ReckonBoxHow the capital gains calculator works
A capital gain is the profit when you sell an asset for more than it cost you, and India taxes it two ways: short term at one rate, long term at another, with the line between them set by how long you held it. This calculator asks for the dates you actually bought and sold, then works out the rest: whether the gain is short or long term, which rate regime the sale falls under, the section it sits in, and the tax.
The dates matter more than they look. Most calculators ask "how long did you hold it" and take your word for it, which quietly skips the thing that actually decides the answer. Rates changed on 23 July 2024, so two identical sales a fortnight apart aren't taxed the same way, and for property the purchase date decides whether an indexation option even exists.
Take the default. Rs 2,00,000 of listed equity bought in May 2018 and sold for Rs 3,60,000 in January 2025 is a Rs 1,60,000 gain, held well past a year, so it's long term. The first Rs 1,25,000 is exempt, leaving Rs 35,000 taxed at 12.5%, which works out to Rs 4,375 plus cess.
Holding periods, and the two that remain
There are only two holding periods now: 12 months for listed securities and 24 months for every other asset, after the Budget 2024 simplification removed the old 36-month category. The CBDT put it plainly: earlier there were three, now there are two.
| Asset | Long term after | Short term | Long term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listed equity, equity mutual fund | 12 months | 20% | 12.5% over Rs 1.25 lakh |
| REIT or InvIT units | 12 months | 20% | 12.5% over Rs 1.25 lakh |
| Land or building | 24 months | Slab | 12.5%, no indexation |
| Unlisted shares | 24 months | Slab | 12.5%, no indexation |
| Gold or jewellery | 24 months | Slab | 12.5%, no indexation |
| Debt mutual fund | No long-term benefit | Slab | Slab |
Gold and business trust units both moved: units fell from 36 months to 12, and gold from 36 to 24. Property and unlisted shares stayed at 24. Anything still telling you jewellery is a 36-month asset is describing a rule that doesn't exist any more.
What changed on 23 July 2024
The CBDT raised the short-term rate on STT-paid listed equity from 15% to 20% under section 111A, and the long-term rate from 10% to 12.5% under section 112A, while lifting the long-term exemption from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,25,000. That exemption applies for FY 2024-25 and every year after, so it's the figure in force today, and Budget 2026 left all of this alone.
Because the sale date decides the regime, the calculator reads it off your input. Sell before 23 July 2024 and it applies 10% over Rs 1 lakh; sell after and it applies 12.5% over Rs 1.25 lakh. The top-ranked Indian equity calculator doesn't address that change at all.
For everything other than equity, the long-term rate was rationalised to 12.5% without indexation under section 112, down from 20% with indexation. Indexation, in the CBDT's own words, has been done away with.
The property exception worth knowing
If you are a resident individual or HUF selling land or building you bought before 23 July 2024, the tax is the lower of 12.5% without indexation and 20% with indexation, and the excess is simply ignored. You don't elect this. The law runs both computations and charges you the smaller answer. NRIs, companies and LLPs get no option at all, which several ranked calculators fail to mention.
A worked case: a property bought for Rs 30,00,000 in April 2015 and sold for Rs 80,00,000 in April 2025, with Rs 5,00,000 of improvements and Rs 2,00,000 of transfer costs. The plain route gives a Rs 43,00,000 gain and Rs 5,59,000 of tax with cess. The indexed route, on an indexed cost of about Rs 50,01,969, gives a Rs 27,98,031 gain and Rs 5,81,990. So the 12.5% route wins by Rs 22,990, and the calculator picks it for you and shows both.
One honest limit. The 20% route needs an indexed cost, which comes from the CBDT's cost inflation index, and the published sources we checked disagree on the index values themselves. Shipping our own table would mean guessing at numbers we can't verify, so this tool takes your indexed cost as an input and does the comparison from it. Leave the field at zero and you get the 12.5% figure alone.
