Stock long term capital gains tax calculator

Capital gains rates are designed to encourage long-term investing. Most people can get a significant advantage from holding stock investments for more than one year:

2017
Tax BracketCapital Gain Tax RateShort TermLong Term10%10%0%15%15%25%25%15%28%28%33%33%35%35%39.6%39.6%20%2018 - 2022
Tax BracketCapital Gain Tax RateShort TermLong Term10%10%0%12%12%22%22%15%24%24%32%32%35%35%37%37%20%

Short term gains on stock investments are taxed at your regular tax rate; long term gains are taxed at 15% for most tax brackets, and zero for the lowest two.

Here is a simple capital gains calculator, to help you see what effects the current rates will have in your own life. (Before you use it for the first time, you may want to check out an example with numbers already filled in.)

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

You may have a capital gain or loss when you sell a capital asset, such as real estate, stocks, or bonds. Capital gains and losses are taxed differently from income like wages, interest, rents, or royalties, which are taxed at your federal income tax rate (up to 37% for 2022). However, you may only pay up to 20% for capital gains taxes. And unlike ordinary income taxes, your capital gain is generally determined by how long you hold an asset before you sell it.

Use our capital gains calculator to determine how much tax you might pay on sold assets.

Calculator disclaimer: *Calculations are estimates based on the tax law as of September 2021. These rates are subject to change. Check the IRS website for the latest information about capital gains.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Capital Gains Tax

What are capital gains and losses?

A capital gain occurs when your capital asset, such as real estate, stocks, or bonds increases in value, whereas a capital loss occurs when the asset decreases in value. The gain or loss is taxable when the capital asset is sold.

What is the difference between short-term and long-term capital gain tax rates?

A short-term capital gain is the result of selling a capital asset you held in your possession for one year or less. Long-term capital gains are capital assets held for more than a year. Typically, you pay a higher tax rate on short-term capital holdings versus long-term ones.

Depending on how long you hold your capital asset determines the amount of tax you will pay. Short-term capital assets are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate up to 37% for 2022. Long-term assets are subject to capital gain tax rates, which are lower. For 2022, the top capital gain tax rate is 20%.

How do you treat capital loss tax on your tax return?

For tax purposes, your capital loss is treated differently than your capital gains. If you sell a capital asset at a loss, which typically means your selling price is less than its cost when you got the asset, you can claim a loss up to $3,000 ($1,500 if married separately) on your tax return. The amount reduces your taxable income and reduces the amount you may owe in taxes. If your loss exceeds these limits, you may carry it forward to later tax years.

How to report capital gains or losses on your tax return

You should report your capital gains or losses on Schedule D of your Form 1040 and transfer the reportable amount to Line 13 of your Form 1040.

The calculation of capital gain and losses require a taxpayer to know a few terms and the conditions applicable to capital gains tax. This makes it quite difficult to compute the final tax payable. Scripbox offers an easy to use simple online tool, Capital gain calculator. This online calculator will help you estimate the gains/ losses along with tax payable. In this article, we have covered the basics of capital gain and how to use a capital gain calculator

Stock long term capital gains tax calculator

What is an asset?

Under the Income Tax Act, 1961 a capital asset is any asset irrespective of being held for business or personal use. It may be movable, immovable, tangible or intangible, fixed or circulating. These assets include land and house property, shares and stocks, bonds and debentures, mutual funds, and trademarks.

What is a capital gain?

A capital gain arises when a taxpayer transfers or sells a capital asset belonging to him. The profit or loss from the sale of the asset is capital gain or loss. The gain comes under the income category and hence a taxpayer needs to pay tax on the gain.

Here the sale of an asset is a prerequisite to capital gain. When a taxpayer inherits an asset or receives a gift, it is a transfer of ownership. It is not a sale of an asset, there is no exchange of money in cash or kind. Hence this transfer of ownership does not qualify for capital gain.

Capital gain tax on assets

Once a taxpayer sells an asset, he/ she incurs a capital gain. Now the type of capital gain and taxability depends on the holding period of the asset.

The holding period is the tenure for which the asset is held by a taxpayer. For instance, Mr.Arun bought land on the 10th of December 2017 and sold the land on the 10th of December 2019, he was holding the land for a tenure of 24 months. This is the holding period of the land i.e 24 months

There are 2 types of capital gains .i.e short term capital gains and long term capital gains.

STCG

Short term capital gains arises when an asset is held for less than 36 months. The period of 36 months is not valid across all the types of assets, There are assets with 24 months and 12 months tenure to qualify as an STCG.

LTCG

A long term capital gain arises when an asset is held for more than 36 months. These 36 months are calculated from the date the asset was bought by the taxpayer.

