In simple terms, capital gain is the difference between the current price and the price the stock was bought at. So a 5% capital gain for a stock means it is now worth 5% more than when it was purchased. For example if the stock was bought at $50 and is now worth $52.50, it has a 5% capital gain. The capital gain is not "realized" until the stock is actually sold.
"Long term" means that it was purchased more than a year ago.
Answers & Comments
What you got for the stock when you sold it (proceeds) minus what you paid for it when you bought it (basis).
sale price minus basis. Basis is purchase price adjusted for any splits, reinvested dividends you already paid the tax on, and commissions.
In simple terms, capital gain is the difference between the current price and the price the stock was bought at. So a 5% capital gain for a stock means it is now worth 5% more than when it was purchased. For example if the stock was bought at $50 and is now worth $52.50, it has a 5% capital gain. The capital gain is not "realized" until the stock is actually sold.
"Long term" means that it was purchased more than a year ago.
Capital gains is the selling price (minus commissions) minus the purchase price (plus commissions).
So if you sell stocks for say $10000 and it costs you $50, your net money is $9950.
If you purchased that same stock for $7500 and again, you paid $50, your cost basis is $7550.
Your capital gains in this case is $9950 - $7550 = $2200. Your capital gains as a percentage is $2200 / $7750 * 100 = 28.4%.