term results net against each other, and then the two nets combine. A net short-term loss reduces net long-term gain, and a net long-term loss reduces net short-term gain. The rate you ultimately pay depends on what survives the netting. Run the whole year before assuming a rate on any single sale.

Planning with the brackets

• Watch the one-year line before selling. See holding periods.
• In low-income years, consider realizing long-term gain inside the 0 percent band. See gain harvesting.
• Use specific identification to choose lots with the result you want. See cost basis methods.
• Spread large sales across tax years if that keeps more gain in a lower band.
• Consider donating highly appreciated long-term crypto instead of selling it. See donating crypto.

None of these require exotic structures. They require knowing your numbers before the trade, not after. A short projection in the fall, built on your actual lots and your actual income, is usually enough to see which moves are worth making.

State income tax is separate and can be significant. See crypto tax and state residency.

Frequently asked questions