Following table explains the type of gain for each asset’s basis on the holding period

AssetShort Term Capital GainsLong Term Capital GainsListed Equity or Preference SharesPeriod of Holding < 12 monthsPeriod of Holding > 12 monthsUnits of Equity Oriented Mutual FundsPeriod of Holding < 12 monthsPeriod of Holding > 12 monthsUnits of UTIPeriod of Holding < 12 monthsPeriod of Holding > 12 monthsZero Coupon BondPeriod of Holding < 12 monthsPeriod of Holding > 12 monthsOther Listed SecuritiesPeriod of Holding < 12 monthsPeriod of Holding > 12 monthsUnlisted SharesPeriod of Holding < 24 monthsPeriod of Holding < 24 monthsDebt Oriented Mutual FundsPeriod of Holding < 36 monthsPeriod of Holding < 36 monthsImmovable PropertyPeriod of Holding < 24 monthsPeriod of Holding < 24 monthsOther Capital AssetPeriod of Holding < 36 monthsPeriod of Holding < 36 months

Long Term Capital Gain/ Short Term Capital Gain on mutual funds

The taxability is different for equity funds and debt funds. A mutual fund is an equity-oriented fund is the asset allocated to equities is more than 65% of the total portfolio.

FundShort Term Capital Gains TaxLong Term Capital Gains TaxEquity Funds15%Capital gain < 1 lakh- Exempt
Capital gain > 1 lakh- 10%Debt FundsApplicable slab rate20% with indexation

How can Scripbox’s capital gain calculator help?

While calculating the capital gain on stocks and mutual funds, taxpayers need to keep in mind a few things. The applicable tax rate, holding period, type of asset, cost of indexation, net purchase cost, nest sale price, and so on.

The computation of the final tax payable value can be confusing and tedious sometimes. Our capital gain calculator helps you compute the tax payable while you only need to enter the basic details. An online calculator that is easy to use helps you determine the capital gain earned as well.

You can also use Scripbox’s income tax calculator to estimate the final tax payable. The income tax calculator calculates the tax payable after considering the income under all the heads and deductions. This will help you in also estimating the advance tax payable. A delay or default in paying the advance tax leads to interest payable at the time of tax filings.

How to use Scripbox’s capital gain tax calculator?

The capital gain tax calculator helps you calculate the tax payable on the below-mentioned assets:

  • Shares and stocks
  • Equity- oriented mutual funds
  • Debt-oriented mutual funds
  • Gold ETF

You need to input the below information:

  1. Type of asset sold. Select from the given drop-down
  2. Asset sold date
  3. Asset bought date
  4. The Net selling price
  5. The Net buying price

While, Net selling price:- The price at which the asset is being sold minus the charges incurred to sell the asset.

On the other hand, Net buying price:- The price at which the asset is purchased minus the incurred to buy the asset

The capital gain calculator will provide the below output:

  • Asset holding period
  • Indexed buying price
  • Type of capital gain
  • Capital gain/ loss
  • Effective tax rate
  • Tax payable

Illustration of Short Term Capital Gain Tax Calculation

Amit bought 200 shares of Reliance Industries Limited in December 2019 at a cost of Rs. 1300 per share and sold the same in January 2020 for Rs. 1500. He did this transaction through a broker who charged a commission of Rs. 30.

Here is how you can calculate tax on capital gains in this case:

ParticularsAmountThe full value of the consideration received (200 shares @ Rs 1500 per share)Rs 3,00,000Less: expenditure incurred in connection with such sale (brokerage)Rs 30Net sale consideration (A)Rs 2,99,970Less: cost of acquisition (200 shares @1300 per share) (B)Rs 2,60,000Short-term capital gain(C=A-B)Rs 39,270Period of holding1 monthRate of tax15%Tax payableRs 39,270 * 15%= Rs 5891

Illustration of Long Term Capital Gain Tax Calculation

Suppose Amit had invested in debt-oriented mutual funds in April 2016 and the investment amount was Rs. 1,00,000 at a NAV of Rs. 10 and decided to redeem the same in July 2019 say at a NAV of Rs. 20

In the above case, the gains arising from the sale will be considered as long term capital gain and the benefit of indexation will be allowed while computing the capital gain.

Here’s how to calculate capital gains tax in such a case:

ParticularsAmountThe full value of the consideration received (10,000 units @ Rs 20)Rs 2,00,000Sale consideration(A)Rs 2,00,000Less: Indexed cost of acquisitionRs 1,09,470Long-term capital gain(C=A-B)Rs 90,530Period of holdingMore than 36 monthsRate of tax20%Tax payableRs 90,530 * 20%= Rs 18,107

Indexed cost of acquisition will be calculated as below :

Cost of acquisition * (CII of the year in which units are sold/CII of the year in which units are purchased)

= (Rs 1,00,000)*(289/264)

= Rs 1,09,470

Indexed cost is arrived at when the price is adjusted against the rise in inflation in the asset’s value. For calculating the indexed cost of acquisition, we use the CII notified by the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Exemptions on capital gains w.r.t. House property

The below are the exemptions on capital gains

  • Section-54, capital gains exemption on the sale of one house property. The tax exemption is allowed if the salesproceeds are utilized to buy another house property
  • Section-54F, capital gains exemption on the sale of any asset. And the sale proceeds are utilized to buy a house property
  • Section-54EC, capital gains exemption on the sale of a house property. And the sales proceeds are invested in specific bonds. These bonds are issued by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) or Rural Electrification Corporation (REC). The tax exemption is allowed only on fulfilling the condition

Tax on Debt Funds- Capital gains/ Losses

Short Term Capital Gain

Any STCG, arising on transfer of debt-oriented mutual funds, will be tax slab rates applicable to the individual. The gain will be added to the total income.

