TALLIVO
toolsabout
Your numbers will appear here as you use the tools.
home / crypto tax / california
Crypto & tax · CA

California Crypto Tax Calculator

Estimate your 2026 federal and California state tax on crypto capital gains, with FIFO, LIFO, or HIFO cost basis.

Cost-basis method — changes which lots are sold
Transactions4
$
$
$
$
$
Estimated tax owedFIFO
$2,883
short-term gains$3,000
long-term gains$8,000
short-term tax$660
long-term tax$1,200
CA state tax$1,023
total gains
$11,000
estimated tax
$2,883
effective rate
26.2%

A $10,000 crypto gain realized in California attracts about $930 in California tax — a marginal rate of 9.30% — for someone otherwise earning the state median of $100,600. Federal capital-gains tax applies on top.

California taxes capital gains as ordinary income, so the gain stacks on your other income and is taxed at the rate that band falls in. Figures use 2025 California rules and 2026 federal rules, single filer. Holding period decides the federal rate.

Crypto capital-gains tax in California

California runs the nation's most graduated income tax, with nine brackets climbing from 1% to 12.3% of taxable income. An additional 1% mental-health surcharge applies to income over $1 million, pushing the true top rate to 13.3% — the highest in the nation — though that surcharge is not modeled here. The standard deduction is small ($5,706 single / $11,412 married filing jointly), so most of a paycheck is exposed to the bracket schedule.

California gives capital gains no preferential long-term rate — gains, including crypto, are taxed as ordinary income on the same 1% to 12.3% schedule as wages, reaching 13.3% once the millionaire surcharge applies.

Common questions

How are crypto gains taxed in California?
As ordinary income: this estimate stacks the gain on your other income and runs it through the same schedule as wages — 1% to 12.3%. Any California exclusion or cap on long-term gains is not applied here.
How much California tax would a $10,000 crypto gain cost?
About $930 of California tax, on top of federal capital-gains tax. That is the gain stacked on California's $100,600 median household income (2024), where it lands in the 9.3% band.
What California rate applies to my gain?
Whichever band the gain lands in once it is added to your other income — California's 2025 schedule runs 1% to 12.3%, with the top rate starting at $742,953 of taxable income. A large sale can therefore push part of the gain into a higher band than your wages sit in.

How we calculate this

Federal lot-matching per our crypto-tax methodology, plus California's 2025 state treatment of capital gains (2026 state tables pending). Estimates only — not tax advice.

Tax Foundation: 2025 state income tax rates →California Franchise Tax Board — personal filing information →

More on California tax

Everyday moneyWhat lands in a California paycheckThe same salary split across real pay periods, after federal tax, FICA and California withholding.Everyday moneyCalifornia tax brackets and what you oweThe full California schedule — every bracket, the top rate and the deductions applied before them.
Related calculators
InvestCapital Gains Tax CalculatorCryptoCrypto Income Tax CalculatorCryptoCrypto Tax-Loss Harvesting CalculatorCryptoCrypto Investing Calculator

Estimates for general informational purposes only; not tax advice. Crypto tax rules are complex and California state treatment is simplified here — verify with the state Department of Revenue and a tax professional. This estimate does not model California's employee-paid SDI / Paid Family Leave withholding (1.2% of wages in 2025, with no wage cap). California's nine-rate 1%–12.3% schedule is applied with the $5,706 standard deduction for a single filer — not itemized deductions or any California tax credit.