| Coin | Gain / loss | Taxed at 30% | TDS (1%) |
|---|
Estimate only, not tax or financial advice. It does not apply marginal relief and assumes you are a resident individual. Confirm with a chartered accountant before you file.
How the calculator works
India taxes income from transferring a virtual digital asset (VDA), such as Bitcoin, Ether or an NFT, at a flat 30%. The rule sits in Section 115BBH of the Income-tax Act, 1961. From April 1, 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act and moved the same rule to Section 194 (Table, Sl. No. 4), with the same 30% rate, the same cost-only deduction and the same ban on setting off losses. The calculator applies those rules to each sale you enter and then adds surcharge and cess. For the full background, read our crypto tax in India guide.
The formula, step by step:
- Gain or loss per coin = sale value − buy cost.
- Taxable gains = the sum of the positive gains only. A loss counts as zero.
- Tax = 30% × taxable gains.
- Surcharge = tax × the surcharge rate for your total income (nil up to ₹50 lakh, 10% above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore, 25% above ₹2 crore, and above ₹5 crore 25% in the new regime or 37% in the old regime).
- Cess = 4% × (tax + surcharge).
- TDS credit = 1% × sale value, or the figure in your Annual Information Statement (AIS) if you enter it.
- Net tax to pay = tax + surcharge + cess − TDS credit.
Fees are shown but not subtracted. Only the cost of acquisition is deductible, so exchange fees, gas fees and other expenses cannot reduce the gain.
Worked example: a loss on one coin does not reduce the tax on another
The calculator opens with this example. In one financial year you sell three coins:
- Bitcoin: bought for ₹1,00,000, sold for ₹1,60,000. Gain ₹60,000.
- Ethereum: bought for ₹80,000, sold for ₹50,000. Loss ₹30,000.
- Solana: bought for ₹40,000, sold for ₹55,000. Gain ₹15,000.
Overall you are up ₹45,000, but the tax is not worked out on ₹45,000. The Ethereum loss cannot be set off against the Bitcoin or Solana gains, so the taxable amount is ₹60,000 + ₹15,000 = ₹75,000.
- Tax at 30%: ₹22,500.
- Surcharge: nil (total income below ₹50 lakh).
- Cess at 4%: ₹900.
- Total tax: ₹23,400.
- TDS at 1% of ₹2,65,000 of sales: ₹2,650.
- Still to pay: ₹20,750.
If the loss could be netted, the tax would be 30% of ₹45,000 plus cess, or ₹14,040. The ₹9,360 difference is the cost of the no-set-off rule. The ₹30,000 loss also cannot be carried forward to next year.
How the 1% TDS fits in
When you sell, the buyer or the exchange deducts 1% of the sale value under Section 194S of the 1961 Act (Section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 8(vi), of the 2025 Act). This is not an extra tax. It is credited against your final tax, and any excess is refundable when you file. Our guide to the 1% TDS on crypto covers who deducts it.
A buyer does not have to deduct TDS if the total it pays in the financial year stays within ₹50,000 (for a “specified person”, such as an individual or HUF with no business income, or with business turnover up to ₹1 crore or professional receipts up to ₹50 lakh) or ₹10,000 (for anyone else). Indian exchanges usually deduct on every sale, so that is the default. Choose “Threshold applies” for a peer-to-peer sale to a single buyer. For the most accurate result, enter the TDS shown in your AIS or Form 26AS.
Gifts and airdrops
A gift of crypto worth more than ₹50,000 in a year can be taxed as income at your slab rate, unless it comes from a relative or on an occasion such as marriage. Airdrops have no specific rule, and they are commonly treated as income when you receive them. In both cases a later sale is taxed at 30%, and the cost you can deduct depends on how the receipt was taxed. This calculator does not cover those receipts, so ask a chartered accountant.
Assumptions and limits
- You are a resident individual, and all rows fall in the same financial year.
- Each row is one transfer. Swapping one coin for another is also a transfer, so enter the rupee value of what you received as the sale value.
- Surcharge depends on your total income, including the crypto gains, so pick the slab yourself. Marginal relief is not applied, so the figures can be slightly high just above ₹50 lakh, ₹1 crore, ₹2 crore or ₹5 crore.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest rupee at each step. Your return rounds income and tax to the nearest ₹10.
- The calculator ignores your other income and taxes, any advance-tax interest, and crypto received as salary or for services, which is taxed as ordinary income.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set off a crypto loss against a gain on another coin?
No. A loss from transferring one VDA cannot be set off against the gain on another VDA or against any other income, and it cannot be carried forward.
Are exchange fees deductible from crypto gains?
No. Only the cost of acquisition is deductible, so trading, withdrawal and gas fees cannot reduce the taxable gain.
Is the 1% TDS an extra tax?
No. It is tax paid in advance. You claim it against your final tax in your return, and any excess is refunded.
Did the 30% rate change under the Income-tax Act, 2025?
No. From April 1, 2026 the provisions were renumbered (Section 194 for the 30% tax and Section 393 for TDS), but the rate, the cost-only deduction, the loss rule and the 1% TDS are the same.
Where do I report these gains?
In Schedule VDA of ITR-2 or ITR-3. See our guide on how to show crypto in your ITR.
Sources
Rates and rules checked on November 6, 2026.
- Section 115BBH, Income-tax Act, 1961 (Income Tax Department): 30% rate, cost-only deduction, no set-off or carry-forward of losses.
- Section 194S, Income-tax Act, 1961 (Income Tax Department): 1% TDS, ₹50,000 and ₹10,000 thresholds, definition of a specified person.
- CBDT Circular No. 13/2022: guidelines on TDS under Section 194S, including sales through exchanges.
- Income Tax Department e-filing portal, tax rates for AY 2026-27: surcharge slabs and the 4% health and education cess. The Finance Act, 2026 kept the same surcharge rates and cess.
- Income-tax Act, 2025 (in force from April 1, 2026): Section 194, Table Sl. No. 4 (VDA income) and Section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 8(vi) (TDS on VDA transfers), published on the Income Tax Department website.
Related: Bitcoin price in India · crypto regulation news · all crypto guides
This calculator gives estimates only. It is not tax or financial advice. Rules and rates can change, so confirm your position with the Income Tax Department or a chartered accountant before you file.