Stock Profit Calculator
Profit or loss on a stock trade after commissions and the tax rate you enter, the return, the annualised return and the sale price that just breaks even.
Result
Net profit or loss: $1,700.00
On the commissions and tax rate you enter. Not tax advice.
- Return on the total cost
- 37.7778%
- Break-even sale price per share
- $45.00
- Total cost
- $4,500.00
- Tax on the gain
- $0.00
https://calcgallery.com/investment-returns/stock-profit-calculator/
Results are arithmetic on the returns, rates and horizons you enter, not a forecast and not investment, tax or retirement advice. The site supplies no expected return, inflation rate, contribution limit, tax rate or withdrawal rate. Real returns vary from year to year, and fees, taxes and the order of returns all change the outcome. Check anything that matters with a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Stock Profit Calculator
- Enter the number of shares and the prices you bought and sold at.
- Optionally add the commissions on each side, any dividends received and your tax rate on the gain.
- Read the net profit or loss, the return, and the sale price at which the trade exactly covers its costs.
The formulas
total cost = purchase price × shares + buy commissionnet proceeds = sale price × shares − sell commissiongross profit = net proceeds − total costtax = gross profit × tax rate, only when positivenet profit = gross profit − tax + dividendsbreak-even = (total cost + sell commission) ÷ sharesWhere the real answer lives
Price times shares is the easy part. Commissions and tax are where a trade that looks profitable turns out not to be, especially on small positions: two 5 commissions are more than 1% of a 900 trade. This page takes both as your inputs, because they vary by broker, country and how long you held, and supplies no rate of its own.
Return
Return is net profit divided by total cost, including the buy commission, because that is what you actually put in.
With your numbers
- Total cost = $45.00 × 100 + commission = $4,505.00
- Net proceeds = $62.00 × 100 − commission = $6,195.00
- Profit = $1,690.00 − tax $253.50 + dividends = $1,436.50
Quick reference
On the commissions and tax rate you enter. Not tax advice.
| Example | Net profit or loss |
|---|---|
| 100 shares, 45 to 62, costs and 15% tax | $1,436.50 |
| Same, no costs or tax | $1,700.00 |
| Sold at 30, a loss | -$1,510.00 |
| Sold at the price paid | -$10.00 |
| With 180 of dividends | $1,616.50 |
| 12.5 shares held 7 months | $312.50 |
Common questions about the Stock Profit Calculator
- What is the break-even sale price?
- The price at which selling returns exactly what the trade cost, commissions included. Buy 100 shares at 45 with 5 commission each way, and you need 45.10 a share to break even. Selling at 45 loses the 10 of commissions.
- How is tax handled?
- Tax is charged at the rate you enter on a gain only. A loss carries no tax and does not produce a negative tax that would flatter the result. Whether a loss can reduce tax on other gains depends on your tax rules, which this page does not model. The capital gains tax calculator works through the tax in more detail.
- Why include dividends?
- Because they are part of what the investment returned. Total return, price gain plus dividends, is the honest measure. Dividends are added after the gains tax here, as they are usually taxed separately.
- What does the annualised return tell me?
- The steady yearly rate that would have produced the same result. 1,436.50 on a 4,505 outlay is a 31.89% return; over two years that is 14.84% a year. It lets a two-month trade be compared with a two-year one.