Capital Gains Calculator
Whether a share sale is taxed at twenty percent or twelve-and-a-half depends on one fact you control: how long you held. Type your buy cost, sale value, sale expenses, and months held, and this capital gains calculator classifies the transaction under the right section, applies the annual exemption where it exists, and shows the payable estimate including cess — plus what the other bucket would have cost you.
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How to use this calculator
- Enter the full amount you originally paid for the shares, even across multiple purchases.
- Type the gross sale value before any charges.
- Add sale-side costs such as brokerage so only your true gain is taxed on paper.
- Set the holding period in months — twelve exactly is still short-term for listed shares.
- Pick listed or unlisted, then read which section applies and compare against the alternative bucket shown underneath.
The formula behind it
Every path here starts identically: net gain equals sale value minus sale expenses minus buy cost. From there the holding period routes the result. Listed shares crossing twelve months (twenty-four for unlisted) become long-term, where the first ₹1,25,000 of yearly gain under Section 112A escapes tax and the balance faces 12.5% without indexation. Anything shorter is short-term under Section 111A and the entire gain is charged at 20%. A flat 4% health and education cess then sits on top of either tax. Losses produce nil output here because set-off rules depend on your whole return.
Worked example
An engineer bought ₹4,00,000 worth of Nifty fifty constituents in tranches over two months, forgot about the portfolio during a busy year, and sold everything for ₹8,00,000 fourteen months after her first purchase, paying ₹0 extra brokerage under a zero-commission plan.
| Buy cost | ₹4,00,000 |
|---|---|
| Sale value | ₹8,00,000 |
| Holding period | 14 months (listed shares) |
Step by step
- Net long-term gain = ₹8,00,000 − ₹4,00,000 = ₹4,00,000
- Annual §112A exemption = − ₹1,25,000
- Taxable LTCG = ₹2,75,000
- Tax at 12.5% = ₹34,375
- Cess at 4% = ₹1,375
Total payable ≈ ₹35,750. Had she sold one month earlier, the same profit would have been short-term: ₹80,000 plus cess — more than double. The calendar did that much work.
Frequently asked questions
I bought in three lots at different prices. Which date decides long-term status?
Each lot stands on its own clock. Shares are fungible but their holding periods are not merged; when you sell, brokers apply first-in-first-out by default, and each matched lot is tested against the twelve-month line separately.
Why does my sale show short-term at exactly twelve months?
The statute requires MORE than twelve months of holding for listed equity to turn long-term. A sale on the twelfth-month anniversary is still short-term; from day one of month thirteen onwards it qualifies.
Does this tool include surcharge?
No. Surcharge kicks in at higher total-income levels and varies with income, so adding it would mislead most users. The estimate covers the section rate plus the uniform 4% health and education cess; check the surcharge matrix if your total income crosses ₹50 lakh.
What happened to indexation on shares?
For transfers from 23 July 2024 onward, indexation is gone for listed equity — the 12.5% rate applies to plain rupee gains. Older grandfathering provisions concern land and buildings, not shares.
Are F&O profits computed here?
No. Trading in futures and options is treated as non-speculative business income, not capital gains, and follows presumptive or regular business taxation instead. This calculator is for delivery-based equity investing.
One sale, two very different tax outcomes
The striking feature of India's current structure is the cliff rather than a slope. Crossing from eleven months of holding to thirteen can change the effective tax on an identical profit by more than half, because the short side denies the annual exemption entirely while charging a higher rate. That cliff is why seasoned investors diary their lot dates: the decision to wait three more weeks before pressing sell is often worth lakhs on larger portfolios, and it costs nothing except patience.
Unlisted holdings live under different clocks again — twenty-four months — and founders or ESOP holders frequently trip here, assuming exchange rules apply to them. Our selector handles the distinction, but remember that unlisted sales also attract their own reporting quirks and valuation paperwork that listed deliveries never see.
Lot sequencing offers a quieter lever than calendar-watching alone. Because each purchase carries its own clock, selling newest lots first under FIFO leaves older, long-term lots untouched — and vice versa when cash is needed today. Investors juggling bonus issues, splits, and demergers should also note that corporate actions can reset dates and costs in surprising ways, which is another reason this classification step belongs before every sale ticket rather than after the financial year closes.
Where estimates end and filing begins
This page models the rate machinery cleanly, yet a filed return carries more moving parts: basic-exemption absorption for residents with little other income, surcharge thresholds, carried-forward loss registers, and the grand-fathered acquisition rules for assets bought before mid-2024 all interact with the final number. Treat the output as the honest centre of the range, then let filing software or an accountant wrap the edges.
Record-keeping closes the loop. Contract notes, demat statements, and the annual AIS summary should agree with what you compute here; mismatches usually mean some corporate action — bonus issue, merger, demerger — quietly altered your true cost. Reconciling once a year takes minutes and prevents notices later.
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Data sources & verification dates
- Income Tax Dept — Section 112A (LTCG on listed equity) — verified as of 2026-08-26
- Income Tax Dept — Section 111A (STCG on listed equity) — verified as of 2026-08-26
- Income Tax Dept — Holding periods for shares — verified as of 2026-08-26
stockcalculator.in Research Desk — Editorial team; verifies every figure against official sources before publishing
Reviewed by stockcalculator.in Research Desk — Internal cross-check against Income Tax Department statute summaries
Last updated . Figures are re-verified against official sources on every revision — see our methodology.
Disclaimer
Tax rules referenced by this tool change through the Finance Act cycle, and holding-period or exemption thresholds may differ by asset class and transaction date. Figures shown are estimates for education and planning only. We are not SEBI-registered investment advisers and nothing on this site is investment advice. For filing decisions, confirm current slabs, cess, and surcharge against the Income Tax Department's own guidance or a chartered accountant.