The assets owned by an individual that may or may not be connected with business or profession are called capital assets. The common examples of capital assets include bonds, mutual funds, jewellery, patents, or trademarks. However, furniture and clothes for personal use, rural agricultural land are not capital assets.
The LTCG or long-term capital gains tax is charged on the profit generated from an asset such as shares, bonds, commodities, or real estate that is held for the long-term. The period of holding, which is ‘short term’ or ‘long term’ differs across various assets. It is defined as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The table below shows you how the capital assets are classified as short-term or long-term based on the holding period.
Capital Asset | Holding period of the capital asset | |
---|---|---|
Short Term | Long Term | |
Immovable Property such as House Property | Less than two years | Two years or more |
Movable Property such as Gold Jewelry | Less than three years | Three years or more |
Listed Shares | Less than one year | One year or more |
Equity-oriented mutual funds | Less than one year | One year or more |
Debt-oriented mutual funds | Less than three years | Three years or more |
The long-term capital gains or LTCG Calculator is a utility tool, which shows you the long-term capital gains and the LTCG tax liability, for equity-oriented mutual funds and listed equity shares.
The LTCG Calculator consists of a formula box, where you enter the holding period, the purchase value, and the sale value of the equity-oriented fund. The calculator will display the taxable short-term capital gain or long-term capital gain, depending on the holding period.
You can understand the working of an LTCG calculator with this example. You purchased 200 shares of XYZ Company Ltd at Rs 1,000 per share in May 2018. You sold all the 200 shares at Rs 1,800 per share in January 2020.
You have held the shares for more than one year. The profit of Rs 1,60,000 (200*1800 – 200*1000) is called long-term capital gains.
You have to pay the long-term capital gains tax on the gains that are above Rs 1 lakh in a financial year. You have the LTCG tax on Rs 60,000. (Rs 1,60,000 – Rs 1,00,000) at 10%. You pay a long-term capital gains tax of Rs 6,000. (Rs 60,000@10%).
Suppose you sold the 200 shares in January 2019 when the share price was Rs 1,500 per share. The total purchase value of your 200 shares in May 2018 was Rs 2,00,000. You have held the shares for less than one year. The profit of Rs 1,00,000 (200*1500 – 200*1000) is called short-term capital gains.
You must pay short-term capital gains tax at 15% on the short-term capital gains which is Rs 1,00,000 *15% = Rs 15,000.
The announcement for the introduction of the long-term capital gains tax on equity-oriented instruments and shares was made during the Union Budget 2018. The new rule was applicable for all the transactions that are made on or after 01 April 2018.
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