Tax-Loss Harvesting Calculator
See how much tax you could save this financial year by booking losses on equity and equity mutual funds, and how much long-term gain you can book tax-free under the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Net figures after adding up every sale you have already made. Enter a loss as a negative number.
Enter each holding's unrealised gain as a positive number or loss as a negative number. The rows below are an example; replace them with your own.
A worked example
Say you already have a realised short-term gain of Rs 1,00,000 and a realised long-term gain of Rs 2,00,000 this year, which on their own would be taxed at about Rs 30,550. If you also book a Rs 60,000 short-term loss and a Rs 30,000 long-term loss on holdings that are currently underwater, those losses net straight off the matching gains, cutting the taxable short-term gain to Rs 40,000 and the taxable long-term gain to Rs 45,000. The tax on that comes to about Rs 14,170, so booking those two losses before the year ends saves you roughly Rs 16,380, money you would otherwise just hand over.
Understanding the calculation
- Set-off rules
- Short-term losses come off short-term gains first, then any long-term gain. Long-term losses only come off long-term gains. The Rs 1.25 lakh exemption is applied after that, to whatever long-term gain remains.
- Rates used
- Short-term gains on listed equity (Section 111A) at 20% and long-term gains above Rs 1.25 lakh (Section 112A) at 12.5%, plus 4% cess. Surcharge is not added.
- What is not included
- Brokerage, STT and other charges on the sales and rebuys, and any losses brought forward from earlier years. Use the Capital Gains calculator if you need to apply brought-forward losses.
- The holding period resets
- If you sell and immediately rebuy, the new purchase starts a fresh holding period and a new cost of acquisition. That can turn a future long-term gain into a short-term one, so harvesting is not free even when the arithmetic looks good.
Common questions
What is tax-loss harvesting?
Tax-loss harvesting means selling investments that are currently at a loss so the loss can be set off against capital gains you have already made this financial year, lowering your tax bill. You can then buy the same investment back if you still want to hold it, though doing that has costs and resets your holding period, so it is worth checking the numbers first.
Which losses can be set off against which gains?
A short-term capital loss can be set off against both short-term and long-term capital gains. A long-term capital loss can only be set off against long-term capital gains. This calculator applies those rules automatically. Any loss that is still left after set-off can be carried forward for 8 assessment years if you file your return on time.
What is LTCG gain harvesting?
Long-term capital gains on listed equity are exempt up to Rs 1.25 lakh in a financial year, and only the excess is taxed at 12.5%. If you have not used the full exemption, you can sell and rebuy holdings with long-term gains to book those gains tax-free, which raises your cost of acquisition and lowers the taxable gain when you eventually sell. The exemption does not carry forward, so unused headroom is lost at the end of the year.
Does India have a wash-sale rule?
There is no formal wash-sale rule in the Income-tax Act like the one in the US, so selling at a loss and buying back is not automatically disallowed. Arrangements that have no commercial substance can still be questioned, and the loss you book is real only if you genuinely change your position. If you plan to rebuy the same day, speak to a Chartered Accountant first.
What does harvesting cost me?
Each sale and rebuy costs brokerage, STT, exchange charges and GST, and rebought shares start a new holding period, so a long-term holding that you sell and rebuy becomes short-term again. Compare the tax saved here with those charges, which you can work out in the Brokerage and Tax Calculator.
Does this work for F&O, intraday or crypto?
No. This calculator is for delivery-based listed equity and equity mutual funds under Sections 111A and 112A. F&O and intraday trades are business income with different loss rules, and crypto losses cannot be set off against any other income at all.