2025 Form 1040, Line 7
Capital Gain or Loss: Line 7 Explained
Capital gain or loss — 2025 Form 1040, Line 7 — carries the Schedule D total onto the return. Short-term gains face ordinary rates; long-term gains get the 0/15/20% rates of §1(h); net losses are capped at $3,000 a year under §1211(b).
From 1099-B to Schedule D to Line 7
Brokerage sales arrive on Form 1099-B, get detailed on Form 8949, and net on Schedule D — that net total is what Line 7 carries. Short vs. long turns on the holding period: one year or less is short-term at ordinary rates; more than a year is long-term at the preferential 0/15/20% rates of §1(h).
The $3,000 loss limit
Net capital losses offset gains dollar for dollar, then up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year under §1211(b). The unused remainder carries forward indefinitely — track it on the capital loss carryover worksheet so none of it evaporates.
What trips people up
Missing cost basis on old holdings, wash-sale surprises, and long-term gains that push other income into higher brackets. Reconcile every 1099-B against your own records before the Schedule D math starts.
Questions, answered
- What is the difference between short-term and long-term?
- Hold an asset one year or less and the gain is short-term, taxed at ordinary rates; hold it more than a year and it is long-term, eligible for the 0/15/20% rates under §1(h).
- How much capital loss can I deduct?
- Net capital losses offset gains dollar for dollar, then up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year under §1211(b); the rest carries forward indefinitely.
- Do I still need Schedule D with only a brokerage 1099-B?
- Usually yes — Form 8949 details each sale and Schedule D nets them into the Line 7 total, unless you qualify for an exception to report totals directly.
Keep reading: Dividends · Taxable Income · Total Income