Cost Inflation Index (CII) Calculator

After Budget 2024, indexation under Section 48 is available only as an alternative method for property (land/building) and unlisted equity shares acquired BEFORE 23 July 2024. For these legacy holdings the taxpayer may elect 20% on the indexation-adjusted gain instead of the default 12.5% on the nominal gain, and pay whichever amount is lower. Indexation is no longer available for any asset acquired on or after 23 July 2024, and it never applied to listed equity / equity mutual funds (those are taxed under Section 112A at 12.5% above the ₹1.25 lakh exemption). Debt mutual funds acquired after 1 April 2023 are taxed at slab rate with no indexation at all.

The Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 withdrew the indexation benefit under Section 48 for all transfers on or after 23 July 2024 and replaced the older 20% with-indexation LTCG rate with a flat 12.5% without-indexation rate under Section 112. A transitional benefit was carved out specifically for property and unlisted equity acquired before 23 July 2024 — those taxpayers may continue to use the older 20% with indexation method if it yields a lower tax. The calculator above computes both methods side by side and flags the cheaper choice. For assets acquired on or after 23 July 2024 the 12.5% flat rate is the only path.

The formula is Indexed Cost = Original Cost × (CII of sale year ÷ CII of acquisition year). For example, a property purchased in FY 2015-16 for ₹50 lakh and sold in FY 2025-26 has an indexed cost of ₹50,00,000 × (376 ÷ 254) = ₹74,01,575. The long-term capital gain with indexation is then Sale Price − Indexed Cost, and tax is 20% of that gain. The non-indexation alternative is simply Sale Price − Original Cost taxed at 12.5%. CII values are published annually by CBDT; the base year FY 2001-02 has CII = 100 and the index has grown to 363 by FY 2024-25, reflecting overall inflation of roughly 263% over 23 years.

No. Listed equity mutual funds (with STT paid) have never qualified for indexation — they are taxed under Section 112A at a flat 12.5% on long-term gains above the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption. Debt mutual funds acquired on or after 1 April 2023 lost indexation in the Finance Act 2023; the entire gain on these funds is now added to income and taxed at the investor's slab rate, regardless of holding period. Debt mutual funds acquired before 1 April 2023 still qualify for the 24-month long-term holding period and are now taxed at 12.5% without indexation (post-Budget-2024). Only direct holdings of property and unlisted equity acquired before 23 July 2024 retain the optional dual-mode benefit.