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So I think this is a basic question but I'm having trouble finding an answer.

I sold a rental property this year and it's going to move me up in the tax brackets.

My question is, when I sell assets like stocks that have been held longer than a year, are they still taxed at 15% or are they taxed at the higher rate?

I have some crypto I want to sell off and put into silver and gold but I'm not sure how much to put into savings because this tax system seems so confusing.

I'm not looking for an exact answer if it's not trivial, just maybe some guidance on where to look.

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It depends on your income. The capital gains rates for long-term gains are 0%,, 15%, and 20%, depending on income. From the IRS:

Capital Gain Tax Rates

The tax rate on most net capital gain is no higher than 15% for most individuals. Some or all net capital gain may be taxed at 0% if your taxable income is less than $80,000.

A capital gain rate of 15% applies if your taxable income is $80,000 or more but less than $441,450 for single; $496,600 for married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er); $469,050 for head of household, or $248,300 for married filing separately.

However, a net capital gain tax rate of 20% applies to the extent that your taxable income exceeds the thresholds set for the 15% capital gain rate.

There are a few other exceptions where capital gains may be taxed at rates greater than 20%:

The taxable part of a gain from selling section 1202 qualified small business stock is taxed at a maximum 28% rate. Net capital gains from selling collectibles (such as coins or art) are taxed at a maximum 28% rate. The portion of any unrecaptured section 1250 gain from selling section 1250 real property is taxed at a maximum 25% rate. Note: Net short-term capital gains are subject to taxation as ordinary income at graduated tax rates.

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    Yes I believe that is correct. I had thought the IRS website had a more informative and easier-to-read table somewhere, but I'm not able to find it at this time.
    – yoozer8
    Apr 19, 2021 at 13:59
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    Income and Capital Gains taxes in the USA are bracket-specific. Below a threshold, the long term capital gains income will be taxed at the specified rate (15% up to $441,450 for instance), above that threshold will be taxed at the higher rate, but the income below that threshold will not be subject to the additional tax (you pay ONLY 15% on that first $441,450, no matter how much you make). For tax purposes, any capital gains where the asset is defined as short term, should be treated as earned income, not as capital gains (such as a stock held for <1Year).
    – GOATNine
    Apr 19, 2021 at 14:04
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    The $80,000 figure at the end of the 0% tax bracket, refers to people married and filing jointly. For single filers, the 0% tax bracket actually ends at $40,000. Apr 19, 2021 at 17:25
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    Also worth mentioning the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, which effectively adds an 18.8% bracket and makes the 20% bracket a 23.8% bracket.
    – Craig W
    Apr 20, 2021 at 12:25
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    In addition to the 0% limit differing for single as @AxiomaticNexus noted and also HoH, the 15% limit figures you copied from tc409 were for 2020 not 2021, although the differences are fairly small -- in spite of the page claiming to have been updated. For better info see worksheet 2-5 in pub 505, which was finally updated for 2021 a few days ago. Apr 21, 2021 at 5:10
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SPECIAL NOTE: THIS IS ONLY FOR SINGLE-FILING TAX STATUS. IF YOU ARE A COUPLE, IT WILL BE DIFFERENT!

SPECIAL NOTE 2: TAX BRACKETS ARE GRADUATED. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW BRACKETS WORK BEFORE PROCEEDING


This is the long-term capital gains tax brackets:

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You can find it here:


Short-term capital gains is taxed at the regular income rates:

enter image description here

Here's the link:

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I sold a rental property this year and it's going to move me up in the tax brackets...

I have some crypto I want to sell off and put into silver and gold but I'm not sure how much to put into savings because this tax system seems so confusing.

I'm not looking for an exact answer if it's not trivial, just maybe some guidance on where to look.

Since this is a rental property there are additional complications. They relate to how much depreciation there has been and how much the recapture tax will be.

To start to understand the issue I would take the tax software for the 2020 tax year and pretend that the property was sold last year. The tax software should be able to work through all the issues related to the sale price, the cost basis and depreciation. That should get you into the ballpark of the tax impact of selling the rental property.

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