Stock Return Calculator (Canada)

What is a share trade worth once tax is paid? A capital gain in a non-registered account is taxed, but only partly. Enter the buy price, the sell price, the number of shares and your marginal tax rate, and the calculator reports the capital gain, the taxable portion, the tax, the after-tax gain and your after-tax return on what you invested.

How Canadian capital gains work

The CRA applies an inclusion rate, and only that fraction of the gain is added to your income for the year, where it is taxed at your combined federal and provincial marginal rate. The effective tax on a capital gain is therefore lower than on the same amount of salary or interest, one reason long-term investing in a taxable account can still be attractive.

How the after-tax gain is calculated

• Capital gain = (sell price − buy price) x shares.
• Taxable gain = capital gain x inclusion rate.
• Tax = taxable gain x your marginal rate.
• After-tax gain = capital gain − tax.
• After-tax return on cost = after-tax gain ÷ (buy price x shares).

The inclusion rate comes from a CRA-sourced parameter; the marginal rate is the figure you enter.

A worked example

You buy 100 shares at $20, a $2,000 position, and sell at $30. The gain is $1,000. At a 50% inclusion rate, $500 is taxable, and at a 30% marginal rate the tax is $150. You keep $850, an after-tax return of 42.5% on your $2,000. Taxed as ordinary income, the same $1,000 would have cost $300.

With 200 shares at the same prices, the gain, tax and after-tax gain all double, to $2,000, $300 and $1,700, but the return on the $4,000 cost is still 42.5%. At fixed rates, your marginal rate, not the size of the trade, drives the percentage you keep.

Why your marginal rate matters

An investor in a low bracket keeps far more of the same gain than one in the top bracket, and your province shifts the combined rate. Each province and territory sets its own brackets on top of the federal ones, so a high earner in a province with steep upper brackets keeps less than someone with the same gain in a lower-rate province such as Alberta. Running the calculator at different rates also shows the value of realizing a gain in a year when your income is lower.

Reporting the gain and avoiding common mistakes

Dispositions in a non-registered account are reported on Schedule 3 of your T1 return, and your broker usually issues a T5008 slip. The CRA expects the gain over your adjusted cost base, not the raw purchase price, so if you bought the same security in several lots, average the cost. Two common mistakes are forgetting to net capital losses from other sales, which this calculator does not do, and triggering the superficial loss rule by rebuying the same security within 30 days of selling at a loss, which denies the loss. Keep your trade confirmations and cost records.

Assumptions and limitations

The calculator models one buy-and-sell gain in a taxable account, taxed in one year at the marginal rate you enter, with a flat inclusion rate. It excludes commissions, dividends, offsetting losses and registered accounts. Treat the result as an estimate of the tax on a single gain and confirm your marginal rate and any losses before filing.

This article is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Tool: Stock Return Calculator Canada

Stock return calculator Canada: use this tool to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official CRA guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.