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Capital gains tax is tax on half of what you sell something for above what it cost. Enter the price, your cost and any selling fees to see the extra tax in your province. On a $95,000 gain with $90,000 of other income in Ontario, the estimate is about $17,451.
How does a gain turn into tax?
The tool takes the sale price and removes what you paid (the adjusted cost base) and your selling costs. What’s left is the gain, and it’s the only number the rest depends on. Half of it joins the rest of your income for the year, and the extra tax is your bill with that half minus your bill without it.
So a gain never gets a flat rate of its own. It’s stacked on top of your other income, which is why the same sale costs a lot more if you earn a high salary and a lot less in a low income year, and why two friends selling the same shares can pay very different bills.
What does the same sale cost in different situations?
The figures below use a $250,000 sale, a $150,000 cost and $5,000 of selling costs, so the gain is $95,000.
| Situation | Extra tax | Share of the gain | Gain you keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario, $90,000 other income | $17,451 | 18.4% | $77,549 |
| Ontario, $50,000 other income | $13,479 | 14.2% | $81,522 |
| Alberta, $90,000 other income | $15,551 | 16.4% | $79,449 |
The lower earner pays about $3,970 less on the same gain, and the Alberta seller saves roughly $1,900 compared with Ontario. Other income is the biggest lever in the table. If you have any say over when you sell, try a few figures before you pick a year, because that’s where the real money is.
Where does the gain go on my return?
You work it out on Schedule 3 and carry the result to line 12700. The CRA’s page on line 12700, taxable capital gains says that if your taxable gains for the year were more than your allowable capital losses, you include the difference there.
Say Dana in Winnipeg sells a rental condo and a handful of shares in the same year. Both gains land on the same return at tax time, so add the two sale prices, the two costs and the two sets of selling costs, and enter the totals. Running the sales one by one would understate the bill, because the second gain sits on top of the first and gets taxed at a higher step.
What does the tool skip?
- Use your adjusted cost base, not the purchase price alone. That’s what the label asks for, and buying costs may belong in it.
- Selling costs such as commissions reduce the gain, so type them in their own box.
- A loss shows zero tax. The tool doesn’t carry a loss to another year or match it against other gains.
- Your main home is usually exempt. The lifetime exemption for qualified small business shares and farm or fishing property is an option: tick the box and enter the amount you have left. The CRA indexation page, November 2026, puts the limit at $1,275,000 for 2026 (it was $1,250,000 for 2025). The exemption can trigger alternative minimum tax, which isn’t included.
- A partial sale, shares bought at different prices or foreign currency need an adjusted cost base you work out first.
Check the result against your own records before you sell, and don’t trust a number you can’t trace to a statement. A gain also raises your income for the year, so it can change other amounts that depend on income, and those are outside this tool.
How do you report a sale on your return?
Report every sale of shares or property on Schedule 3, even when the gain is exempt. If you sold a home that was your principal residence at any point, the CRA also asks for Form T2091(IND), one form for each property. The CRA’s capital gains page for the 2025 return says the taxable part of a gain is one-half, and the tool uses the same one-half for 2026. Keep the purchase and sale statements, the legal fees and any receipts for improvements, because the CRA can ask for them. If you want to read more first, see our guides to capital gains on a home sale and capital gains tax in Canada, and the principal residence exemption calculator for a second property or cottage.
Which other calculators go with this one?
To compare a gain with pay at the margin, use the marginal tax rate calculator. If you also get dividends, the dividend tax calculator is the one you’ll want for those. Selling a house you rented out rather than lived in? The home sale proceeds calculator covers commissions and the mortgage payout, and the income tax calculator gives the full yearly bill.
Our sources
The tool counts half of each gain as income and applies the 2026 federal and provincial tax steps published on Canada.ca and by each province. We checked the federal and provincial brackets again in November 2026 (Quebec excepted, and the Manitoba brackets differ between two CRA pages) and confirmed the one-half inclusion rate and the line 12700 rules against CRA pages again in November 2026 (the line 12700 page is dated February 5, 2026). We recomputed the three examples in the table with code from the 2026 federal, Ontario and Alberta rates. This site has no connection with the CRA or any government body, and the result is an estimate.
About this calculator
- What it does
- Estimate the tax on selling an investment or property, with half of the gain added to income.
- Category
- Income Tax
- Last checked
- November 2026
- Result type
- Estimate for information only, not tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a gain is taxed?
The tool counts half of the gain as income. On a $95,000 gain, $47,500 is taxed at your usual rates.
Why does my other income matter?
The gain is stacked on top of it. With $90,000 of other income in Ontario the extra tax is $17,451, but with $50,000 it's $13,479.
Do selling costs lower the tax?
Yes. They come off the sale price when the gain is worked out, before half of it is counted.
What if I sold at a loss?
The tool shows zero tax. It doesn't carry the loss to another year or match it against other gains.
Is my home included?
Your main home is usually exempt, so this tool suits shares, funds and other property. The lifetime exemption for qualified small business shares and farm or fishing property is an option: tick the box and enter the amount you have left.
Estimate only. Information only, no services, consultations or registrations. More
For information only. Tax-Services.ca provides no services: we do not prepare or file tax returns, we give no consultations, we register you with no one, and we do not offer tax, legal, accounting or financial services. We do not represent the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec, any government or any other organization, so please take all questions to the official organizations. We copy information by hand from official websites, so we can make mistakes and the data can go out of date. Please confirm it with a certified professional or on the official government websites. We do not guarantee that it is accurate, complete or current. These results are estimates, and we accept no liability for any use of them. Official government websites · Full disclaimer
Where do I report a capital gain?
Report it on Schedule 3 and carry the taxable amount to line 12700 of your return. If the sale was a home that was your principal residence at some point, the CRA also asks for Form T2091(IND), one for each property.
Is the capital gains inclusion rate still one-half?
Yes. The CRA says one-half for the 2025 return, and the planned increase to two-thirds was cancelled, so the tool uses one-half for 2026 as well. Check the CRA capital gains pages when you file in case the rules change.
Sources and updates
Updated: . How we check rates · Editorial team · Updates