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Glossary Show All

Capital Gains: Definition & Meaning | Bondfish

What it means

A bond can reward you in two ways: the interest it pays (the coupon) and a change in its market price. Capital gains are the second kind. If you buy a bond at a price of 98 and later sell it at 103, the 5-point difference is a capital gain, quite apart from any coupons you collected along the way.

Bond prices move mainly because of interest rates and credit quality. When market rates fall, existing bonds with higher fixed coupons become more valuable, pushing their prices up. If the issuer's financial health improves and its credit spread tightens, prices can rise too. Selling into either move can lock in a capital gain.

Why it matters for bond investors

Many investors think of bonds purely as income. But in periods of falling rates, price appreciation can be a meaningful part of what you earn — and in periods of rising rates, capital losses can offset your coupons. Understanding capital gains helps you see your total return, not just the yield on paper. It also matters at tax time: in most jurisdictions capital gains are taxed differently from interest income, so the way a bond delivers its return can affect what you keep.

Example

Buy price: 98 | Sell price: 103
Capital gain = 103 − 98 = 5 points (before tax and costs)

Hold the same bond to maturity instead of selling, and it is redeemed at 100 — so timing and the price you sell at determine whether a gain is realised.

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