Heads up: this is general education for US sellers, not tax advice — rules vary by country, situation, and how your deal is structured. Confirm the specifics with a qualified tax professional before you file.
Here's the thing most builders don't budget for: the sale price isn't the money you keep. After the marketplace fee, there's tax — and for a profitable exit it can be the biggest line item of all. The good news is the rules are more predictable than they look, and one decision (when you sell) can move your rate by a lot. Let's make it simple.
The short answerYes — it's usually a taxable sale
In the US, selling a website, app, or online business is generally a taxable event. You're taxed on the gain — the sale price minus your basis (what you can prove you invested to build it). For most indie sellers, that gain is a capital gain, and the rate you pay hinges on one rule.
The rule that mattersHow long did you hold it?
The single biggest factor is your holding period. Cross the one-year line and your rate can drop dramatically.
| If you held it… | It's taxed as… | 2026 federal rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year or less | Short-term gain (ordinary income) | 10%–37% |
| More than 1 year | Long-term capital gain | 0%, 15%, or 20% |
In 2026, a single filer pays 0% on long-term gains up to about $49,449 of taxable income, then 15%, then 20% at the top. There's also a separate 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax once your income passes $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Short-term gains get no break — they're taxed like your salary, up to 37%.
Sell at month eleven and the gain can be taxed like income; sell at month thirteen and it may be taxed at a fraction of that. Same project, very different bill.
The real mathWhat you actually keep
Put it together with the marketplace fee and it's clearer. Say you sell a project you built over 18 months for $40,000, with about $4,000 of provable basis, on a marketplace with a flat 5% fee, and you're in the 15% long-term bracket:
Two takeaways: the platform fee is usually the smaller deduction (which is one more reason a low, flat fee matters), and your basis is money in your pocket — every dollar you can document reduces the taxable gain.
Two more thingsHobby vs. business, and the paperwork
How the IRS views your project can change the treatment. A one-off side project sold at a profit is usually a straightforward capital gain; a project you ran as an active business can have parts of the sale treated as ordinary income. If you've been running it as a real business, a tax pro can structure the sale to your advantage.
And the paperwork matters. Vertos and Stripe don't withhold taxes for you — that's on you — but your payment processor may issue a 1099-K reporting the proceeds, so the sale is on the record either way. Keep your own records too:
Outside the USThe idea travels
The details differ, but the shape is similar in most countries: selling a digital business is generally taxable, often as a capital gain, sometimes as income, and the amount depends on your local rates and how long you held it. Wherever you are, assume the sale is taxable, keep clean records, and check your local rules with a professional.
Keep more of what you earn
You can't skip the tax — but you can keep the platform's cut small. Vertos is free to list and a flat 5% only when your deal closes, so more of the sale reaches you.
List a project →Sell smart.
— The Vertos team