Stock Profit Calculator
Buy price, number of shares and sell price in; net profit after commissions and tax, your return, and the price you need just to break even out.
| Return after tax | — |
| Cost (incl. commission) | — |
| Sale proceeds | — |
| Gain before tax | — |
| Estimated tax | — |
| Break-even sell price | — |
How it is calculated
- Cost = buy price × shares + commission
- Proceeds = sell price × shares − commission
- Gain before tax = proceeds − cost. Tax is only applied to a gain; a loss shows with no tax.
- Break-even price = (cost + commission) ÷ shares, the lowest sell price that gets your money back.
Short-term vs long-term
Sell a stock you held for one year or less and the gain is taxed like wages, from 10% to 37%. Hold it more than a year and most people pay 15% instead. On the default trade above, that one-year line is worth more than a hundred dollars. If you are close to the one-year mark, the date can matter more than the price.
Losses can offset gains, and up to $3,000 of net losses a year can offset ordinary income. This calculator handles one trade; your tax return nets them all together.
A worked example
The default trade is 150 shares bought at $48.60 and sold at $57.25. That is $7,290 in and $8,587.50 out, a gain of $1,297.50 before tax. Held for more than a year, most people pay 15% on that, about $195, and keep $1,102.88, a return of 15.1%. Sell a day before the one-year mark and the same gain is taxed as ordinary income; at a 24% bracket the tax is about $311 and you keep roughly $986.
Common questions
How is the holding period counted?
It starts the day after you buy and includes the day you sell. To get long-term treatment you need to hold for more than one year, so selling on the one-year anniversary of the purchase is still short-term.
What about state tax?
Most states tax capital gains as ordinary income, from 0% in states such as Texas and Florida to more than 13% in California. Add your state rate to the federal one in your head, or pick a higher bracket in the list to approximate it.
What if I sell at a loss?
The calculator shows the loss with no tax. On your return, losses first offset gains, and up to $3,000 of net loss a year can offset other income, with the rest carried forward. If you buy the same stock back within 30 days, the wash-sale rule delays the loss.
Does this work for ETFs and partial shares?
Yes. Enter fractional shares as decimals, for example 2.35. ETFs held in a taxable account are taxed the same way as stocks, apart from a few types such as gold funds.