Unrealized Gain/Loss Calculator
Calculate the unrealized gain or loss on an investment using your purchase price, current market price, quantity, and fees. See your current position value, percentage return, gain or loss per unit, and estimated break-even price.
What Is an Unrealized Gain or Loss?
An unrealized gain is the increase in value of an investment that you still own. An unrealized loss is the decrease in value of an investment that you have not yet sold. They are called “unrealized” because the gain or loss has not been locked in through a sale.
For example, if you buy 100 shares at $100 per share and the market price later rises to $125, your position is worth $12,500 compared with an original purchase cost of $10,000. Before you sell, the $2,500 difference is an unrealized gain.
This calculator helps you quickly estimate that change in value using the numbers for a single investment position.
How to Use the Unrealized Gain/Loss Calculator
Enter four basic figures to calculate the current gain or loss on your position:
- Purchase Price: Enter the price you originally paid for each share or unit.
- Current Price: Enter the current market price of the investment.
- Quantity: Enter the number of shares or units you currently hold.
- Fees: Enter applicable transaction or trading fees. This field can be left at zero if there are no fees to include.
After selecting “Calculate Gain / Loss,” the calculator shows your estimated unrealized gain or loss, current position value, percentage return, gain or loss per unit, and break-even price.
How to Calculate Unrealized Gains on Stocks
For a simple stock position purchased at one price, the basic calculation is:
The calculator uses your total purchase cost as the starting point and subtracts the fees you enter when calculating the gain or loss. Because of this, fees reduce your reported gain or increase your reported loss.
The calculation is designed for a straightforward long position. Investments with multiple purchases, short positions, options, complex corporate actions, or special tax-basis rules may require a different calculation.
Example of an Unrealized Gain
Suppose you buy 100 shares at $100 per share. Your initial purchase cost is therefore $10,000.
The current market price rises to $125 per share, making the position worth $12,500.
If you paid $10 in fees, the estimated unrealized gain is:
($125 − $100) × 100 − $10 = $2,490
Your estimated return would be 24.90%, based on the initial $10,000 purchase cost.
Because the investment has not been sold, this remains an unrealized gain. The actual amount you receive from a future sale can differ because of market movement, additional costs, taxes, spreads, and other factors.
Understanding Your Calculator Results
Unrealized Gain / Loss
This is the estimated difference between your current position value and your initial purchase cost, after the fees entered into the calculator. A positive number represents an unrealized gain, while a negative number represents an unrealized loss.
Current Position Value
This is the estimated market value of the shares or units you currently hold. It is calculated by multiplying the current market price by your quantity.
Return Percentage
Return shows the gain or loss as a percentage of the initial purchase cost. It provides a quick way to compare the size of the change relative to what you originally invested.
Gain / Loss Per Unit
This shows the estimated unrealized gain or loss attributable to each share or unit. It is useful when you want to understand how much the investment has moved on a per-unit basis.
Break-Even Price
The break-even price is the approximate price at which your position would recover the original purchase cost plus the fees entered into this calculator. It does not account for taxes, future fees, spreads, or other costs.
Realized vs. Unrealized Gains
The difference between realized and unrealized gains is mainly whether the investment has been sold or otherwise disposed of.
An unrealized gain exists while you continue to hold an investment that has increased in value. A realized gain generally occurs when you sell the investment for more than its applicable cost basis.
For example, if you buy a stock for $50 and its market price rises to $80, the $30 increase per share is an unrealized gain while you still own the stock. If you later sell it at $80, the gain becomes realized, subject to the applicable calculation and tax rules.
This distinction matters because accounting and tax treatment can differ between unrealized and realized amounts.
Paper Gains and Paper Losses
“Paper gains” and “paper losses” are informal terms commonly used to describe unrealized gains and unrealized losses.
A paper gain means the investment is currently worth more than its relevant purchase cost, but the position has not been sold. A paper loss means the current market value is below that cost.
Because market prices can change, a paper gain can become smaller, disappear, or turn into a loss. Likewise, a paper loss can recover if the market price rises. This is one reason an unrealized result should not automatically be treated as guaranteed profit or loss.
Cost Basis Calculator and Multiple Purchases
Your cost basis is the amount used to determine the relevant cost of an investment for a particular calculation. Depending on the investment and jurisdiction, it can include more than simply the price shown on your original trade.
If you purchased the same investment several times at different prices, your effective cost per share may differ from the price of any individual purchase.
Average Cost Basis (Multiple Purchases)
For a simple example, imagine buying 10 shares at $100 and another 20 shares at $120. Your total purchase cost is $3,400 for 30 shares, producing a simple quantity-weighted average purchase price of approximately $113.33 per share.
However, the correct tax cost-basis method can depend on the security, account, jurisdiction, and applicable rules. A simple average should not automatically be treated as your official tax basis.
This calculator is designed for a single purchase price and quantity. It does not maintain individual tax lots or automatically calculate a complete multi-purchase cost basis.
Mark-to-Market Value and Open Position Profit/Loss
The mark-to-market value of an investment generally refers to its value based on the current market price rather than its original purchase price. For a publicly traded stock, this can usually be estimated by multiplying the latest market price by the number of shares held.
Your open position profit/loss is another common way to describe the unrealized result of a position that remains open. In other words, while you still hold the investment, the difference between its current value and relevant cost can be shown as an open or unrealized profit/loss.
Mark-to-market terminology can also have specific accounting or tax meanings in certain situations. The fact that an asset is marked to market does not by itself determine how it will be taxed.