Long Term Capital Gain

Any long-term capital gain, arising on transfer of debt mutual funds, will be liable to tax @20% with indexation benefit.

Indexation is used to adjust the purchase price of an investment to reflect the effect of inflation on it. It increases the purchase price of the asset which will eventually lead to lower profits hence bringing down your taxable income.

Tax on Equity Funds- Capital Gains/ Losses

Short Term Capital Gain

Any STCG, arising on sale of equity-oriented mutual funds, will be taxed @15%, provided securities transaction tax has been paid on such a sale.

Long Term Capital Gain

Any LTCG, exceeding Rs 1,00,000, arising on sale of equity-oriented mutual funds, will be liable to LTCG tax @10%. But provided securities transaction tax has been paid on the purchase and sale of the equity-oriented mutual fund.

Any LTCG, below Rs 100,000 arising on sale is tax-free.

Securities transaction tax(STT) is levied on purchase or sale of securities which includes units of an equity-oriented mutual fund.

Tax on SIP- Capital Gains/ Losses

SIP’s are taxed differently as compared to the above-mentioned method. If you think of it, SIP’s are nothing but just a different way of investing in mutual funds. It allows a person to invest small or large depending on their financial capability coupled with the flexibility to choose the tenure of the investments.

When it comes to taxability of SIP, each investment made (say monthly) will be treated as a new investment and the period of holding will be counted from the date of the investment for computation of capital gain.

So, in a case where you have made a SIP of say Rs. 5000 per month, only the gains which have been earned on the investments made a year ago will be tax-free

Set-off and carry forward of losses

As a thumb rule, any capital loss can be set-off only against a capital gain. A capital loss cannot be set-off against any other source of income. A short term capital loss can be set-off against a short term capital gain as well as a long term capital gain. Whereas a long term capital loss can only be set-off against a long term capital gain.

A capital loss can be carried forward up to 8 assessments years from the year in which loss is incurred. However, to carry forward a loss, the income tax return must be filed within the due date.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the highest RD rate for HDFC Bank?

The highest RD rate for HDFC Bank for regular citizens is 5.75% for the tenure of 27 months to 120 months. For the same tenure, the senior citizen RD rate is 6.25%

How are RDs Taxed?

RD investments do not qualify for tax savings under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. In other words, interest from RD investments is taxable.The Interest on RDs is taxable at the individual’s income tax slab rate. Additionally, the interest income is subject to TDS of 10% (20% if the Pan Card is not provided). The TDS threshold for AY 2020-21 is INR 40,000 (INR 50,000 in the case of senior citizens).Furthermore, one can use Scripbox’s Income Tax Calculator to determine their taxable income. Also, they can determine.

Can one take a loan against their RD?

Yes, one can take a loan against their RD investment. However, not all banks offer loans against RDs. Some banks offer 75-90% of the RD amount as a loan. Loans against RD can be easily available at 1-2% higher interest than the RD rate. The RD investment acts as collateral for the loan.A bank offers loans such as loans against property (home loan), business loans, an education loan, etc., against an RD. Also, one can calculate the loan EMI using the Scripbox loan EMI calculator. The loan EMI calculator also works as a car loan EMI calculator, home loan EMI calculator, and personal loan EMI calculator. One can use the calculator to compare in multiple scenarios by tweaking the car loan interest rate, personal loans interest rate, and home loan interest rate.

Is there a Premature withdrawal facility of recurring deposits available with HDFC?

The HDFC Recurring Deposit account has a minimum lock-in period of one month. Also, in the case of premature closure of the account (within a month), no interest shall be paid. Moreover, the depositor only gets their principal amount.

How do you calculate long term capital gain on a stock?

In case of long-term capital gain, capital gain = final sale price - (transfer cost + indexed acquisition cost + indexed house improvement cost).

How do you calculate capital gains tax on stocks?

Your taxable capital gain is generally equal to the value that you receive when you sell or exchange a capital asset minus your "basis" in the asset. Your basis is generally what you paid for the asset. Sometimes this is an easy calculation – if you paid $10 for stock and sold it for $100, your capital gain is $90.

What would capital gains tax be on $50 000?

Say your taxable income for 2022 was $50,000 and you file your tax return as single. Your capital gains will be taxed at 15%, unless the asset is a collectible or real estate.

How much capital gains would you pay on $100000?

For example, in both 2018 and 2022, long-term capital gains of $100,000 had a tax rate of 9.3% but the total income maxed out for this rate at $268,749 in 2018 and increased to $312,686 in 2022.