Debt funds, and the benefit that is gone
Debt mutual funds, unlisted bonds and market linked debentures are taxed at your slab rate whatever the holding period, with no long-term benefit at all. Five years or five months, the answer's the same. That's why the calculator asks for your slab rate when you pick a debt fund, and why the section line reads slab where you'd expect 112A.
The sections are being renumbered
From 1 April 2026 the Income Tax Act, 2025 renumbers the capital gains sections: 111A becomes 196, 112 becomes 197 and 112A becomes 198. The rates and holding periods carry over untouched. Nobody searches for "section 198" yet, so the calculator shows the number you know and the new one beside it for any sale on or after that date.
What this does not cover
This calculator prices one disposal. It doesn't net your gains against losses, carry losses forward, or spread the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption across several sales in a year, and that exemption is a yearly one, so multiple disposals share it. It won't apply the reinvestment exemptions under sections 54, 54EC or 54F, and it doesn't compute surcharge, because no source we checked stated the cap we'd need. Where a gain is taxed at slab, use the income tax calculator to see it land on your slab income, and note that a property sale can attract TDS, which the TDS calculator covers. Tax rules move with each Budget, so treat this as arithmetic, and have a chartered accountant confirm anything that matters.
Frequently asked questions
What is the LTCG tax rate on shares now? Long-term capital gains on STT-paid listed equity and equity mutual funds are taxed at 12.5% under section 112A, on the gain above a Rs 1,25,000 yearly exemption, per the CBDT. The rate rose from 10% and the exemption from Rs 1,00,000 on 23 July 2024, so a Rs 1,60,000 gain leaves Rs 35,000 taxable and Rs 4,375 of tax.
What is the STCG tax rate on shares? Short-term capital gains on STT-paid listed equity and equity mutual funds are taxed at 20% under section 111A, up from 15% on 23 July 2024, per the CBDT. Short term means held for 12 months or less, and the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption doesn't apply to short-term gains.
How long must I hold an asset for long-term capital gains? There are only two holding periods now: 12 months for listed securities and 24 months for every other asset, after the Budget 2024 simplification removed the old 36-month category. So listed shares, equity funds and REIT units turn long term after a year, while property, unlisted shares and gold take two years.
Was indexation removed on capital gains? Yes, long-term gains on assets other than equity are now taxed at 12.5% without indexation under section 112, down from 20% with indexation, and the CBDT states indexation has been done away with. The one exception is property: a resident individual or HUF selling land or building bought before 23 July 2024 can still compute both ways.
How does the property indexation option work? For land or building acquired before 23 July 2024 and sold by a resident individual or HUF, the tax is the lower of 12.5% without indexation and 20% with indexation, and any excess is ignored. On a Rs 30,00,000 purchase sold for Rs 80,00,000, the 12.5% route costs Rs 5,59,000 with cess against Rs 5,81,990 the indexed way, so the 12.5% route wins. NRIs, companies and LLPs get no option.
How are debt mutual funds taxed? Debt mutual funds, unlisted bonds and market linked debentures are taxed at your slab rate whatever the holding period, with no long-term benefit, per the Ministry of Finance. So a debt fund held for five years is taxed the same way as one held for five months, which is why the calculator asks for your slab rate.
Is the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption per year or per transaction? The Rs 1,25,000 exemption is a yearly figure, not a per-trade one, and it applies only to long-term gains on STT-paid equity, equity funds and business trust units under section 112A. This calculator prices one disposal, so if you sold more than once in the year, the exemption is shared across all of them.
Which sections cover capital gains under the Income Tax Act, 2025? From 1 April 2026 the Income Tax Act, 2025 renumbers the capital gains sections: 111A becomes 196, 112 becomes 197 and 112A becomes 198. The rates and holding periods carry over unchanged, so equity LTCG is still 12.5% over Rs 1.25 lakh, and the calculator shows both numbers for a sale on or after that date.