Capital Gains Tax Calculator 2026-27: LTCG, STCG, Indexation

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Rules last checked on 23 October 2026 in the Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by the Finance Act, 2026, on incometaxindia.gov.in: section 2(101) (holding periods), sections 72, 76, 78 and 90 (how the gain is worked out), sections 196, 197 and 198 (the rates) and section 156 (the rebate). Cost inflation index from the department's table under Notification 85/2026 of 15 July 2026: 384 for 2026-27.

Short answer

Shares and equity funds held more than 12 months: 12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year, plus 4% cess. Held 12 months or less: 20%. Property, gold and unlisted shares held more than 24 months: 12.5%, and for land or a building bought before 23 July 2024 the law taxes the lower of that and 20% with indexation. Debt funds bought from April 2023: your slab rate. Watch the ₹12 lakh line: a ₹3 lakh gain on shares on top of ₹10 lakh of other income adds ₹64,350 to your tax, not ₹22,750, because it pushes you past the rebate.

Which rate applies to what you sold

Two things decide the rate: what the asset is and how long you held it. Listed shares, equity mutual funds and equity ETFs are long-term after 12 months. So are listed bonds and gold or silver ETFs, since they are listed securities. Property, physical gold, unlisted shares and debt funds bought before April 2023 need more than 24 months. The calculator counts from the day after you bought, so shares bought on 23 October 2025 are still short-term on 23 October 2026 and long-term from the 24th.

Long-term gains on shares and equity funds are taxed at 12.5%, and only on the part above ₹1,25,000 in a tax year (section 198, the old section 112A). Short-term gains on them pay a flat 20% (section 196, old 111A). Other long-term gains pay 12.5% with no allowance (section 197, old 112). Other short-term gains are added to your income and taxed at your slab rate.

Debt funds bought on or after 1 April 2023 are the exception. Section 76 makes every gain on them short-term, however long you hold the units, so they are always taxed at your slab rate. Units bought before that date follow the 24-month rule and pay 12.5% once long-term.

Why the extra tax can be bigger than 12.5% of the gain

Under the new regime, total income up to ₹12 lakh pays no tax because the section 156 rebate (up to ₹60,000) cancels it. Capital gains count towards that ₹12 lakh. But the rebate can only be set against tax at slab rates (section 156(3)), and never against long-term equity tax (section 198(7)).

So take ₹10 lakh of taxable salary and a ₹3 lakh long-term gain on shares. Without the sale you pay nothing. With it, total income is ₹13 lakh, the rebate is gone, and you pay ₹40,000 on the salary plus ₹21,875 (12.5% of ₹1,75,000), which comes to ₹64,350 with cess. The same gain on top of ₹5 lakh of other income costs ₹22,750, because total income stays at ₹8 lakh and the rebate still covers the salary.

It works the other way at the bottom. If your other income is below the basic exemption limit (₹4 lakh in the new regime), a resident can set the unused part against the gain before the special rate applies. Someone with no other income and a ₹60,000 short-term gain on shares pays nothing. The table at the end of the result shows your gain at eight income levels so you can see where your own numbers sit.

Property: 12.5%, or 20% with indexation

Since 23 July 2024, long-term gains on property are taxed at 12.5% without indexation. If you are a resident individual or HUF and bought the land or building before that date, section 197(3) says to ignore any tax above 20% of the indexed gain. In practice you pay the lower of the two, and you do not have to choose; the calculator works out both and marks the one that applies.

Indexed cost = cost × index for the year of sale ÷ index for the year you bought. The index for 2026-27 is 384 (Notification 85/2026). A flat bought in August 2015 (index 254) for ₹40 lakh has an indexed cost of ₹60,47,244 in 2026-27. Improvements are indexed from the year you paid for them, and work done before 1 April 2001 does not count.

Indexation helps when the price rose slowly compared with inflation, and when you have owned the property a long time. When the price more than tripled, 12.5% on the plain gain usually comes out lower. One popular calculator's worked example still divides by 363, the 2024-25 index, for a 2025-26 sale; with the correct 376 its answer flips from 12.5% to 20% with indexation.

