Short term or long term?
It depends on what you sold and how long you held it.
| What you sold | Long term if held |
|---|---|
| Listed shares, equity mutual funds, equity ETFs | More than 12 months |
| Property, gold, jewellery, unlisted and foreign shares (including RSUs) | More than 24 months |
| Debt funds bought before 1 April 2023 | More than 24 months |
| Debt funds bought from 1 April 2023 | Never: always taxed at your slab rate |
With a SIP, each instalment is a separate purchase with its own date, and units are sold oldest first.
The rates
| Gain | Tax |
|---|---|
| Short term, listed shares and equity funds | 20% |
| Long term, listed shares and equity funds | 12.5% on gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year |
| Long term, property, gold and other assets | 12.5%, without indexation |
| Short term, other assets | Your slab rate |
Add 4% cess. Surcharge on these gains is capped at 15%. For land or a building bought before 23 July 2024, a resident individual can instead pay 20% with indexation, whichever is lower. The cost inflation index for 2026-27 is 384.
In the new regime, the rebate that makes income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free doesn't cover tax on special-rate gains such as these. Any unused basic exemption can still be set against them.
Cutting the tax: reinvest the gain
The Income-tax Act, 2025 kept the familiar exemptions under new section numbers:
| Section (old) | If you sold | And you | Exempt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 (54) | A house | Buy one within 1 year before or 2 years after, or build within 3 years | The gain, up to the new house's cost (cost counts up to ₹10 crore) |
| 86 (54F) | Anything else held long term | Buy or build one house in the same time | Gain × cost of house ÷ net sale price |
| 85 (54EC) | Land or a building | Buy NHAI, REC or other notified bonds within 6 months | Up to ₹50 lakh, locked in for 5 years |
If you haven't spent the money by your return's due date, deposit it in the Capital Gains Account Scheme first. Selling the new house within 3 years brings the exempted gain back into tax. Section 82 allows two houses once in your life, if the gain is ₹2 crore or less. Section 86 isn't available if you already owned more than one other house.
Losses
- A short-term loss can be set off against any capital gain.
- A long-term loss can only be set off against long-term gains.
- Neither can reduce your salary or other income.
- What's left carries forward for 8 tax years, but only if your return is filed by the due date.
Selling property
If the stamp duty value is more than 110% of your price, it's taken as your sale price for tax. The buyer deducts TDS of 1% of the higher of the price and the stamp duty value when either is ₹50 lakh or more. It counts towards your tax.
What to do
- Download your capital gains statements: your broker's tax report, and CAMS or KFintech for mutual funds.
- Check them against your Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the e-filing portal.
- Pay advance tax on the gain in the quarter you make it, to avoid interest.
- Report the sale in your return, even if no tax is due.
Work out the tax on your own sale.
Open the capital gains calculatorSources
- Tax rules for salaried individuals, AY 2026-27, Income Tax Department
- Cost Inflation Index, Income Tax Department
- Section 82: profit on sale of a residential house, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 85: investment in certain bonds, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 86: investment in a residential house, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 108: set off of losses, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 111: carry forward of capital losses, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 78: stamp duty value as sale price, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
- Section 393: TDS, including on property, Income Tax Department (Income-tax Act, 2025)
This guide explains the rules in general. For your own situation, .