Crypto Tax Calculator: The 30% Rule Worked Out
Enter one trade's sale value and cost, and see the flat 30% tax, the cess and your 1% TDS credit, plus the rule most traders learn the hard way: losses count for nothing.
The flat-rate crypto tax on this trade, for TY 2026-27, is
₹62,400
The 30% math
| Sale value | ₹5,00,000 |
| Cost of acquisition | − ₹3,00,000 |
| Net gain | ₹2,00,000 |
| Tax at 30% (flat, no slabs) | ₹60,000 |
| Health & education cess (4%) | + ₹2,400 |
| Total tax on this trade | ₹62,400 |
| TDS already deducted (1% of sale) | − ₹5,000 |
| Net payable when you file | ₹57,400 |
One trade at a time. A loss on one coin can't shrink the gain on another, so run each sale separately and add up the taxes on the winners. See every assumption. Salary and other slab-rate income live in the income tax calculator.
How crypto is taxed in India
30% flat, plus cess: Gains on crypto and other virtual digital assets are taxed at a flat 30%, the rule that arrived as Section 115BBH in 2022 and carried into the Income-tax Act 2025. There are no slabs, no long-term discount, no indexation and no ₹1.25 lakh exemption like equity gets; with the 4% health and education cess the true rate is 31.2%. The Section 156 rebate that makes ₹12 lakh of salary tax-free doesn't cover it either.
1% TDS before you see the money: Every transfer sheds 1% of its sale value as TDS. You knew this rule as Section 194S; it now lives as a payment code in the Section 393 table of the 2025 Act. It comes off the sale value, not the gain, so it's deducted even on losing trades. It isn't extra tax: the amount sits as a credit against your final bill, and the calculator above nets it off for you.
No set-off, no carry-forward: A crypto loss can't reduce any other income: not a gain on a different coin, not stock profits, not salary. It can't be carried into next year either. Each gain is taxed in full while each loss evaporates, which is why active traders can owe real tax in a year their portfolio went nowhere.
Only the cost of acquisition is deductible: What you paid to buy the asset is the one number the law lets you subtract. Exchange fees, gas fees, borrowed-money interest, mining electricity, subscription tools: none of it reduces the taxable gain.
Gifts are taxable for the receiver: Crypto counts as property under the gift rules, so receiving more than ₹50,000 worth in a year is taxed in the recipient's hands at fair market value, unless it comes from a relative or on an exempt occasion like a wedding or inheritance.
Selling at a loss? The TDS still bites. Because the 1% comes off the sale value rather than the gain, the exchange deducts it even when the trade loses money. With zero tax due, that deduction just sits with the department until you file a return and claim the refund, one more reason loss-making traders still need to file.
This calculator assumes:
- You're a resident individual selling a virtual digital asset (crypto, an NFT or a token) in TY 2026-27.
- One trade at a time. Gains from separate trades each attract the 30%; losses from other trades can't reduce them, so compute each sale on its own and add up the taxes on the gain-making ones.
- Cost of acquisition means what you actually paid. If you were already taxed on the coins when you received them (an airdrop or salary paid in crypto), the value taxed then generally becomes your cost.
- TDS is taken as a flat 1% of the full sale value, assuming your PAN is on file; the small annual thresholds (₹50,000, or ₹10,000 for most individuals) below which no TDS is due are ignored.
- Cess runs at 4% on the tax. Surcharge isn't modelled; at high total incomes it can apply on top.
Crypto tax FAQs
What is the crypto tax rate in India for 2026?
A flat 30% on gains plus 4% cess (effectively 31.2%), no matter how long you held the asset or which slab your salary sits in. The structure introduced in 2022 as Section 115BBH carried into the Income-tax Act 2025 unchanged, and a separate 1% TDS applies on the sale value of every transfer.
Can I set off crypto losses against gains?
No, against nothing. A loss on one coin can't offset a gain on another coin, on shares, on property or on salary, and it can't be carried forward to a later year either. The loss simply dies in the year you book it. This is the harshest corner of the VDA rules and the one that surprises traders most.
Is the 1% TDS the final tax on my crypto?
No. It's an advance collection, not the tax itself. The exchange deducts 1% of the sale value (not the gain) at transfer, and that amount sits as a credit against your final 30% liability when you file. If the TDS exceeds the tax, which is common for loss-makers and thin-margin trades, the difference comes back as a refund, but only if you file a return.
Do I pay tax on crypto received as a gift or airdrop?
Usually yes, as the receiver. Crypto is a taxable 'property' for the gift rules, so receiving more than ₹50,000 worth in a year is taxed as income in your hands at its fair market value, with the usual carve-outs for gifts from relatives, weddings and inheritance. When you later sell, the 30% rule applies to your gain from there.