Crypto Tax Calculator
Under section 115BBH your crypto losses cannot offset your crypto gains. A year that broke even still owes tax — this works out how much.
What the Crypto tax calculator does
A crypto tax calculator shows what you owe under section 115BBH. Gains are taxed at a flat 30% plus cess, losses cannot be set off against anything — not even other crypto — and no expense except the purchase price is deductible. 1% TDS applies to every sale.
Your crypto losses cannot offset your crypto gains
Section 115BBH(2)(b) says a loss on transferring a virtual digital asset cannot be used to reduce anything against any income — not your salary, not your equity gains, and not gains on another coin — and cannot be carried forward. It is not deferred or restricted. It is simply gone.
In the two trades below, the gain on one exactly cancels the loss on the other — and tax is still due on the winner. The fees then put you a little further behind, because those get no relief either. Add a third losing trade and watch the bill refuse to move: that is the whole regime in one gesture.
A statement of what the section says, not a computation on your figures. An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
Your trades this year
| Asset | Bought for | Sold for | Fees | Gain | Taxed on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | |||||
| -₹1,00,000 | Nothing |
Note the last two columns. A losing trade shows its loss and is then taxed on nothing — it does not reduce anything either. Fees never appear in the taxed column at all, because the section does not allow them.
An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
What you actually made
-₹3,500
You are down on the year — and you owe ₹31,200.
- Gains on winning trades
- ₹1,00,000
- Losses on losing trades
- ₹1,00,000 — forfeited
- Fees paid
- ₹3,500 — not deductible
- What you actually made
- -₹3,500
- Tax at 31.2%
- − ₹31,200
- Left in your hand
- -₹34,700
Virtual digital assets are unregulated in India and their value can fall to nothing. GrowIQ Capital is a mutual fund distributor, does not deal in crypto and does not recommend it. An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
What these two rules cost you, against ordinary treatment
₹31,200
On this same profit and loss, an asset taxed the ordinary way — losses netting off, fees deductible — would have cost ₹0. Crypto costs ₹31,200. The gap is what section 115BBH adds on top of its rate.
- Relief lost because losses cannot offset
- ₹31,200
- Relief lost because fees are not deductible
- None
- Total added by the regime
- ₹31,200
An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
1% TDS, charged on what you sold — not on what you made
Section 194S withholds 1% of the sale value on every transfer once your annual sales pass ₹50,000. Not of your profit — of the consideration. So it is taken on losing trades too. It is creditable against your final bill and refundable if it exceeds it, but the money is out of your hands until your return is processed.
Total you sold this year
₹6,00,000
Past the ₹50,000 threshold, so TDS applies.
Tax already held back
₹6,000
1% of the sale value, whether the trade made money or not.
Still to pay
₹25,200
Your bill, after crediting the TDS already withheld.
An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
Three more things the section does that nothing else does
- A flat 30%, whoever you are. There is no slab benefit. Someone whose salary puts them in the 5% band still pays 30% on crypto gains, and someone in the 30% band pays no more. Your choice of tax regime is irrelevant — this sits outside the slab system entirely.
- No holding period, and no indexation. A coin held nine years and one held nine minutes are taxed identically. Every other asset on this site rewards holding; this one does not, at all.
- A swap is a sale. Trading one coin for another is a transfer of the one you gave up, so it is a taxable event even though no rupees reached your bank. Tax can fall due on gains you never converted into money — and the TDS is withheld on those swaps too.
An estimate on the transactions available to us, not a tax computation or filing advice. Confirm the position with a qualified tax adviser before relying on it.
What this assumes
- Fees are treated as wholly non-deductible. That is the strict reading of section 115BBH(2)(a). Whether a fee paid on the purchase forms part of what you paid for it is genuinely unsettled — ordinary capital gains principles would fold it in, the section’s wording arguably would not. This page takes the conservative side, which reports more tax rather than less. Raise it with your adviser.
- Disposals on or after 1 April 2022, with TDS from 1 July 2022. Nothing here computes a position for earlier years, when the treatment was unsettled and argued case by case.
- Every row is a completed sale. Coins still held are not taxable — there is no tax on an unrealised gain — so they do not belong in the table. Airdrops, staking rewards, mining income and gifts received have their own treatment and are not modelled.
- The higher TDS threshold is assumed. ₹50,000 applies to a specified person, which covers most individuals; others cross at ₹10,000. Non-filers can face a higher rate than 1%, which is not modelled.
- Surcharge is excluded; the 4% cess is included. Losses are neither used to reduce anything nor saved for later forward, because the section forbids both — that is not a simplification.
