What changed for capital gains tax in Budget 2024?

The Budget presented in July 2024 overhauled capital-gains rates with effect from 23 July 2024. For listed equity and equity mutual funds, the short-term rate rose to 20% (from 15%) and the long-term rate to 12.5% (from 10%), while the annual long-term exemption was raised to ₹1.25 lakh. For property and other non-financial assets, the long-term rate was cut to a flat 12.5% but the indexation benefit was removed — with a grandfathering option letting anyone who bought before the cut-off choose the older 20%-with-indexation method if it gives a lower tax. This calculator applies the post-23-July-2024 rules for FY 2025-26.

How is the holding period used to decide short- vs long-term?

The holding period is the time between buying and selling the asset, and the threshold that separates short-term from long-term depends on the asset. For listed equity and equity mutual funds, twelve months or more is long-term; less is short-term. For property, twenty-four months or more is long-term. The distinction matters because long-term gains are usually taxed at a lower rate and, for equity, benefit from the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption. This tool asks for the holding period in months and applies the correct threshold for the asset class you select.

What is the ₹1.25 lakh exemption on equity?

Long-term capital gains on listed equity and equity mutual funds are exempt up to ₹1.25 lakh in aggregate each financial year; only the gains above that threshold are taxed, at 12.5%. So if your total long-term equity gains in a year are ₹1.25 lakh or less, you pay no long-term capital gains tax on them. The exemption is per financial year, not per transaction, which is why spreading redemptions across years can reduce tax. This calculator applies the exemption automatically to long-term equity gains, but note it assumes the gain you enter is your only one for the year — if you have others, the shared exemption is used across all of them.

Should I use indexation or the flat rate for my property?

It depends on when you bought the property and how much its indexed cost would be. Only property acquired before 23 July 2024 is eligible to choose — you can use the old 20% rate with indexation (which inflates your purchase cost by a cost-inflation index, reducing the taxable gain) or the new flat 12.5% rate without indexation. Which is cheaper depends on how long you held it and how much prices rose: indexation helps more the longer you held and the higher the inflation over that period. For property bought on or after 23 July 2024, only the flat 12.5% method applies. Run both in this calculator to see which produces the lower tax.

Does this calculator include cess, surcharge, or exemptions like Section 54?

No. This tool computes the base capital-gains tax at the applicable rate. It does not add the 4% health and education cess or any surcharge that applies at higher income levels, and it does not model reinvestment exemptions such as Section 54 (reinvesting property gains in another house), 54F, or 54EC (capital-gains bonds), which can reduce or eliminate the tax entirely. Short-term property gains, taxed at your income-tax slab rate, are flagged rather than computed here because the tool does not know your slab. Treat the result as the base capital-gains tax and consult a chartered accountant for your full, final liability.

Are the figures I enter stored anywhere?

No. The entire calculation runs in JavaScript inside your own browser. Nothing you enter — purchase value, sale value, holding period, or asset class — is uploaded, logged, or stored on any server. The tool is free, needs no login, and closing the tab clears everything. There is no account and no saved history.

Finance

Capital Gains Calculator

Estimate capital gains tax on shares, equity funds, and property under the post-Budget-2024 rules — short-term and long-term, with the indexation option for older property. Free, in your browser, nothing uploaded.

By the Samastam teamLast updated 2026-07-20Editorial standards

Gain details

Asset class

Long-term after 12 months, ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption. Rates from 23 Jul 2024.

Purchase value (₹)

₹

Sale value (₹)

₹

Holding period (months)

Capital gains tax

Capital gain: —
Term: —
Tax payable: —

Choose an asset, enter purchase and sale values and the holding period. The taxable gain and tax update here as you type.

Base capital-gains tax only — excludes cess, surcharge, and exemptions (Sec 54/54F/54EC). Rules as of 2024-07-23. Consult a CA for your final liability.

