One date decides most of your tax bill on an investment: how long you held it. Hold an asset more than one year before disposing of it and your gain is long-term. Hold it one year or less and it is short-term, taxed as ordinary income at your regular rates.
For 2025, the rate on most net capital gain is no higher than 15% for most individuals, some of it can be taxed at 0%, and 20% applies to the extent taxable income exceeds the thresholds set for the 15% rate. Short-term gains get none of that treatment.
The 3.8% most people do not see coming
On top of capital gains tax, the Net Investment Income Tax adds 3.8% on investment income once your income crosses a threshold. Net investment income includes interest, dividends, capital gains, rental and royalty income, and non-qualified annuities.
The threshold amounts are:
- $250,000 — married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse
- $200,000 — single or head of household
- $125,000 — married filing separately
These thresholds are fixed in statute and are not adjusted for inflation, which means more households cross them each year without their real income changing much. It is the most commonly missed piece of an investment tax estimate.
The rates that are not 15% or 20%
Three categories carry their own maximums, and they surprise people who assumed all long-term gains behave the same way:
- Collectibles — such as coins or art — are taxed at a maximum of 28%.
- Qualified small business stock under section 1202 is taxed at a maximum of 28% on the taxable part of the gain.
- Unrecaptured section 1250 gain from selling section 1250 real property is taxed at a maximum of 25%.
That last one matters in South Florida more than the other two. It applies to depreciation previously taken on real property, which means a rental property sale is rarely a simple long-term capital gain calculation.
Losses, and what they can offset
Capital losses offset capital gains. If your net capital loss exceeds the annual limit on what can be deducted against ordinary income, you carry the excess forward to later years — it is not lost, it is deferred.
This is the mechanism behind harvesting losses to offset gains in the same year. It is a real technique with real rules attached, including restrictions on repurchasing what you just sold, and it is worth doing deliberately rather than in the last week of December.
What Florida does not tax, and what that does not mean
Florida has no personal income tax, so your capital gains, dividends and interest are not taxed at the state level here. That is a genuine advantage and it is one reason people move investments and residency to Florida.
It changes nothing about the federal side. The rates above, the 3.8% surtax, and the reporting obligations are federal and apply to you in Coral Springs exactly as they would anywhere else. An investor who assumes "no state income tax" means "low tax" on a large gain is in for an unpleasant April.
If those gains sit inside a business or a partnership rather than a personal brokerage account, the reporting is a different exercise again, and it starts with clean statements — which is what financial statement preparation produces.
Where a general rule stops working
Holding period, rate category and threshold interact, and they interact differently depending on what else is on your return. Whether a particular sale is worth making this year or next is not a question this page can answer, because the answer depends on income you have not told anyone about yet.
Figures are for tax year 2025 unless stated otherwise and reflect IRS guidance current as of July 2026. General information, not investment or tax advice.
Model the sale before you make it
If you are considering selling something with a significant gain — a stock position, a rental property, a business interest — the time to run the numbers is before the sale, while the timing is still yours to choose. Bring your basis records and last year's return and we will show you the actual after-tax figure, including whether it pushes you past the 3.8% threshold. Book personal tax preparation or call +1 (954) 724-1114.