What is the LTCG tax rate on listed equity in India?

From 23 July 2024 onward, long-term capital gains on listed equity shares and equity-oriented mutual funds (held for more than 12 months) are taxed at 12.5% on gains exceeding the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption per financial year.

What is the STCG tax rate on listed equity in India?

From 23 July 2024 onward, short-term capital gains on listed equity (held for 12 months or less) are taxed at 20% on the entire gain. Earlier the rate was 15%.

Does this calculator include cess and surcharge?

No. The calculator shows base LTCG/STCG tax only. Health and education cess of 4% on the tax amount, plus any applicable surcharge for high-income taxpayers, will increase your actual outgo. Brokerage and STT are also not deducted from the gain in this calculator.

LTCG / STCG Calculator (Listed Equity, Post-Budget 2024)

Q: Is the ₹1.25 lakh LTCG exemption per transaction or per year?

Per financial year. The exemption is a single shield that covers the aggregate long-term capital gain on all your listed equity and equity mutual fund redemptions in the same financial year (1 April to 31 March).

What changed in Budget 2024

The Union Budget 2024-25 (presented on 23 July 2024) made the most significant change to capital gains taxation for retail investors since the reintroduction of LTCG on equity in 2018. Three things changed simultaneously for listed equity shares and equity-oriented mutual funds:

LTCG rate increased from 10% to 12.5%.
The annual exemption was raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh per financial year.
STCG rate increased from 15% to 20%.

All three changes apply to transactions on or after 23 July 2024. For shares and units sold before that date in FY 2024-25, the older rates (10% LTCG above ₹1 lakh, 15% STCG) apply. This calculator uses the new post-23-July regime by default — if you are computing tax for transactions in the earlier window, you will need to apply the old rates manually.

What counts as long-term vs short-term?

For listed equity shares and equity-oriented mutual funds traded on a recognised Indian stock exchange where Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is paid, the holding period threshold is 12 months. If you held the units or shares for more than 12 months before selling, your gain is long-term and taxed at 12.5% (above the exemption). If you held for 12 months or less, the gain is short-term and taxed at 20%.

The calculator above auto-detects which bucket your holding period falls into based on the purchase and sale dates you enter and applies the correct rate.

The ₹1.25 lakh exemption is per FY, not per transaction

A common misunderstanding: the exemption is not granted per trade or per scheme. It is a single ₹1.25 lakh shield that covers the aggregatelong-term capital gain on all your listed equity and equity mutual fund redemptions in a given financial year (1 April to 31 March). If your total LTCG for the year is ₹1 lakh, you owe zero LTCG tax. If it is ₹2 lakh, you owe 12.5% on ₹75,000 — not on the full ₹2 lakh. Use the "Other LTCG already realised this FY" field above to model this correctly when you have multiple redemptions in the same year.

What this calculator does NOT include

Cess (4%) on the tax amount. Your actual tax outgo will be slightly higher once health and education cess is applied.
Surcharge, which kicks in for high-income taxpayers (₹50 lakh+). Surcharge slabs go up to 25% for total income above ₹2 crore for capital gains under the new regime.
Brokerage, STT, exchange charges, GST, stamp duty paid on purchase or sale. These are deducted from the gross sale consideration in the formal Income Tax Return computation but are omitted here for simplicity.
Grandfathering for purchases before 31 January 2018. For shares purchased before that date, the cost of acquisition is stepped up to the higher of the actual cost or the fair market value as on 31 Jan 2018, capped at the actual sale price. This is still relevant for very long-held positions.
Indexation. Listed equity LTCG has not enjoyed indexation benefit since 2018, so no change there. Other asset classes (debt funds, property) have separate rules.

Rules for unlisted shares, debt funds, and other assets

This calculator covers only listed equity shares and equity mutual funds where STT is paid. Other asset classes have different holding period thresholds and rates. Unlisted equity, for example, requires a 24-month holding period for long-term classification and is taxed at a different rate. Debt funds bought on or after 1 April 2023 are taxed at slab rates as ordinary income, with no indexation. Real estate, gold, and bonds each have their own rules. We will publish dedicated calculators for those classes in future updates.

Tax-loss harvesting and the exemption

A widely discussed planning technique among Indian retail investors is to realise just enough long-term gains each financial year to fully use the ₹1.25 lakh exemption — and reinvest the proceeds. Done correctly, this resets your cost basis and shields cumulative gains from tax over multi-year horizons. We do not give individual advice on this, but the calculator above lets you model the mechanics: enter a hypothetical sale that sits at exactly ₹1.25 lakh gain and see the zero-tax outcome.

LTCG / STCG Calculator (Listed Equity)