Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Tax on selling listed shares or an equity mutual fund: short-term at 20%, long-term at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, plus 4% cess.
On a gain of ₹1,50,000, including 4% cess. You keep ₹1,46,750 of it.
How the tax is worked out
| Gain₹3,50,000 − ₹2,00,000 | ₹1,50,000 |
| Less the ₹1.25 lakh exemptionNothing used yet this year | −₹1,25,000 |
| Taxed on | ₹25,000 |
| Tax at 12.5% | ₹3,125 |
| Health and education cess, 4% | ₹125 |
| Total tax | ₹3,250 |
Long-term exemption left this year after this sale: ₹0.
The same gain counted as short-term would be taxed ₹31,200.
Good to know
- These rates are for listed shares and equity-oriented funds on which STT was paid, for a resident, for sales from 23 July 2024. Surcharge on very high incomes is not included.
- A short-term loss can be set off against any capital gain; a long-term loss only against long-term gains. Either can be carried forward for eight years if your return is filed by the due date.
- For shares or funds bought before 1 February 2018, the cost can be taken as their value on 31 January 2018 if that is higher, so older gains are taxed only from that date.
- Tax on capital gains is not deducted from your salary. If it adds more than ₹10,000 to your year’s tax, advance tax applies to it.
Get the income-tax dates by email
A short email about a week before each income-tax date — the four advance-tax instalments, the 31 July return deadline, the 31 December belated-return deadline and the 31 March year end. About seven a year, nothing else. No account needed, and every email has a one-tap unsubscribe. Privacy
How it’s worked out
Short-term and long-term gains on shares and equity funds
When you sell listed shares or units of an equity-oriented mutual fund for more than you paid, the difference is a capital gain. Held for 12 months or less, it is short-term and taxed at a flat 20%. Held for more than 12 months, it is long-term and taxed at 12.5% on the part of the year’s long-term gains above ₹1,25,000. A 4% health and education cess is added to both.
Bought for ₹2,00,000 and sold for ₹3,50,000 after more than a year, the gain of ₹1,50,000 is taxed on ₹25,000 after the exemption: ₹3,125 plus ₹125 cess, ₹3,250 in all. The same sale within a year is taxed on the whole ₹1,50,000 at 20%: ₹30,000 plus ₹1,200 cess, ₹31,200.
The ₹1.25 lakh exemption is for the whole year
The ₹1,25,000 is not per sale. It covers all your long-term gains on shares and equity funds in one financial year, added together. If you have already made long-term gains earlier in the year, enter them, and the calculator uses the exemption on those first.
Short-term gains get no exemption of their own. If your total income, including short-term gains, is below the basic exemption limit, the shortfall can be adjusted against the gain; this calculator does not model that, or the surcharge on very high incomes.
Losses, old purchases and advance tax
A short-term capital loss can be set off against any capital gain in the same year, short or long. A long-term loss can be set off only against long-term gains. A loss you cannot use can be carried forward for eight years, as long as your income-tax return for that year is filed by the due date.
For shares and equity funds bought before 1 February 2018, the cost can be taken as their value on 31 January 2018 if that is higher than what you paid. Capital gains tax is not deducted from salary, so if it takes your year’s unpaid tax above ₹10,000, advance tax applies to it in the instalment after the sale.
Questions people ask
How much tax do I pay on selling shares after one year?
More than 12 months after buying, the gain is long-term and taxed at 12.5% on the part of the year’s long-term gains above ₹1,25,000, plus 4% cess. A ₹1,50,000 gain with nothing else that year pays ₹3,250.
What is the short-term capital gains tax rate on shares?
For listed shares and equity-oriented funds held 12 months or less, with STT paid, short-term gains are taxed at a flat 20% for sales from 23 July 2024, plus 4% cess — 20.8% in all.
Is the ₹1.25 lakh LTCG exemption per sale or per year?
Per financial year. It covers the total of all your long-term gains on listed shares and equity funds in that year, so gains on earlier sales use it up first.
Is capital gains tax deducted at source for residents?
No. For a resident selling listed shares or equity fund units, no TDS is deducted on the gain. You pay it yourself, through advance tax during the year or self-assessment tax before filing your return.
Can I set off a capital loss against my salary?
No. A capital loss can only be set off against capital gains: a short-term loss against any gain, a long-term loss against long-term gains. What is left can be carried forward for eight years if you file your return on time.
Figures for tax year 2026-27 from our own engine. Educational only — not tax or investment advice.