LTCG Calculator
Long-term equity investing earns two concessions: the first ₹1,25,000 of yearly gains goes untaxed, and everything beyond it pays a flat twelve-and-a-half percent instead of slab rates. Enter what you paid, what you sold for, and your selling costs — this LTCG calculator shows how much exemption the gain consumes, what remains taxable, and the payable figure including cess, updating as you type.
Loading the calculator…
How to use this calculator
- Enter total acquisition cost across every lot you are selling.
- Type the gross sale proceeds from the contract note.
- Add direct selling expenses so only the true gain is computed.
- Read the three-step ladder: gross gain, exemption consumed, tax plus cess on the rest.
- Note the unused-exemption line if you plan further harvests within this financial year.
The formula behind it
Computation runs in three layers. First, long-term capital gain equals net sale consideration minus acquisition cost, with no indexation for transfers after 23 July 2024. Second, Section 112A shields up to ₹1,25,000 of such gains per financial year across all equity holdings combined — only the excess moves to layer three, where it is taxed at 12.5%, and four percent of that tax is added as health and education cess. Gains at or below the threshold end at zero; losses also compute to zero here since carry-forward mechanics belong to the return, not the rate card.
Worked example
A teacher accumulated ₹5,00,000 of an index fund's growth plan through salary surpluses over three years, never added or withdrew during market swings, then redeemed units worth ₹9,20,000 in June of a fresh financial year, bearing ₹2,500 in exit-related costs.
| Buy cost | ₹5,00,000 |
|---|---|
| Sale value | ₹9,20,000 |
| Sale-side expenses | ₹2,500 |
Step by step
- Net long-term gain = ₹9,20,000 − ₹2,500 − ₹5,00,000 = ₹4,17,500
- Annual exemption = − ₹1,25,000
- Taxable balance = ₹2,92,500
- Tax at 12.5% = ₹36,562.50
- Cess at 4% = ₹1,462.50
Total payable ≈ ₹38,025 — an effective 9.1% on the whole gain, versus roughly ₹86,840 had the same profit been booked inside twelve months.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ₹1.25 lakh limit per stock or overall?
Overall, per financial year. Selling five different stocks whose combined Section 112A gains reach the threshold uses it once; each additional rupee of gain anywhere in equity pays 12.5%.
Do I still get indexation on shares?
No. Since 23 July 2024 indexation is unavailable for listed equity regardless of holding length; the 12.5% rate applies to plain rupee gains. Grandfathering provisions you may read about concern land and buildings only.
What counts as the acquisition date for bonus shares?
Bonus shares inherit the year of allotment, not the original purchase, and their cost is nil — which makes their entire sale value a gain when eventually sold, usually landing in long-term after twelve months.
Can my long-term loss reduce this bill?
Yes, but outside this tool: LTCL offsets only LTCG in the return, after which the exemption order applies. Netting happens at filing time; this calculator prices each sale standalone.
Harvesting: using the free lane deliberately
The annual exemption resets every financial year whether or not you use it, which creates a legitimate planning move called tax harvesting. Late in a March, an investor sitting on large unrealised gains can sell enough appreciated stock to realise exactly the sheltered amount and repurchase immediately — booking the gain costs nothing in tax, resets the cost basis upward, and shrinks every future year's taxable pile. The unused-exemption readout in this calculator exists precisely to size that trade before executing it.
Two cautions keep harvesting honest. Repurchasing the same shares instantly is fine for equity (unlike some jurisdictions' wash-sale concepts), but transaction charges nibble at the benefit, so harvest amounts worth the paperwork. And remember the limit aggregates across brokers and fund houses; someone who already redeemed ₹1 lakh of mutual fund gains in April has only ₹25,000 of shelter left for December share sales.
Numbers make the idea concrete. Suppose a portfolio shows ₹2,00,000 of unrealised long-term gain in February. Selling enough units to realise ₹1,25,000 books a tax-free profit and lifts the remaining lots' average cost; repurchasing immediately keeps market exposure intact apart from minutes of settlement lag. Repeat the exercise in successive financial years and by the time a genuine ₹8 lakh sale arrives, accumulated exemptions and higher bases may have erased six figures of would-be tax — achieved with zero directional risk and nothing fancier than a calendar reminder.
How the long-term rate compares once cess lands
Twelve-and-a-half percent becomes thirteen percent after cess, and comparing that against alternatives clarifies portfolio design. Interest from deposits joins slab income where thirty-percent-bracket investors surrender nearly thirty-nine percent including cess on marginal earnings; gold's long-term route now mirrors equities at 12.5% without indexation post-2024; property sales carry their own section-54 family of reinvestment exemptions entirely outside this page's scope. Against that landscape, patient equity holding remains one of the most lightly taxed ways to grow money in India — provided positions genuinely cross the twelve-month line and records exist to prove it.
Related calculators
Data sources & verification dates
- Income Tax Dept — Section 112A (12.5% above ₹1,25,000) — verified as of 2026-08-26
- Income Tax Dept — Tax on LTCG (threshold confirmed FY 2025-26) — 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.