If the stamp duty value on the sale date is more than 110% of the price you agreed, section 78 treats the stamp duty value as your sale price. Type it in the optional field and the calculator applies the rule.

Worked examples

Shares held three years, on top of a salary

Rohit bought listed shares for ₹5,00,000 in June 2023 and sells them for ₹8,00,000 in October 2026. His taxable salary for 2026-27 is ₹10,00,000 and he uses the new regime.

He held them more than 12 months, so the ₹3,00,000 gain is long-term. ₹1,25,000 is tax-free, and 12.5% on the other ₹1,75,000 is ₹21,875. But his total income is now ₹13,00,000, above the ₹12 lakh line, so the rebate that covered his ₹40,000 salary tax is gone. His tax goes from nil to ₹64,350 with cess. The extra tax is 21.4% of the gain, not the 7.6% a flat-rate calculator shows.

A flat bought in 2015

Meera bought a flat in August 2015 for ₹40,00,000 and sells it in October 2026 for ₹90,00,000. Her other taxable income is ₹15,00,000.

Without indexation the gain is ₹50,00,000 and 12.5% is ₹6,25,000. With indexation the cost becomes ₹40,00,000 × 384 ÷ 254 = ₹60,47,244, the gain ₹29,52,756, and 20% is ₹5,90,551. That is lower, so it applies. Her total income of ₹65 lakh crosses ₹50 lakh, which adds a 10% surcharge. The sale adds ₹6,86,511 to her tax, ₹39,409 less than without indexation.

Tips and tricks

Type your taxable income after deductions in "Other taxable income", not your gross salary. Under the new regime that is salary less the ₹75,000 standard deduction.
If you have sold other shares or equity funds this tax year at a long-term gain, enter that total. The ₹1.25 lakh allowance is shared, and the tax on this sale depends on how much of it is left.
For property, fill in improvement costs with the date you paid each one. They are indexed year by year, so the date changes the answer.
Look at the last table in the result. It shows the same gain at eight levels of other income, which explains why a friend's tax on a similar gain can be very different.
For a loss, the result tells you which gains it can be set against. Keep the figure for your return; it only carries forward if you file on time.

How we would use it

Questions people ask

What is the LTCG tax rate on shares for 2026-27?

12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1,25,000 in the tax year, plus 4% cess, for listed shares and equity mutual fund units held more than 12 months (section 198 of the Income-tax Act, 2025). Short-term gains, held 12 months or less, pay 20%.

Is LTCG up to ₹1.25 lakh tax-free?

Yes, for listed shares, equity funds and REIT or InvIT units. The ₹1,25,000 is for the whole tax year across all such sales, not per sale. Other long-term gains, such as on property, gold or debt funds, get no such allowance.

Do capital gains count towards the ₹12 lakh tax-free limit?

They count towards the ₹12 lakh, but the rebate cannot be used against the tax on most capital gains. So a gain can take total income over ₹12 lakh and cancel the rebate on your salary, and the tax on the gain is due even when total income stays under ₹12 lakh.

What is the cost inflation index for 2026-27?

384, notified in Notification 85/2026 on 15 July 2026. It was 376 for 2025-26 and 363 for 2024-25. The base year is 2001-02, at 100.

Can I still claim indexation on property?

Only if you are a resident individual or HUF and bought the land or building before 23 July 2024. The tax is then the lower of 12.5% without indexation and 20% with it. Property bought on or after that date pays 12.5% without indexation.

How are debt mutual funds taxed now?

Units bought on or after 1 April 2023 are always short-term, so the gain is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate. Units bought earlier become long-term after 24 months and pay 12.5% without indexation.

What is the grandfathering rule for shares bought before 2018?

For listed shares and equity fund units bought before 1 February 2018, the cost is the higher of what you paid and the 31 January 2018 price (but not more than what you sold for). Gains made before that date stay untaxed. Type the 31 January 2018 value in the extra field that appears.

Written by Bulan Sarkar, who checked the results by hand and against a second public calculator. Use it for planning; it isn't tax or investment advice.

Sources

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