Portfolio Unrealized Gain Tracker
This calculator is intended for calculating the unrealized result of an individual investment position. It is not a complete portfolio unrealized gain tracker.
A portfolio tracker normally allows you to enter multiple investments and combines their current values, cost bases, gains or losses, and portfolio-level performance. If you own several stocks, funds, cryptocurrencies, or other assets, you may need to calculate each position separately or use a dedicated portfolio tracking tool.
Ghaline can expand its financial tools over time, so additional investment calculators and portfolio tools may become available in the future.
Do You Pay Taxes on Unrealized Gains?
The answer depends on your country, tax system, investment type, account type, and individual circumstances.
In many ordinary taxable investment situations, an increase in the value of an investment that you continue to hold is not treated the same way as a realized capital gain from selling the investment. However, there are important exceptions. Some jurisdictions, financial instruments, entities, or tax regimes can use mark-to-market or other rules that may create tax consequences before a traditional sale.
Therefore, the question “do you pay taxes on unrealized gains” cannot be answered universally. Use this calculator to understand the change in investment value, but check the rules that apply to your specific situation before making tax decisions.
Capital Gains Tax on Unrealized Gains
An unrealized gain is different from a realized capital gain, but tax treatment varies by jurisdiction and by the type of asset or account involved.
In systems where capital gains are generally taxed when an investment is sold, an unrealized increase may not create the same capital gains tax liability as a sale. But special rules can apply to particular investments or taxpayers.
The calculator does not estimate your capital gains tax. It also does not determine your official tax basis. Its purpose is to show the estimated change in value of your investment position.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Capital Gains
Some tax systems distinguish between short-term and long-term capital gains. Where such a distinction exists, the holding period can affect the tax treatment of a gain after it becomes realized.
This calculator does not determine whether a future gain is short-term or long-term because it does not collect your purchase date, sale date, tax jurisdiction, or other information needed for a tax calculation.
If you are preparing a tax return or deciding when to sell an investment, consult the applicable tax authority or a qualified tax professional for rules that apply to your situation.
Important Things to Consider
Trading and Transaction Fees
Fees can reduce the amount of your actual investment return. This calculator allows you to enter total fees so they can be deducted from the estimated gain or added to the break-even calculation.
Avoid entering the same fee twice. If a fee has already been included in the purchase price or another figure you are using, adding it again may distort the result.
Taxes
Taxes are not included in the calculator. Your eventual tax liability can depend on your jurisdiction, holding period, account type, investment type, and other factors.
Dividends and Distributions
Dividend income, distributions, and reinvested dividends are not included in this calculation. If you are measuring total investment performance, those amounts may need to be considered separately.
Currency Conversion
Enter all prices, fees, and values in the same currency. The calculator does not automatically convert currencies or account for changes in exchange rates.
Market Price Changes
An unrealized result changes whenever the market price changes. The number shown by this calculator is therefore a snapshot based on the prices you enter, not a guaranteed future profit or loss.
Complex Investments
Options, futures, short positions, leveraged products, derivatives, securities with special tax treatment, and complex corporate actions may require calculations that are different from the simple long-position formula used here.
Frequently Asked Questions
An unrealized gain is an increase in the value of an investment that you still own. It becomes a realized gain when the applicable transaction or disposition occurs, subject to the relevant rules.
An unrealized loss occurs when the current value of an investment is below its relevant purchase cost or cost basis. It remains unrealized while the position is still held.
It represents a gain in the investment’s current value, but it is not necessarily the same as final realized profit. Selling costs, taxes, dividends, currency effects, and other factors can affect the final result.
For a simple single-purchase position, subtract the purchase price from the current price and multiply the result by the number of shares. If applicable, subtract relevant fees. This calculator performs that calculation for you.
No. Taxes are not included. Tax treatment depends on your jurisdiction, investment, account type, holding period, and other circumstances.
It uses your entered purchase price and quantity to calculate the initial purchase cost for this simple position. It is not a complete tax cost-basis calculator and does not track multiple tax lots or jurisdiction-specific basis adjustments.
The calculator is designed for one purchase price and quantity at a time. If you bought the same investment at several different prices, you may need to determine the appropriate average or lot-specific cost basis first.
A paper gain is an informal term for an unrealized gain. It describes an increase in an investment’s current value while the position is still being held.
Mark-to-market value generally means valuing an asset using its current market price. For a simple stock position, it can be estimated as current share price multiplied by the number of shares held.
It depends on the applicable tax rules. Many ordinary investment situations distinguish unrealized gains from realized gains, but special tax regimes and certain investments can have different treatment. Check the rules that apply to your situation.
The basic mathematics can be used for a simple cryptocurrency position if you enter the relevant purchase price, current price, quantity, and fees. However, cryptocurrency tax and cost-basis rules can be complex and vary by jurisdiction.
The break-even price is the approximate price per unit needed to recover the purchase cost plus the fees entered into the calculator. It does not include future taxes, selling costs, or other expenses.
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Calculator Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for general informational and educational purposes. It is not financial, investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice.
Results are estimates based only on the information you enter and may not reflect your actual investment return, official cost basis, taxable gain, or final proceeds. Real-world results can be affected by commissions, spreads, taxes, dividends, currency conversion, corporate actions, and other factors.
Tax rules vary by country, jurisdiction, investment type, and individual circumstances. If you need advice about your specific investment or tax situation, consult an appropriately qualified professional or the relevant tax authority.
Have a question or feedback about this calculator? Contact us at info@ghaline.com. To learn more about Ghaline and the financial tools we build, visit our About page, or return to the Ghaline homepage to explore other tools.