A capital gains tax calculator estimates the tax you owe when you sell an asset for more than you paid. India’s rules changed materially in Budget 2024, with effect from 23 July 2024: listed equity and equity mutual funds now attract 20% short-term and 12.5% long-term tax, and property long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% without indexation, or 20% with indexation for assets bought before the cut-off. Choose the asset, enter your purchase and sale values and the holding period, and the tool applies the correct rate and the ₹1.25 lakh equity exemption to show your taxable gain and the tax on it. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere.

What this is and why it matters

Capital gains tax is the tax on the profit you make when you sell a capital asset — shares, mutual funds, property, gold — for more than its purchase cost. India taxes these gains differently depending on the asset and how long you held it: a shorter holding produces a short-term capital gain (STCG) taxed at a higher rate, while a longer holding produces a long-term capital gain (LTCG) taxed more gently. The holding-period threshold and the rates differ by asset class, which is what makes capital gains one of the more confusing parts of Indian personal tax, especially after Budget 2024 rewrote most of the rates with effect from 23 July 2024.

A calculator matters because the post-Budget-2024 regime introduced several moving parts that are easy to get wrong. Listed equity and equity mutual funds are now taxed at 20% if held under twelve months and 12.5% if held longer, with the first ₹1.25 lakh of long-term gains each year exempt — an exemption many people forget to apply, over-stating their tax. Property became more nuanced still: long-term gains are taxed at a flat 12.5% without the old indexation benefit, but anyone who bought before 23 July 2024 may instead choose the older 20%-with-indexation method if it works out cheaper. Working this out by hand is error-prone; a calculator applies the right rate, threshold, and exemption automatically.

Seeing the tax in advance also helps you plan the sale itself. If you are close to the twelve-month mark on equity, waiting a little longer can move the gain from the 20% short-term rate to the 12.5% long-term rate. If you hold several equity investments, you can time redemptions across financial years to use the ₹1.25 lakh exemption more than once. And for an older property, comparing the two permitted methods can save a substantial sum. The calculator turns these into concrete rupee figures so the decision is informed rather than guessed.

How to use this tool

Choose the asset class. Select equity (listed shares or equity mutual funds) or property. The holding-period threshold and the applicable rates differ between them — twelve months for equity, twenty-four months for property — so this choice sets the rules the rest of the calculation follows.

Enter the purchase and sale values. Type what you paid to acquire the asset and what you sold it for. The difference is your capital gain, and if the sale value is lower than the purchase value the tool shows a capital loss with no tax. Enter the full amounts, not per-unit prices.

Set the holding period. Enter how many months you held the asset. The tool uses this to decide whether the gain is short-term or long-term, which determines the rate and, for equity, whether the ₹1.25 lakh long-term exemption applies. For property, holdings of twenty-four months or more qualify as long-term.

For older property, choose the method. If the property was bought before 23 July 2024, you can toggle indexation on to apply the 20%-with-indexation method and enter the indexed cost of acquisition, or leave it off for the flat 12.5% method. The tool shows the tax for the chosen method so you can compare which is cheaper. Read the taxable gain, applicable rate, and tax in the result panel.

Examples and use cases

Long-term equity gain within the exemption reach

An investor sells equity mutual fund units for ₹8 lakh that they bought for ₹5 lakh, having held them 18 months. Selecting equity and entering the values shows a ₹3 lakh long-term gain, of which the first ₹1.25 lakh is exempt, leaving ₹1.75 lakh taxed at 12.5% — a tax of ₹21,875. Seeing the exemption applied automatically stops the common mistake of taxing the whole ₹3 lakh.

Short-term equity gain taxed higher

The same ₹5 lakh-to-₹8 lakh gain, but on shares held only 6 months, is short-term. The calculator applies the 20% STCG rate to the full ₹3 lakh gain — with no exemption — giving ₹60,000 of tax. Comparing this with the long-term example makes the cost of selling early stark: holding past twelve months would have cut the tax from ₹60,000 to ₹21,875.

