Gold calculator
Physical, SGB or ETF — what is this gold worth after tax?
An SGB matures at 8 years, and that is exactly when its capital gain stops being taxed.
Annual. Gold moves in long flat stretches and short violent ones; a steady rate is a convenience, not a forecast.
Physical only. Jewellers charge 8–25% and you never see it again.
₹11,71,794after 8 years, before tax
- Actually working for you
- ₹5,00,000
- Tax on the way out
- ₹31,200
- Gain after tax
- ₹6,40,594
- CAGR
- 11.2%
2.5% a year on the issue price, paid in cash and taxed at your slab (assumed 30%). Held to the 8-year maturity the capital gain is tax-free; sold earlier it is not. No new tranches since 2024 — this models one you already hold. FY 2025-26 rates.
- Metal
- SGB coupon
| Year | Metal value | Coupon so far | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹5,50,000 | ₹12,500 | ₹5,62,500 |
| 2 | ₹6,05,000 | ₹25,000 | ₹6,30,000 |
| 3 | ₹6,65,500 | ₹37,500 | ₹7,03,000 |
| 4 | ₹7,32,050 | ₹50,000 | ₹7,82,050 |
| 5 | ₹8,05,255 | ₹62,500 | ₹8,67,755 |
| 6 | ₹8,85,781 | ₹75,000 | ₹9,60,781 |
| 7 | ₹9,74,359 | ₹87,500 | ₹10,61,859 |
| 8 | ₹10,71,794 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹11,71,794 |
Gold bought three ways is three different assets. The metal moves the same for all of them, but a jeweller takes a making charge before the metal is even yours, a sovereign gold bond pays you a coupon for holding it and hands the capital gain over tax-free at maturity, and an ETF is the metal and nothing else. This works out what each one leaves you with after the exit is taxed — which is usually a different ranking from the one the gold price alone suggests.
A worked example
₹5,00,000 of gold, held for 8 years, gold price growth 10% a year, making charges 8%. Those are the four inputs; the only thing changed between the three runs below is the Bought as toggle.
- Physical. ₹40,000 goes to the jeweller, so ₹4,60,000 of metal grows to ₹9,86,051. Tax on the way out is ₹68,387 and the gain after tax is ₹4,17,664. The CAGR the tool prints, 8.9%, is pre-tax and measured on the ₹5,00,000 you actually parted with — not the 10% the metal did.
- Sovereign gold bond. All ₹5,00,000 buys metal, which reaches ₹10,71,794, plus ₹1,00,000 of coupon (2.5% of the issue price, eight times, never reinvested) for a total of ₹11,71,794. Held to maturity the capital gain is exempt, so the ₹31,200 of tax is entirely on the coupon. Gain after tax ₹6,40,594; pre-tax CAGR 11.2%.
- Gold ETF. The same ₹10,71,794 of metal, no coupon, and the full gain taxed at 12.5% plus cess — ₹74,333. Gain after tax ₹4,97,461; pre-tax CAGR 10%.
Gain after tax on ₹5,00,000 held 8 years at 10% a year. Same metal, same price, three exits.
The gap between the top and bottom bar is ₹2,22,930 on a ₹5,00,000 outlay — and none of it came from the gold price, which was identical in all three runs.
What this does not account for
GST is not in the amount you type
Gold attracts GST on the metal and again on the making charge at the till. The tool treats what you type as money spent, so enter the invoice total if you want them counted.
The 8-year exemption means redemption, not a sale
The bond's capital gain is exempt when it is redeemed with the RBI at maturity. Sell the same bond on the exchange before then and the gain is an ordinary capital gain — and a bond cannot be held past 8 years at all, so set the SGB run to 8 and compare the other two at whatever term you like.
A 30% slab is assumed
The coupon, and any gain on a holding under 24 months, are taxed here at 30% plus cess. In a lower slab this page over-taxes you.
The jeweller's buyback is not the market price
Physical gold is sold back at a deducted rate for purity and melting. Nothing here models the spread between the price you read and the price you are offered.
Two more things sit outside the maths. An ETF charges an expense ratio every year, which this does not deduct — read it off your fund’s factsheet and treat the result here as that much optimistic. And physical gold has running costs the other two do not: a locker, or insurance, or the risk of neither.
The tax on physical gold is also a modelling choice worth knowing about. The calculator treats the post-making-charge cost as what you paid, so the making charge is not deducted again as a cost of acquisition on sale. Real-world treatment is arguable and your invoice may support a different figure; the assumption is spelled out under the figures.
Finally, the growth rate. Gold does not deliver 10% a year, it delivers nothing for six years and then everything in eight months. A steady rate makes the comparison between the three routes readable; it is not a forecast of any of them.
Next
If you are deciding between gold and an index fund for the same lump sum, put the same amount and the same years into the lumpsum calculator and compare the after-tax gain, not the headline. If you are selling gold you already own rather than buying, the capital gains calculator handles the holding period and the exemption properly. And if the reason you are looking at gold is that you want a fixed, boring return, price the fixed deposit against it first.
Which is better, a sovereign gold bond or a gold ETF?
On the same gold price they diverge for two reasons. The bond pays 2.5% a year on the issue price in cash, taxed at your slab; and its capital gain is exempt if you hold it to the eight-year maturity, so at maturity the only tax is on the coupon you already received. An ETF pays nothing and its gain is taxed on the way out. The bond wins on paper — but only if you can leave it alone for eight years, and there have been no new tranches issued since 2024, so it is only an option if you already hold one or buy one from someone else on the exchange.
Do I pay tax when I sell gold jewellery?
Yes. Selling gold is a capital gain like any other asset, calculated on the difference between the sale price and your cost of acquisition. The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 set the holding period for gold at 24 months and taxes a long-term gain at 12.5% without indexation; sell inside 24 months and the gain is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate. A jeweller's cash purchase does not make the gain invisible — the invoice is the record either way.
Is gold still taxed at 20% with indexation?
No, not for a sale made now. That was the old regime. Since the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, long-term gains on gold are taxed at 12.5% with no indexation benefit, and the qualifying holding period is 24 months rather than 36. This calculator uses the 12.5% rate plus 4% cess.
How much do making charges really cost me?
More than the percentage suggests, because it is not a fee you pay out of pocket — it is metal you never bought. At an 8% making charge, ₹1,00,000 handed to a jeweller buys ₹92,000 of gold, and the gold price has to rise 8.7% before you are back to even. Nothing in the years that follow recovers it, and most jewellers deduct again when they buy the piece back. The calculator models it that way deliberately.
Does the coupon on a sovereign gold bond have TDS deducted?
No — the scheme's terms say TDS is not applied to the interest, which means the tax is not handled for you. The coupon lands in your bank account in full, twice a year, and the whole of the tax on it falls due when you file. It is interest income at your slab rate, not a capital gain, so it is taxed the same way a fixed deposit's interest is.
This page starts from typical figures. In Hundo the same calculator opens on your own — the loan, the deposit, the salary already on the ledger — and says where each number came from.