Here are the 2026 capital-gains-tax rates for each income level. See where you fit in.

By Andrew Keshner

The IRS released its numbers despite the ongoing government shutdown

Here's what you should know about next year's tax rates on long-term capital gains.

Attention, investors. Income-tax rules are here for capital gains in 2026.

The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday released a batch of annual tax-code adjustments, including the income ranges needed to notch the preferential tax rate on capital gains.

2026 marks a major year for taxes. It will be the first full year with President Donald Trump's sweeping tax law in effect. The law prevented income-tax rates from increasing as had been scheduled under the tax-code overhaul he signed into law in 2017, and it introduced a range of new temporary tax deductions. It gave businesses more power to write off major purchases, along with spending on research and development.

But for all the changes contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it didn't alter the rates on capital-gains taxes.

When someone holds an asset gaining value - like a stock SPX, bond or bitcoin (BTCUSD) - and sells it after at least a year of ownership, the profit is subject to long-term capital-gains tax at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on income level. Profits on a sale of an asset within a year of purchase count as ordinary income.

On Thursday, the IRS announced the taxable-income levels needed to qualify for the 0% and 15% long-term capital-gains rates. Anything beyond the maximum 15% rate would be taxed at 20%.

Heads up on other taxes affecting investors - especially for gold

First, there's the 3.8% net investment-income tax, a tax that applies to returns including interest, dividends, capital gains, rental and royalty income.

While capital-gains taxes are indexed to increase with inflation, the NIIT's thresholds have purposely remained in the same place during its roughly decade-long existence.

The 3.8% tax, which is paid on top of capital-gains taxes, applies to individuals with incomes of $200,000 and above, once they have eligible profits. The threshold is $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Then there are the taxes that can apply to gold, silver and other precious metals. Investors may not find the rules so lustrous.

Gold (GC00) has become increasingly popular for investor portfolios, and its price has soared. Yet the IRS has long viewed the yellow metal as a "collectible." As a result, a capital gain on gold can be taxed at up to 28% - significantly higher than the maximum 20% capital-gains rate.

Another catch for gold: The IRS "collectible" treatment doesn't apply only to coins and bars. Selling shares in physically backed gold ETFs GLD would also trigger the collectible rate, according to experts and the fine print in ETFs.

Related: How to invest in gold and avoid a tax headache

-Andrew Keshner

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10-09-25 1222ET