California tax on crypto
California generally taxes crypto gains under its graduated income-tax framework (Graduated income tax (top rate up to 13.3%)). This estimate applies the top modeled California rate to remaining taxable gain.
Federal rules for crypto: The IRS treats crypto as property. Sales, swaps, and spending can each be taxable. Form 1099-DA reporting is expanding; wash-sale rules currently apply more clearly to securities than to crypto. Holding period still matters for LTCG vs STCG except where a longer QSBS or real-estate test applies.
Open the parent California calculator for a generic sale, or the national Crypto lander for asset-only copy. Nearby states below keep the same crypto preset so you can compare residency. Estimates are not tax advice.
Crypto is taxed as property. A transfer between wallets you own is not a sale in this model, and the wash-sale rule is not applied to crypto here.
California does not give capital gains a preferential state rate. The model applies graduated income tax with a top rate up to 13.3% to taxable gain, the same way it treats wages. A long-term federal 15% or 20% bill can therefore sit next to a larger California line on a big sale.
The Mental Health Services Tax is not added on top of that 13.3% figure in this calculator. Residency, not the exchange where the shares traded, is what this page assumes for the state line.
Rates last verified: August 2026. Official source: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/.
California calculatorCrypto (all states)U.S. Capital Gains Tax CalculatorCrypto CGTHolding period
Illustrated tax on a long-term gain
Crypto held long enough for long-term treatment in California. Investment real estate does not use Section 121 in this table. QSBS uses a more-than-five-year hold.
| Gain | Federal | NIIT | California | Texas state tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000.00 | $3,750.00 | $0.00 | $3,325.00 | $0.00 |
| $100,000.00 | $15,000.00 | $0.00 | $13,300.00 | $0.00 |
| $250,000.00 | $37,500.00 | $4,940.00 | $33,250.00 | $0.00 |
Single filer, tax year 2026, $80,000.00 of other taxable income. Texas is the no-tax comparison. Illustration only, not your return.
