US Crypto Capital Gains Tax Calculator

The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, not currency. When you sell, trade, or spend crypto you realise a capital gain or loss equal to the proceeds minus your cost basis. Gains on crypto held one year or less are short-term and taxed at ordinary income rates; gains on crypto held more than a year are long-term and taxed at the 0%, 15% or 20% capital-gains rates.

It is the holding period. If you held the crypto for one year or less before disposing of it, the gain is short-term and taxed at your ordinary income tax rate (up to 37% for 2025). If you held it for more than a year, it is long-term and taxed at the lower 0%/15%/20% capital-gains rates. Holding just past the one-year mark can substantially cut the tax.

Long-term crypto gains use the 0%/15%/20% capital-gains breakpoints for 2025: the 0% rate applies up to $48,350 of taxable income for single filers ($96,700 married filing jointly), 15% up to $533,400 single ($600,050 MFJ), and 20% above that. Your other income is counted first, so the gain stacks on top.

Possibly. The Net Investment Income Tax adds 3.8% on net investment income — including crypto gains, short or long-term — to the extent your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). This calculator adds the NIIT automatically when your income crosses the threshold.

Yes. Swapping one cryptocurrency for another (for example Bitcoin for Ethereum) is a disposal of the first coin and is taxable, even though you never converted to dollars. You calculate the gain in US dollars based on the fair market value at the time of the trade. This catches many people who assume only cash-outs are taxed.

Yes. Using crypto to buy goods or services is treated as selling the crypto at its fair market value that day, so you realise a gain or loss on the difference from your cost basis. Even small purchases technically trigger a taxable disposal, which is why good record-keeping matters for active crypto users.

Your cost basis is generally what you paid for the crypto, including fees. When you sell part of a holding bought at different times, you must identify which units you sold — by default the IRS uses first-in, first-out (FIFO), though specific identification is allowed with proper records. Accurate basis tracking is the hardest part of crypto tax for most people.

Yes. Capital losses — including crypto losses — offset capital gains, and up to $3,000 of net losses can offset ordinary income each year, with the rest carried forward. Crypto is currently not subject to the wash-sale rule that applies to securities, so loss harvesting can be effective, though proposals to change this appear periodically.

Staking rewards and mining income are generally taxed as ordinary income at their fair market value when you receive them, not as capital gains. That value then becomes your cost basis, so a later sale produces a separate capital gain or loss. This calculator covers the capital-gain side; the income side is taxed at ordinary rates when received.

Yes — US citizens are taxed on worldwide income including crypto, wherever they live. If you are a US citizen in the UK, the UK also taxes your crypto gains, so you can face both systems and use the Foreign Tax Credit to relieve double taxation. The two countries measure gains differently, so cross-border crypto investors should keep careful records and get advice.

The UK treats crypto gains as capital gains, taxed at 18%/24% above the £3,000 annual exempt amount for 2025/26. A US citizen in the UK is taxed by both countries on the same gain, with the Foreign Tax Credit generally preventing double taxation. Timing differences and currency conversion can complicate which credit covers what, so coordination matters.

Keep the date and value of every acquisition and disposal, the cost basis, fees, and the type of transaction (buy, sell, trade, spend, stake). Exchanges do not always provide complete basis information, especially across multiple platforms and wallets, so many investors use crypto tax software to consolidate their history before filing.

Enter your total net crypto gain for the year of a single holding type (short-term or long-term). If you have both short- and long-term gains, run the calculator twice — once for each — and add the results. For complex portfolios across many coins and exchanges, a consolidated gain figure from crypto tax software is the right input.

The wash-sale rule disallows a loss if you buy back substantially identical securities within 30 days. It currently applies to stocks and securities but not, under present rules, to cryptocurrency — so crypto investors can sell at a loss and repurchase immediately to harvest the loss. This may change, as it is a recurring legislative proposal, so check the current position before relying on it.

Crypto gains are reported on your annual federal return (Form 8949 and Schedule D), due 15 April, with the automatic extension to 15 June for Americans abroad and October on request. If you expect a large gain, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments during the year to avoid underpayment penalties.

Yes. Converting volatile crypto to a stablecoin is still a crypto-to-crypto trade and a taxable disposal of the original coin, even though the stablecoin tracks the dollar. The gain is the difference between the value received and your cost basis. People often overlook this because it feels like 'cashing out' without leaving crypto.

It applies the 2025 ordinary brackets for short-term gains, the 0%/15%/20% long-term breakpoints, and the 3.8% NIIT thresholds, stacking the gain on your other income — so it is accurate for a single gain figure. It does not track cost basis, apply losses, or handle staking income, so use a consolidated net-gain figure and treat the result as a planning estimate.

Often it helps. Long-term rates (0%/15%/20%) are usually well below short-term ordinary rates (up to 37%), so holding past the one-year mark can cut the tax on a gain substantially. But tax is only one factor — crypto prices are volatile, so the investment decision should not be driven by the tax tail alone.

The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored unless you choose to download the branded PDF report, at which point you provide your name and email so we can send it. Phone and address are optional.

Yes. Enter your name and email (phone and address optional) and we generate a TaxStone-branded PDF of your crypto gain estimate to download instantly — handy for planning a disposal or sharing with your tax preparer.

Yes — dual US/UK taxation, the Foreign Tax Credit, currency conversion and differing rules make cross-border crypto one of the trickiest areas to get right. Book a free 20-minute call with a TaxStone Enrolled Agent to make sure your gains are taxed correctly on both sides.