Shares held 18 months
Bought ₹5,00,000, sold ₹8,00,000. Gain ₹3,00,000. Less ₹1,25,000 exempt. Tax 12.5% on ₹1,75,000 = ₹21,875, plus cess = ₹22,750.
Capital gains tax calculator (India)
Uses the rates for sales after 23 July 2024, plus 4% cess. Surcharge, brokerage, STT, indexation for old assets and set-off of losses are not included. Rates change in each Budget, so check incometaxindia.gov.in before filing.
What did you sell?
5 lakh
8 lakh
The ₹1.25 lakh exemption is shared across the year.
Capital gains tax
₹22,750
Long-term gain taxed at 12.5% after the exemption. Effective rate 7.6% of your gain.
- Gain
- ₹3,00,000
- Exempt
- ₹1,25,000
- Taxable gain
- ₹1,75,000
- Left after tax
- ₹7,77,250
Reference rates: listed equity short term 20%, long term 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh.
How capital gains are taxed on shares, property and gold
Capital gains tax is on profit, not on the whole sale amount. Buy shares for ₹5 lakh, sell for ₹8 lakh, and the gain is ₹3 lakh. What rate applies depends on two things: what the asset is, and how long you held it.
For listed shares and equity mutual funds, hold more than a year and the gain is long-term: 12.5%, with the first ₹1.25 lakh of gains each year exempt. On that ₹3 lakh gain, ₹1.75 lakh is taxable, tax is ₹21,875, and with 4% cess it comes to ₹22,750. Sell after six months and the same gain is short-term at 20%, which is ₹62,400 with cess. Waiting a few more months saves ₹39,650 here.
Property and gold work differently. They turn long-term after 24 months and are taxed at 12.5% with no exemption. Sell a flat for ₹60 lakh that cost ₹50 lakh after three years and the tax is ₹1.3 lakh. Hold gold for only 12 months and it is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate.
Debt mutual funds bought after 1 April 2023 are always taxed at your slab rate, however long you hold them. If you sell units in a fund, remember that each purchase has its own date, and first-in, first-out decides which units went.
Tax rules move with each Budget, so treat this as an estimate and confirm on incometaxindia.gov.in or with a chartered accountant before filing.
Sources
What this calculator does not account for
- Surcharge, brokerage, STT and other costs of selling.
- Indexation for older property, and loss set-off or carry-forward.
- Budget changes to rates after the date of this page.
How this is calculated
Formula: Tax on a capital gain
tax =(gain − exemption) × rate × 1.04What the symbols mean
- gainSell price minus buy price.
- exemption₹1.25 lakh a year on long-term listed equity, less any you have already used.
- rate20% short-term equity, 12.5% long-term, otherwise your slab rate.
- 1.04Health and education cess of 4% on the tax.
Good to know
- Equity needs more than 12 months to be long-term. Property and gold need more than 24 months.
- Your total tax picture is in the income tax calculator. For the return on the sale, try the CAGR calculator.
Read the full methodologyFound an error? Contact us
Worked examples
Each example is worked out by the same code as the calculator above.
Same shares held 6 months
Gain ₹3,00,000 at 20% = ₹60,000, plus cess = ₹62,400.
Flat held 3 years
Bought ₹50 lakh, sold ₹60 lakh. Gain ₹10 lakh at 12.5% = ₹1,25,000, plus cess = ₹1,30,000.
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<iframe src="/embed/capital-gains-tax" title="Capital gains tax" width="100%" height="720" style="border:0;max-width:42rem" loading="lazy"></iframe>Questions
How long must I hold shares for long-term gains?
More than 12 months for listed shares and equity mutual funds. Sell inside 12 months and it is short-term, taxed at 20%.
Is the ₹1.25 lakh limit per sale or per year?
Per financial year, across all your long-term equity gains. If you booked ₹80,000 earlier in the year, only ₹45,000 is left.
Is indexation still available?
Not for sales after 23 July 2024. Land and buildings bought before that date can still choose the old 20% with indexation, which this tool does not model.
Can I set off a loss?
Yes. Short-term losses can offset any gain, long-term losses only long-term gains. Unused losses carry forward for 8 years if you filed on time.