LTCG tax calculator
LTCG tax calculator: the calculator below opens with the shares card selected. Enter each lot's buy and sell and it splits the year's sales into long-term and short-term pools, applies the ₹1,25,000 exemption once across every long-term gain, and adds the 4% cess to the tax.
Long-term gains on listed shares and equity funds pay 12.5% above a ₹1,25,000 yearly exemption once the holding crosses 12 months. Short-term gains on the same assets pay 20% with no exemption at all. Both rates are transfers dated on or after 2024-07-23; before that date the pair was 10% and 15%.
Listed equity
The 12-month line and the exemption
Listed equity and equity mutual funds held 12 months or longer fall under section 112A: the first ₹1,25,000 of such gains each year is exempt, and the rest pays 12.5%. The exemption is counted once a year across every listed long-term gain, never per sale, and it shelters nothing else: short-term gains, property and unlisted shares cannot use it. Held under 12 months the gain is short-term under section 111A and pays 20% from the first rupee.
Assets outside the listed world get their own line. Property, unlisted shares, gold and jewellery turn long-term at 24 months and pay 12.5% under section 112, with no exemption to cross first. The calculator reads the holding test and the rate off each sale's own dates, so one return can hold all of these side by side.
Ordering
Losses, ordering and the cess
Loss ordering is statutory, not a choice. Short-term capital losses offset short-term gains first, then long-term gains. Long-term capital losses offset long-term gains only. Crypto never joins either queue: its gains are taxed alone at a flat 30% and its losses offset nothing. Unused losses carry forward for eight assessment years, and the calculator tracks the brought-forward pool with the same ordering.
The 4% health and education cess applies to the tax at the special rates like any other income tax. The section 87A rebate does not: it never touches tax at the 12.5% or 20% rates, only the slab-rated part of a return.
Common mistakes
Mistakes that change the number
- Spreading the exemption per sale. It is one ₹1,25,000 a year across every listed long-term gain; five sales do not earn five exemptions.
- Applying the exemption before losses. Losses net against gains first, and the exemption comes off whatever long-term gain remains after that.
- Reading the rates off the financial year. The changeover keys on the transfer date, so one April-to-March return can hold both rate pairs: sales before 2024-07-23 at 10% and 15%, sales from it at 12.5% and 20%.
- Expecting the rebate. Section 87A never applies to tax at these rates; the 4% cess does.
- Pooling crypto in. Crypto gains never join the equity pools, and crypto losses never touch them.
Worked example
Two sales, one year: ₹69,125 of tax before cess
Two sales in the 2026-27 financial year. Shares bought on 10 August 2023 for ₹4,00,000 and sold on 1 September 2026 for ₹9,50,000: held 36 months, long-term, a gain of ₹5,50,000. Shares bought on 20 April 2026 for ₹2,00,000 and sold on 15 September 2026 for ₹2,80,000: held 4 months, short-term, a gain of ₹80,000.
The exemption takes the first ₹1,25,000 of the long-term gain, leaving ₹4,25,000 taxed at 12.5%: ₹53,125. The short-term gain pays 20% on the whole amount: ₹16,000. Tax on gains ₹69,125, then the 4% cess of ₹2,765, for ₹71,890 in total.
One LTCG and one STCG in the 2026-27 financial year
| Step | Long-term lot | Short-term lot |
|---|---|---|
| Gain | ₹5,50,000 | ₹80,000 |
| Section | 112A | 111A |
| Exemption | −₹1,25,000 | none |
| Taxable | ₹4,25,000 | ₹80,000 |
| Rate | 12.5% | 20% |
| Tax | ₹53,125 | ₹16,000 |
| With 4% cess | ₹71,890 |
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How is LTCG calculated on shares?
Held 12 months or more, listed equity gains pay 12.5% on the amount above the ₹1,25,000 yearly exemption. Held less, they are short-term and pay 20% with no exemption.
What is the LTCG exemption limit?
₹1,25,000 of listed long-term gains a year, aggregate across every such sale, applying to transfers from 1 April 2024. It cannot shelter short-term gains or gains on other assets.
What is the STCG rate on listed shares?
20% under section 111A for transfers on or after 2024-07-23. Transfers before that date paid 15%.
Can short-term losses offset long-term gains?
Yes. Short-term losses offset short-term gains first, then long-term gains. The reverse is barred: long-term losses offset long-term gains only, never short-term ones.
Is the cess added to capital gains tax?
Yes. The 4% health and education cess applies to tax at the special capital gains rates, so the ₹69,125 of the worked example becomes ₹71,890.
What rate applies to unlisted shares, gold or property?
12.5% once held 24 months, under section 112, with no exemption. Property bought before 2024-07-23 can elect 20% with indexation instead.
Sources
Where these figures come from
Also on capitalgainstax.net