Calculate stock trading gains or losses with buy/sell prices, share quantity, commissions, and short vs long-term capital gains tax.
A stock's price move is not its profit. Buy 100 shares at $50 and sell at $60 and the price math says $1,000, but commissions trim that and tax takes a cut that depends on how long you held. This calculator runs the whole chain: gross gain or loss from buy and sell prices, the net figure after commissions on both sides, percentage return on what you actually put in, and a short-term versus long-term capital gains tax estimate. The surprise is the holding period: cross the one-year line and the same gain is taxed at a much lower rate.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
Buy price $50.00, sell price $60.00, quantity 100, buy commission $5.00, sell commission $5.00, holding period 8 months (short-term), tax rate 22%
Expected output
Gross profit $1,000.00. Net profit after commissions $990.00 (19.78% return on the $5,005.00 total cost). Estimated capital gains tax at 22%: $217.80. After-tax profit: $772.20.
100 shares x ($60.00 - $50.00) = $1,000.00 gross. Total cost is $5,005.00 (shares plus buy commission) and proceeds are $5,995.00 (sales proceeds minus sell commission), so net profit is $990.00. Tax is 22% of the net gain because the 8-month hold makes the gain short-term.
Gross gain or loss is (sell price minus buy price) times quantity. The buy commission adds to your cost, the sell commission subtracts from your proceeds, and the difference between proceeds and cost is the net result. The percentage return is measured against the total money at risk, so a trade that looks profitable on price alone can show a loss once commissions are included, especially on small positions.
The one-year mark decides the rate. A sale one year or less after purchase is a short-term gain, taxed at your ordinary income rate. More than one year makes it long-term, taxed at the lower federal capital gains brackets of 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your income. The calculator applies the chosen rate to the net gain, so the estimate is only as good as the rate you feed it.
Because the rule requires more than one year. US tax law treats a gain as long-term only when the stock is held for more than one year, so a sale on the one-year anniversary is still short-term and taxed at ordinary income rates. Selling one day later flips the gain to the lower long-term rates.
No. It is an estimate at an assumed rate. Your actual bill depends on your total income, filing status, other gains and losses that net against this sale, and state taxes. Use it to compare scenarios, then rely on your broker's 1099-B and tax software or an accountant at filing time.
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