Stock Return Calculator: Net Profit After Fees and Taxes

Buy 10 shares at $150 and sell at $180: $254.98 (17.00%) is left after the SEC fee and a 15% capital gains tax

This stock return calculator takes your buy price, number of shares, sell price and commission rate, and shows what you actually keep after fees and taxes. Buy 10 shares at $150.00 and sell at $180.00 in a taxable account, and the price gain is $300.00 (+20.00%). The SEC fee on the sale is $0.03 and a 15% long-term capital gains tax takes $44.99, so the net profit is $254.98 and the net return is 17.00%.

The same calculation gives your breakeven sell price. The raw break-even is $150.0025, but stocks trade in whole cents above $1, so the lowest price you can actually enter is $150.01. The page below covers why to calculate it, the method, how taxes and fees work in the US, breakeven and tick size, profit by sell price, the effect of commission rates, taxable accounts versus IRAs, common mistakes and limits.

Why the price chart is not your real return

A quote screen only compares prices. On a sale you pay a regulatory fee, any commission your broker charges, and tax on the gain if the shares sit in a taxable account. For a short trade with a small gain, those costs can be the whole difference between a win and a loss. In the default example costs take $45.02, which is 15.01% of the price gain.

The calculator is most useful when you set a limit sell order and want a breakeven and a target price, when you compare a taxable account with a retirement account for the same trade, and when you test how a commission or a different tax rate changes the outcome. Your broker's profit and loss figure may or may not include the sale-day fees, so a separate calculation is the way to see what reaches your account.

How the calculation works

1. Purchase = buy price × shares. If you bought in several lots, enter the average cost per share.
2. Cost = purchase + buy commission (purchase × commission rate, rounded down to the cent).
3. Proceeds = sell price × shares. Subtract the sell commission and the SEC fee, each rounded down to the cent.
4. Gain before tax = proceeds − fees − cost. Capital gains tax applies only when this is above zero.
5. Net profit = gain before tax − capital gains tax. Net return = net profit ÷ cost.

The price alone rose 20.00%, but the net return is 17.00%. The calculator's sale breakdown chart shows the same order: price gain first, then fees and taxes, then the net result. The commission rate and the 0% in these examples are assumptions for illustration; use the rates from your own broker.

Fees and taxes on a US stock sale

The SEC Section 31 fee is charged on sales of securities. Under the SEC's fee rate advisory, the rate is $20.60 per million dollars of covered sales for charge dates on or after April 4, 2026, which is 0.00206% of the sale amount. For charge dates through April 3, 2026 the rate was $0.00 per million. The advisory says the new rate stays in place until 60 calendar days after legislation setting the SEC's fiscal year 2027 appropriation is enacted, so it can change again.

On a $1,800.00 sale the fee is $0.0371, which the calculator rounds down to $0.03. Brokers can round it up to the next cent when they bill it, so a statement may differ from the calculator by a cent. A very small per-share FINRA trading activity fee can also apply to sales; the calculator does not include it, and the amount is not given here because it is not confirmed.

Capital gains tax is covered in the next sections. The fee table below uses the same default example so you can see how much each commission rate changes the outcome.

Breakeven sell price and the price increment

The breakeven sell price is the lowest price at which selling leaves you with zero or more. Because a stock can only be quoted in set increments, the calculator rounds the calculated value up to the next valid price. Under SEC Regulation NMS Rule 612, a quote priced below $1.00 per share can use increments of $0.0001, and at or above $1.00 the minimum increment is $0.01. The rule allows a half-cent increment for stocks whose average quoted spread is $0.015 or less; the calculator uses $0.01 and does not model that case.

In the default example the calculated breakeven is $150.0025. With no commission, the only costs near breakeven are the SEC fee and a few cents of tax, so the lowest valid price that leaves you at zero or better is $150.01. Selling at exactly $150.00 loses $0.03, which is the SEC fee. The target sell price works the same way: with a 15% target, the lowest valid price whose net return reaches 15% is $167.65.

Net result by sell price

The ladder in the calculator lists prices from +20% to −10% of your buy price plus the current, breakeven and target prices, and recalculates when you select a row. For the default example:

Gains are reduced by the tax, so a rise of 10% gives a net return of 8.50%. Losses are not reduced by a tax in this calculation, so a fall of 10% costs $150.02, about the full price drop plus the SEC fee.

What different commission rates change

Commissions differ by broker, account and order type, so check your own fee schedule; 0% is only the starting assumption here. The table repeats the default example with the same commission rate on the buy and the sell. These rates are assumptions.

Higher commissions lower the net result, though the tax shrinks a little because commission reduces the taxable gain. They also move both the breakeven and the target upward, because commission is paid on both ends.

Taxable account or IRA, long-term or short-term

In a taxable account the gain is taxed. The IRS explains in Topic 409 that if you hold the asset more than one year, the gain is long-term, and if you hold it one year or less it is short-term. For taxable years beginning in 2025, long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on taxable income: 0% at or below $48,350 for single filers, 15% above that up to $533,400 for single filers, and 20% above. Net short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income at graduated rates. High earners can also owe the net investment income tax (Topic 559). Enter the rate that applies to you in the capital gains tax field; the calculator uses a flat rate.

In a traditional IRA, the IRS says holdings, including earnings and gains, are generally not taxed until you take a distribution. The calculator's IRA setting therefore applies no tax on the sale, only the SEC fee. It does not model what happens when you withdraw the money, which depends on the account type and your situation.

Common mistakes

• Calling the price change your return: $150 to $180 is +20.00%, but the net return in the example is 17.00%.
• Treating the buy price as breakeven: selling at $150.00 loses the SEC fee, and any commission would add to that.
• Entering a price that is not a valid increment: above $1.00 you cannot quote a price like $150.0025; the calculator rounds up to $150.01.
• Using one tax rate for every holding period: long-term and short-term gains are taxed differently, so change the capital gains rate when the holding period changes.
• Forgetting that the fee rate can change: the SEC fee was $0.00 per million through April 3, 2026, and $20.60 per million after.

Limits of this calculator

• Each fee and tax is rounded down to the cent for one purchase and one sale. A broker may bill the SEC fee rounded up, so a statement can differ by a cent or so.
• The FINRA trading activity fee, state income tax, the net investment income tax and the wash sale rule are not included.
• The capital gains tax is a flat rate you enter, not a full tax return. Losses are not offset against other gains and no carryover is applied.
• The IRA setting ignores taxes on withdrawal. Roth and other account rules are not modeled.
• Half-cent quote increments are not modeled, and the example prices and commission rates are assumptions, not forecasts or advice.

As of October 20, 2026. The SEC fee rate and the IRS capital gains figures (for taxable years beginning in 2025) were checked on the official pages listed below on that date. Example prices and commission rates are assumptions for calculation. This page is not investment or tax advice.

Sources

• 01SEC: Fiscal Year 2026 Section 31 Fee Rate Advisory #2$20.60 per million for covered sales on or after April 4, 2026; $0.00 per million through April 3, 2026
• 02IRS: Topic no. 409, Capital gains and lossesLong-term 0%, 15%, 20% rates and thresholds for taxable years beginning in 2025; short-term gains taxed as ordinary income; holding period
• 03IRS: Traditional IRAsEarnings and gains generally not taxed until a distribution is taken
• 0417 CFR 242.612 (Regulation NMS Rule 612), Minimum pricing increment$0.0001 below $1.00; $0.01 or $0.005 at or above $1.00

Frequently asked questions

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