Property sold under the new flat method

Someone sells a plot for ₹90 lakh that they bought for ₹50 lakh three years ago, after the Budget 2024 cut-off, so only the flat method applies. Choosing property, entering the values, and leaving indexation off shows a ₹40 lakh long-term gain taxed at 12.5% — ₹5 lakh of tax. The 24-month threshold is met, so the gain is treated as long-term.

Older property: comparing both methods

An owner who bought a flat well before 23 July 2024 sells it for ₹90 lakh. Under the flat 12.5% method the gain is large; but toggling indexation on and entering an indexed cost of ₹70 lakh reduces the taxable gain to ₹20 lakh, taxed at 20% — ₹4 lakh. By running it both ways in the calculator, they can pick whichever method produces the lower tax, exactly as the grandfathering rule allows.

Frequently asked questions

What changed for capital gains tax in Budget 2024?: The Budget presented in July 2024 overhauled capital-gains rates with effect from 23 July 2024. For listed equity and equity mutual funds, the short-term rate rose to 20% (from 15%) and the long-term rate to 12.5% (from 10%), while the annual long-term exemption was raised to ₹1.25 lakh. For property and other non-financial assets, the long-term rate was cut to a flat 12.5% but the indexation benefit was removed — with a grandfathering option letting anyone who bought before the cut-off choose the older 20%-with-indexation method if it gives a lower tax. This calculator applies the post-23-July-2024 rules for FY 2025-26.
How is the holding period used to decide short- vs long-term?: The holding period is the time between buying and selling the asset, and the threshold that separates short-term from long-term depends on the asset. For listed equity and equity mutual funds, twelve months or more is long-term; less is short-term. For property, twenty-four months or more is long-term. The distinction matters because long-term gains are usually taxed at a lower rate and, for equity, benefit from the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption. This tool asks for the holding period in months and applies the correct threshold for the asset class you select.
What is the ₹1.25 lakh exemption on equity?: Long-term capital gains on listed equity and equity mutual funds are exempt up to ₹1.25 lakh in aggregate each financial year; only the gains above that threshold are taxed, at 12.5%. So if your total long-term equity gains in a year are ₹1.25 lakh or less, you pay no long-term capital gains tax on them. The exemption is per financial year, not per transaction, which is why spreading redemptions across years can reduce tax. This calculator applies the exemption automatically to long-term equity gains, but note it assumes the gain you enter is your only one for the year — if you have others, the shared exemption is used across all of them.
Should I use indexation or the flat rate for my property?: It depends on when you bought the property and how much its indexed cost would be. Only property acquired before 23 July 2024 is eligible to choose — you can use the old 20% rate with indexation (which inflates your purchase cost by a cost-inflation index, reducing the taxable gain) or the new flat 12.5% rate without indexation. Which is cheaper depends on how long you held it and how much prices rose: indexation helps more the longer you held and the higher the inflation over that period. For property bought on or after 23 July 2024, only the flat 12.5% method applies. Run both in this calculator to see which produces the lower tax.
Does this calculator include cess, surcharge, or exemptions like Section 54?: No. This tool computes the base capital-gains tax at the applicable rate. It does not add the 4% health and education cess or any surcharge that applies at higher income levels, and it does not model reinvestment exemptions such as Section 54 (reinvesting property gains in another house), 54F, or 54EC (capital-gains bonds), which can reduce or eliminate the tax entirely. Short-term property gains, taxed at your income-tax slab rate, are flagged rather than computed here because the tool does not know your slab. Treat the result as the base capital-gains tax and consult a chartered accountant for your full, final liability.
Are the figures I enter stored anywhere?: No. The entire calculation runs in JavaScript inside your own browser. Nothing you enter — purchase value, sale value, holding period, or asset class — is uploaded, logged, or stored on any server. The tool is free, needs no login, and closing the tab clears everything. There is no account and no saved history.

Sources

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