No returns are assured or guaranteed. Any illustration of returns is a mathematical projection, not a promise. Virtual digital assets are not regulated in India, are not covered by any investor protection scheme, and can lose their entire value. GrowIQ Capital is a mutual fund distributor, does not deal in or recommend crypto, and does not provide tax advice — this is arithmetic on the figures you entered, for discussion with a qualified tax adviser.
How the crypto tax calculation works
Tax = sum of WINNING trades × 31.2%. Losing trades subtract nothing. Fees deduct nothing. TDS = 1% of everything sold.
Section 115BBH taxes gains on virtual digital assets at a flat 30% plus the 4% cess, which is 31.2%. Three things make it unlike every other asset. First, there is no slab benefit, no holding period distinction and no indexation — someone in the 5% band pays 30%, and a coin held nine years is taxed like one held nine minutes. Second, and most consequentially, section 115BBH(2)(b) forbids setting a loss off against any income at all, including gains on another crypto asset, and forbids carrying it forward: so a year of ₹1 lakh gained on one coin and ₹1 lakh lost on another is economically nothing but taxed as a ₹1 lakh gain, producing a ₹31,200 bill on a year that made you nothing. Because of that, the effective rate on what you actually earned can exceed 100%, and this calculator reports it rather than clamping it. Third, section 115BBH(2)(a) allows the cost of acquisition and nothing else — exchange fees, brokerage, network and gas fees all get no relief, where every other asset class nets them off the gain. Separately, section 194S withholds 1% of the sale VALUE rather than of the profit once annual sales pass ₹50,000, so it is taken on losing trades too and on high turnover can exceed the year's entire profit; it is creditable and refundable, but not until the return is processed. Note also that swapping one coin for another is a transfer of the coin given up, so it is taxable even though no rupees reached a bank account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set off my crypto losses against my crypto gains?
No, and this is the rule that catches almost everyone. Section 115BBH(2)(b) provides that a loss on transferring a virtual digital asset cannot be set off against any income at all — including gains on another crypto asset — and cannot be carried forward. So ₹1 lakh of profit on one coin and ₹1 lakh of loss on another is economically nothing, but taxed as a ₹1 lakh gain: a bill of ₹31,200 on a year that made you nothing.
How much tax do I pay on crypto in India?
A flat 30% plus the 4% cess, so 31.2%. There is no slab benefit — someone whose salary sits in the 5% band still pays 30% on crypto gains. There is no long-term or short-term distinction: a coin held nine years and one held nine minutes are taxed identically, with no indexation.
Are exchange fees and gas fees deductible?
No. Section 115BBH(2)(a) allows the cost of acquisition and nothing else — not exchange fees, not brokerage, not network or gas fees, not interest on money borrowed to buy. Every other asset class lets you net transaction costs off the gain. Crypto does not. Whether a fee paid on the purchase itself forms part of the cost of acquisition is genuinely unsettled, and this calculator takes the stricter reading.
What is the 1% TDS on crypto?
Section 194S withholds 1% of the sale value — not of your profit. So it is deducted even when you sell at a loss. It is creditable against your final bill and refundable if it exceeds it, but the money is locked up until your return is processed. For an active trader on thin margins, the TDS withheld across the year can exceed the entire year’s profit.
Can my effective tax rate on crypto exceed 100%?
Yes, and it is not a mistake in the arithmetic. Because losses give no relief, tax is charged on your winning trades regardless of what your losing ones did. Make ₹1 lakh on one coin, lose ₹90,000 on another, and you have made ₹10,000 while owing ₹31,200 — an effective rate of 312% on what you actually earned, and a year that ends down despite being profitable.
Is swapping one crypto for another taxable?
Yes. A swap is a transfer of the asset you gave up, so it is a taxable event even though no rupees reached your bank account. This surprises people who trade actively without ever cashing out, and it means tax can be due on gains you never converted to money.
Does the tax regime I choose change my crypto tax?
No. Section 115BBH is a flat special rate outside the slab system entirely, so old regime or new makes no difference. There is no Section 80C relief and no deduction of any kind against crypto gains.
When did these crypto tax rules start?
The 30% charge under section 115BBH applies from 1 April 2022, and the 1% TDS under section 194S from 1 July 2022. This calculator models the current position and does not compute anything for disposals before those dates.
GrowIQ Capital provides financial data analytics, market information and educational content. We are not a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser or Research Analyst. Nothing on this platform constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. No returns are assured or guaranteed. Any illustration of returns is a mathematical projection, not a promise. Past performance is not indicative of future returns and does not guarantee future results.