Stock Profit Calculator

Stock Profit = (Sell Price × Shares) - (Buy Price × Shares) - Commissions. Return % = Profit / Total Cost × 100. If you received dividends, add those to get total return. Most modern brokers charge $0 commissions, so cost basis is simply purchase price × shares.

Cost basis = total amount paid for shares including commissions. Capital gains = Sale proceeds - Cost basis. This determines your taxable gain. Keep records of all purchases, reinvested dividends, and stock splits, as they adjust your cost basis. Wrong cost basis can mean overpaying taxes.

Short-term gains (held under 1 year): taxed as ordinary income (10-37%). Long-term gains (over 1 year): 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income. Most middle-income investors pay 15% long-term capital gains tax. Always know your holding period before selling.

If you sell a stock at a loss and buy the same or substantially identical stock within 30 days before or after the sale, it is a wash sale. You cannot deduct that loss — it is added to the new stock cost basis instead. Wait 31 days before rebuying the same stock to preserve the tax loss.

For tax purposes, you must identify which shares you are selling. Methods: FIFO (first in, first out — default), LIFO (last in, first out), specific identification (choose which shares to sell for tax optimization), or average cost basis (common for mutual funds). Specific identification gives most control over tax outcomes.