Total Return %
42.57%
Stock Return and Capital Gain Calculator
Calculate total return including capital gains and dividends.
Total Return
$2,150.00
Capital Gain
$1,950.00
Annualized Return
12.55%
Cost Basis
$5,050.00
How to use the Stock Return and Capital Gain Calculator
The Stock Return and Capital Gain Calculator is free and runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your device. It opens pre-filled with a realistic example, so you can see how it works before replacing any figure with your own; the results update as you type. Press Calculate to refresh the result panel, or Reset to return to the example.
The inputs it asks for:
- Purchase Price per Share — a dollar amount.
- Sale Price per Share — a dollar amount.
- Number of Shares — a number.
- Total Dividends Received — a dollar amount.
- Total Fees/Commissions — a dollar amount.
- Holding Period (Years) — a number.
The formula
It totals what you got back against what you put in. Cost basis is the purchase price plus fees; total return adds the capital gain and any dividends; the annualized figure converts that to a compound yearly rate:
Total return = (Sale − Cost basis) + Dividends
Annualized = ((Proceeds + Dividends) / Cost basis)^(1/years) − 1- Cost basis
- purchase price × shares + fees
- Proceeds
- sale price × shares
Total return counts both price gain and income, which is the honest measure. The annualized (compound) rate lets you compare holdings of different lengths — a 30% gain over three years is about 9% a year, not 10%.
Worked example
Using the example values — Purchase Price per Share $50.00, Sale Price per Share $70.00, Number of Shares 100, Total Dividends Received $200.00, Total Fees/Commissions $50.00, Holding Period (Years) 3 — the Stock Return and Capital Gain Calculator returns a Total Return of $2,150.00. It also reports Total Return % (42.57%), Capital Gain ($1,950.00), Annualized Return (12.55%).
Prefer your own numbers? Change any field above and this recomputes instantly.
Key terms
- Cost basis
- Total amount invested, including commissions — the base for gain and tax.
- Capital gain
- Sale proceeds minus cost basis, before dividends.
- Total return
- Capital gain plus dividends — the complete result.
- Annualized return
- The equivalent steady yearly compound rate.
Frequently asked questions
Why include dividends?
Because they're part of what you earned. Leaving them out understates the return, especially for income stocks held a long time.
Total return or annualized — which matters?
Total return is the raw dollars and percent. Annualized restates it per year, so you can compare investments held for different lengths of time.
Does it handle taxes?
No — it's a pre-tax result. Capital gains and dividends are usually taxable, at a rate that depends on your bracket and how long you held.