Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet calculator.

What the worksheet does

Most of your income is taxed at the ordinary 10% to 37% rates. Qualified dividends and net capital gain are different: the IRS taxes them at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on where they sit once they are stacked on top of the rest of your taxable income. The Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1040 does that stacking. Tax software runs it silently; this page shows every step.

In short: set aside the qualified dividends and net capital gain, tax what is left at ordinary rates, fill the 0% and 15% room with the set-aside amount before anything spills into 20%, then take the smaller of that total and the plain ordinary-rate tax.

The 2025 rate thresholds

The 0% and 15% ceilings below are the ones printed on lines 6 and 13 of the 2025 worksheet. They are measured against taxable income, which is Form 1040 line 15 after the standard or itemized deduction, not against gross income.

Which numbers go in

• Taxable income is Form 1040 line 15 (worksheet line 1).
• Qualified dividends are Form 1040 line 3a (worksheet line 2). They are usually in box 1b of your Form 1099-DIV and are a subset of the ordinary dividends on line 3b.
• Net capital gain (worksheet line 3) is the smaller of Schedule D line 15 or line 16 when you file Schedule D, with a blank or a loss counted as zero. With no Schedule D it is the capital gain distributions on Form 1040 line 7a. Short-term gains are not part of it; they are taxed as ordinary income.

Worked example

This is a hypothetical single filer with taxable income of $60,000, of which $5,000 is qualified dividends and $10,000 is net long-term capital gain. The defaults in the form above are these same numbers.

1. Line 4 adds the two preferential items: $5,000 + $10,000 = $15,000. Line 5 is what is left for ordinary rates: $60,000 − $15,000 = $45,000.
2. Line 6 is the single 0% ceiling, $48,350. The unused room under it is $48,350 − $45,000 = $3,350, so line 9 puts $3,350 of the dividends and gain at 0%.
3. The other $11,650 of the $15,000 fits under the $533,400 ceiling, so line 17 taxes it at 15%: $1,747.50. Nothing reaches 20%.
4. Line 22 taxes the $45,000 ordinary part with the Tax Table: $5,165.
5. Line 23 adds $0 + $1,747.50 + $5,165 = $6,912.50. Line 24, the tax on all $60,000 at ordinary rates, is $8,120. Line 25 takes the smaller figure, $6,912.50, which is $6,913 when rounded to whole dollars on Form 1040. The preferential rates saved about $1,207 in this example.

These figures belong to one made-up return; run your own.

Why the tax can differ from your software by a few dollars

Below $100,000 of taxable income the IRS requires the Tax Table, which gives one tax figure for every $50 row (and $25 rows below $3,000). That figure is the tax at the middle of the row, so two incomes in the same row get the same tax. This calculator reproduces the table that way and was checked against all 2,062 rows of the 2025 table for each filing status. At $100,000 and above the worksheet uses the exact rate schedule, as this page does. Small differences from other software usually trace to a different line 1 or to cent rounding.

Which worksheet you actually use

The Form 1040 instructions send you to this worksheet if you reported qualified dividends on line 3a, if you have no Schedule D but reported capital gain distributions on line 7a, or if you file Schedule D with both line 15 and line 16 above zero. They send you elsewhere in some cases: to the Schedule D Tax Worksheet if Schedule D line 18 or 19 is above zero while lines 15 and 16 are gains (or if you have an amount on Form 4952 line 4g), to the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet with Form 2555, and to Schedule J if you income-average farm or fishing income. A child whose tax is figured on Form 8615 follows that form first.

What this does not cover

• The Schedule D Tax Worksheet, which taxes collectibles and section 1202 stock gain at up to 28% and unrecaptured section 1250 gain at up to 25%.
• The Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet and Schedule J.
• The 3.8% net investment income tax, the alternative minimum tax, credits and state income tax. For the surtax, see the NIIT calculator.
• Any tax year other than 2025. The thresholds change every year.
• Whether a dividend is really qualified. A dividend reported in box 1b can fail the holding-period test (for common stock, held fewer than 61 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date), in which case it is taxed as ordinary income.

FAQ

What is the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet?

The worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1040 that figures your line 16 tax when part of your income is qualified dividends or net capital gain. It taxes those amounts at 0%, 15% or 20%, the rest at ordinary rates, and uses the smaller total.

Where do I find the worksheet?

In the Instructions for Form 1040, in the line 16 section. Tax software completes it for you and may not print it, so this calculator shows the lines.

What are the 2025 0%, 15% and 20% thresholds?

For 2025 the 0% rate applies up to $48,350 of taxable income for single and married filing separately, $96,700 for married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouse, and $64,750 for head of household. The 15% rate runs up to $533,400, $300,000, $600,050 and $566,700 respectively. Above that the rate is 20%.

Do I put adjusted gross income or taxable income on line 1?

Taxable income, the amount on Form 1040 line 15. That is income after your standard or itemized deduction (the single standard deduction is $15,750 for 2025), which is why a single filer with $60,000 of gross income can still have part of it in the 0% band.

Why does line 25 show the smaller of line 23 and line 24?

Line 24 is the tax at ordinary rates throughout and line 23 uses the preferential rates. The worksheet takes the lower one, so it can only reduce your tax or leave it the same.

Is every dividend on my Form 1099-DIV qualified?

No. Qualified dividends are in box 1b, and the Form 1040 instructions list exceptions where a box 1b amount still is not qualified, such as stock held fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date.

When do I use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet instead?

When Schedule D line 18 or 19 is above zero while lines 15 and 16 are gains, or when you have an amount on Form 4952 line 4g. This calculator does not handle those cases.

Does this include state tax or the net investment income tax?

No. It figures only the federal income tax on Form 1040 line 16. The 3.8% net investment income tax is figured on Form 8960 and state tax follows your state rules.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-10. Each link was opened and checked against the claim next to it.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 1040 (2025): the worksheet lines, the 0% and 15% ceilings, the which-worksheet rules, the Tax Table and qualified-dividend exceptions.
• IRS Topic no. 409: Capital gains and losses: the 2025 0%, 15% and 20% thresholds and the 28% and 25% exceptions.
• IRS: Instructions for Form 1040 (PDF): the printed worksheet and Tax Computation Worksheet.
• IRS Publication 550: Investment Income and Expenses: the definition of qualified dividends and the holding-period rules.
• IRS: About Form 8960: the net investment income tax is figured on its own form.