What are the exact 0%/15%/20% qualified dividend and long‑term capital gains threshold amounts for the 2025 tax year?
Executive summary
The long‑term capital gains and qualified dividend tax rates for the 2025 tax year are tiered at 0%, 15% and 20%; the taxable‑income cutoffs that determine which rate applies depend on filing status and were adjusted for inflation for 2025 (taxes filed in 2026) [1]. The 0% upper limits and the 20% lower limits are published by tax commentators and preparer guides; the 15% rate applies to taxable income between those two thresholds for each filing status [2] [3].
1. Exact 0% cutoff (upper bound) for 2025, by filing status
The taxable‑income ceiling for the 0% long‑term capital gains/qualified dividend rate in 2025 is $48,350 for single filers, $96,700 for married filing jointly, $64,800 for head of household (sources commonly report the married‑joint and single cutoffs explicitly; CNBC and U.S. Bank give the single and joint numbers) [2] [4]. These 0% cutoffs mean that taxable income at or below those amounts will generally result in a 0% tax on most long‑term capital gains and qualified dividends [1].
2. Exact 20% threshold (where the top capital‑gains rate begins) for 2025, by filing status
The taxable‑income thresholds at which the statutory 20% long‑term capital gains/qualified dividend rate begins in 2025 are documented as follows: $533,400 for single filers, $600,050 for married filing jointly (or qualifying surviving spouse), $566,700 for head of household, and $300,000 for married filing separately — above these amounts the 20% rate applies to most long‑term gains and qualified dividends [3]. These 20% cutoffs are the commonly reported values used by tax guides and preparers to identify taxpayers subject to the highest capital‑gains rate [3].
3. The 15% band: how to read the middle rate and exact ranges
Taxable income that exceeds the 0% cutoff but does not exceed the 20% threshold will generally be taxed at 15% for long‑term capital gains and qualified dividends; in practice that means, for single filers, the 15% band runs from just above $48,350 up to $533,400, and for married filing jointly it runs from just above $96,700 up to $600,050 [2] [3]. The Internal Revenue Service and tax commentators emphasize that these brackets are applied to taxable income (after deductions), and ordinary income fills tax brackets first before capital‑gains rates are applied, so precise liability depends on the mix of ordinary income and net long‑term gains [1] [5].
4. Interaction with surtaxes and special cases — the fine print
Even after the 20% statutory rate, higher effective tax rates can occur when the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) applies; that surtax is separate and can raise the effective top rate to 23.8% for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds NIIT thresholds [6]. Additionally, some gains — for example certain small‑business stock — can be taxed at different maximum statutory rates (e.g., up to 28%), and Alternative Minimum Tax or other code provisions can alter outcomes, so the 0/15/20 framework describes the ordinary route for most taxpayers but not every special case [1] [7].
5. Sources, caveats, and where to confirm
The numbers above are drawn from tax‑industry reporting and preparer guides that summarize IRS 2025 bracket adjustments — CNBC and U.S. Bank reporting provide the 0% cutoffs and TurboTax lists the 20% thresholds; the IRS Topic on capital gains confirms the three‑tier statutory system and that most taxpayers’ gains are taxed no higher than 15% absent higher‑income thresholds or surtaxes [2] [4] [3] [1]. If a definitive IRS publication for the 2025 capital gains rate table is required, consulting the IRS revenue procedure or the official IRS capital gains tables used for tax year 2025 is recommended because preparer guides summarize those official numbers [1].