Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer. For 2026, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0% up to taxable income of $49,450 (single) or $98,900 (married filing jointly), climb to 15% above that, and reach 20% once income passes $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (joint). The 2027 versions of all four thresholds are not officially announced, and no named forecaster (Bloomberg Tax, Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, Wolters Kluwer, or Milliman) has published a 2027 capital-gains-bracket projection as of this reading.
What’s actually settled, vs. still open
Settled for 2026: 0% ceiling $49,450 single / $98,900 joint; 15%-to-20% breakpoint $545,500 single / $613,700 joint, from Revenue Procedure 2025-32.
Open: all four 2027 thresholds, governed by 26 U.S.C. §1(j)(5). The maximum zero-rate amount starts from a $77,200 (joint) / $51,700 (head of household) base, and the maximum 15%-rate amount starts from $479,000 (joint) / $452,400 (head of household) / $425,800 (other individuals), each indexed forward using Chained CPI-U with calendar year 2017 substituted as the base year (the 12-month average ending August 31 of the prior year). That measuring window is exactly why 2027’s numbers cannot exist yet: the August 2026 data point it depends on has not been published.
The numbers, year by year
| Year | 0% ceiling, single | 0% ceiling, joint | 20% begins, single | 20% begins, joint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $41,675 | $83,350 | $459,750 | $517,200 |
| 2023 | $44,625 | $89,250 | $492,300 | $553,850 |
| 2024 | $47,025 | $94,050 | $518,900 | $583,750 |
| 2025 | $48,350 | $96,700 | $533,400 | $600,050 |
| 2026 | $49,450 | $98,900 | $545,500 | $613,700 |
| 2027 | not announced | not announced | not announced | not announced |
Staying inside the 0% bracket takes planning, not luck.
Harvesting gains at 0% in a low-income year is a strategy, not an accident. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
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The bracket is stacked on ordinary income
These thresholds are measured against taxable income, not just the gain itself: your ordinary income fills the bracket first, and only the portion of your long-term gains that lands above a threshold is taxed at the next rate up. A retiree harvesting gains in a low-income year can realistically stay inside the 0% band even with a meaningful gain, which is the single most common reason this figure matters for year-end planning.
Sources
2026 figures: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, cross-confirmed via Kiplinger and CNBC tax-season reporting, read 2026-09-04. Statute: 26 U.S.C. §1(j)(5), read at law.cornell.edu on 2026-09-04. Historical trend: Bradford Tax Institute year-pages for 2022 and 2024, fetched directly, cross-checked for 2023 and 2025. No 2027 figure or named forecaster projection was found as of this date.
This page is updated the day the official figure is announced, and any projection above will be struck through rather than deleted, so the record of what was projected vs. what actually happened stays visible. See the 2027 numbers hub for every figure this program tracks, projected vs. official. General information, not tax or legal advice.