Taxation of Income Earned From Selling Shares

We all know that income from salary, rental income and business income is taxable. But what about income from the sale or purchase of shares? Many homemakers and retired people spend their time gainfully buying and selling shares but are unsure how this income is taxed. Income/loss from sale of equity shares is covered under the head ‘Capital Gains’.

Under the head ‘Capital Gains’, income is further classified into :
(i) Long term capital gains, or (ii) Short term capital gains.
This classification is made according to the holding period of the shares. Holding period means the duration for which the investment is held starting from the date of acquisition till the date of sale or transfer.

It should be noted that the holding periods of shares and securities are different for different classes of capital assets. For income tax purposes, holding periods of listed equity shares and equity mutual funds is different from the holding period of debt mutual funds. Their taxability is also different.

In this article, we will cover the tax implications on the listed securities like listed equity shares, bonds, bonds and debentures listed on a recognized Indian stock exchange, units of UTI and Zero-coupon bonds.

Taxation of Gains from Equity Shares

Short-Term Capital Gains (STCG)

If equity shares listed on a stock exchange are sold within 12 months of purchase, the seller may make short term capital gain (STCG)  or incur a short-term capital loss (STCL). The seller makes short-term capital gain when shares are sold at a price higher than the purchase price. 

Calculation of short-term capital gain = Sale price minus Expenses on Sale minus Purchase price

Short-term capital gains are taxable at 15%.
What if your tax slab rate is 10% or 20% or 30%? 
A special rate of tax of 15% is applicable to short-term capital gains, irrespective of your tax slab.

Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG)

If equity shares listed on a stock exchange are sold after 12 months of purchase, the seller may make a long-term capital gain (LTCG) or incur a long-term capital loss (LTCL). 

Before the introduction of Budget 2018, the long-term capital gain made on the sale of equity shares or equity-oriented units of mutual funds was exempt from tax, i.e. no tax was payable on gains from the sale of long-term equity investments.

The Financial Budget of 2018 took away this exemption. Henceforth, if a seller makes a long-term capital gain of more than Rs.1 lakh on the sale of equity shares or equity-oriented units of a mutual fund, the gain made will attract a long term capital gains tax of 10% (plus applicable cess). Also, the benefit of indexation will not be available to the seller. These provisions will apply to transfers made on or after 1 April 2018.

Also, this new provision was introduced prospectively, i.e. gains starting from the 1st of Feb 2018 will only be considered for taxation. This is known as the ‘grandfathering rule’. Any long-term gains from the equity instruments purchased before the 31st of January 2018 will be calculated according to this ‘grandfathering rule’. Click here to read about it in detail.

Example: Atul purchased shares for Rs.100 on 30th September 2017 and sold them for Rs.120 on 31st December 2018. The stock value was Rs.110 as of 31st January 2018. Out of the capital gains of Rs.20 (i.e. 120-100), Rs.10 (i.e. 110-100) is not taxable. Rest Rs.10 is taxable as capital gains at 10% without indexation.

Loss From Equity Shares

Short-Term Capital Loss

Any short-term capital loss from the sale of equity shares can be offset against short-term or long-term capital gain from any capital asset. If the loss is not set off entirely, it can be carried forward for eight years and adjusted against any short term or long term capital gains made during these eight years.

It is worthy to note that a taxpayer will only be allowed to carry forward losses if he has filed his income tax return within the due date. Therefore, even if the total income earned in a year is less than the minimum taxable income, filing an income tax return is a must for carrying forward these losses.   

Long-Term Capital Loss

Long-term capital loss from equity shares until Budget 2018 was considered a dead loss – It could neither be adjusted nor carried forward. This is because long-term capital gains from listed equity shares were exempt. Similarly, their losses were neither allowed to be set off nor carried forward.

After the Budget 2018 has amended the law to tax such gains made more than Rs 1 lakh at 10%, the government has also notified that any losses arising from such listed equity shares, mutual funds, etc., would be carried out forward.

Long-term capital loss from a transfer made on or after 1 April 2018 will be allowed to be set-off and carried forward in accordance with existing provisions of the Act. Therefore, the long-term capital loss can be set-off against any other long-term capital gain. Please note that you cannot set off long term capital loss against short term capital gains. 

Also, any unabsorbed long-term capital loss can be carried forward to the subsequent eight years for set-off against long-term gains. To set off and carry forward these losses, a person has to file the return within the due date.

Securities Transaction Tax (STT)

STT is applicable on all equity shares sold or bought on a stock exchange. The above tax implications are only applicable for shares listed on a stock exchange. Any sale/purchase on a stock exchange is subject to STT. Therefore, these tax implications discussed above are only for shares on which STT is paid.

Guidance for Treating Share Sale as Business Income

Certain taxpayers treat gains or losses from the sale of shares as ‘income from a business, while others treat it as ‘Capital gains’. Whether your gains/losses from the sale of shares should be treated as business income or be taxed under capital gains has been a matter of much debate.

In case of significant share trading activity (e.g. if you are a day trader with lots of activity or regularly trade in Futures and Options), your income is usually classified as income from the business. In such a case, you are required to file an ITR-3, and your income from share trading is shown under ‘income from business & profession’.

Calculation of Income From Business vs Capital Gains

When you treat the sale of shares as business income, you can reduce expenses incurred in earning such business income. In such cases, the profits would be added to your total income for the financial year and, consequently, charged at tax slab rates. 

If you treat your income as capital gains, expenses incurred on such transfer are allowed for deduction. Also, long-term gains from equity above Rs 1 lakh annually are taxable, while short term gains are taxed at 15%.

What should be classified as significant share trading activity though it has led to uncertainty and a lot of litigation? Taxpayers receive notices from the tax department and spend a lot of time and energy explaining why they chose a particular tax treatment for the sale of shares.

New Clarification from CBDT

Taxpayers have now been offered a choice of how they want to treat such income. Once they choose, they must, however, continue the same method in subsequent years, too, unless there is a major change in the circumstances of the case. Note that the choice has been made applicable only to listed shares or securities.

To reduce litigation in such matters, CBDT has issued the following instructions (CBDT circular no 6/2016 dated 29th February 2016)– If the taxpayer himself opts to treat his listed shares as stock-in-trade, the income shall be treated as business income. Irrespective of the period of holding of listed shares. The AO shall accept this stand chosen by the taxpayer.

If the taxpayer opts to treat the income as capital gains, the AO shall not put it to dispute. This is applicable for listed shares held for more than 12 months. However, this stand, once taken by a taxpayer in a particular assessment year, shall also be applicable in subsequent assessment years. And the taxpayer will not be allowed to take a different stand in subsequent years. 

In all other cases, the nature of the transaction (whether capital gains or business income) shall continue to be decided basis the concept of ‘significant trading activity’ and the intention of the taxpayer to hold shares as ‘stock’ or as ‘investment’. The above guidance would prevent unnecessary questioning from Assessing Officers regarding income classification.

How to Treat the Sale of Unlisted Shares in This Context 

However, in the case of the sale of unlisted shares for which no formal market exists for trading, the department has given its view. Income arising from the transfer of unlisted shares would be taxed under the head ‘Capital Gain’, irrespective of the holding period, to avoid disputes/litigation and maintain a uniform approach (as per CBDT circular Folio No.225/12/2016/ITA.1I dated the 2nd of May, 2016).

Related Articles

Speculative Income – Meaning, Taxability, Exceptions

Security Transaction Tax (STT)

Long-Term Capital Gain on Sale of Stocks

Short-Term Capital Gain on Shares Section 111A

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