Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: Short-term capital gains in 2027 are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, not at the lower long-term rates, and a gain is short-term when the asset was held one year or less. The seven ordinary rates, 10% through 37%, are permanent after the 2025 tax law, but the IRS has not yet published the 2027 brackets that decide which rate your gain lands in. This page updates the day it does.
What is not yet announced
As of October 28, 2026 the IRS has not published the Revenue Procedure that sets the 2027 tax brackets; the 2026 version was Rev. Proc. 2025-32. This page states no 2027 bracket, and changes when the IRS publishes the 2027 Revenue Procedure.
The bracket thresholds are the only part of this question that is still open. What counts as a short-term gain and which rates exist are settled.
What makes a gain short-term
Section 1222 of the Internal Revenue Code defines it: “means gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset held for not more than 1 year, if and to the extent such gain is taken into account in computing gross income.” Hold the asset longer than a year and the gain is long-term, taxed on the separate schedule shown on the 2027 long-term capital gains brackets page.
Which rate applies
A short-term gain is added to your other income and taxed through the same rate tables as wages. The IRS described the 2026 rate structure this way: “Section 70101 of the OBBBA amends § 1(j) to make the tax rate tables that were effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026, permanent.” Those tables have seven rates, so a short-term gain is taxed at whichever of them the top of your income reaches.
| What | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals, seven rates (permanent under the 2025 tax law) | 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37% | Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 2, item .01 |
| Net investment income tax, added for high earners | 3.8% | 26 U.S.C. 1411 |
The 2026 version of this page, short-term capital gains tax rate 2026, walks through it, and the bracket thresholds are on the 2027 tax brackets page.
The 3.8% investment income tax
Net gain from selling investments is part of net investment income, and that includes short-term gains, so a high earner can owe the 3.8% tax on top of the ordinary rate. That tax has a flat threshold of $200,000, or $250,000 on a joint return, set by statute: “a tax equal to 3.8 percent of the lesser of”. Details are on the 2027 Net Investment Income Tax page.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a lower rate on a gain held for exactly one year. The test is held for not more than one year, so one year is still short-term.
- Quoting a 2027 bracket from a vendor or blog. Until the IRS publishes the 2027 Revenue Procedure there is none.
- Forgetting the 3.8% investment income tax for high earners. It is charged in addition to the ordinary rate.
Related: short-term capital gains tax rate 2026, the 2027 tax brackets, the 2027 long-term capital gains brackets, the 2027 Net Investment Income Tax, and the 2027 tax numbers.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about tax planning
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with tax planning
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- 26 U.S.C. 1222, Other terms relating to capital gains and losses (U.S. Code, 2024 edition, U.S. Government Publishing Office): www.govinfo.gov
- Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts, as modified by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: www.irs.gov
- 26 U.S.C. 1411, Imposition of tax (U.S. Code, 2024 edition, U.S. Government Publishing Office): www.govinfo.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 28, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.