Crypto Inflation-Adjusted Return Calculator

See what your crypto investment really earned once rising prices and India’s 30% tax are both taken out, and the return you need just to keep up with inflation.

Your investment

Such as 4, or 2.5.

India’s CPI has mostly run 4–7%.

Your real return

Enter what you invested, what it is worth now, the years and inflation, then choose Calculate. Your figures appear here.

Nominal Yearly Return

0%

In rupees, before inflation and tax

Real Gain After Tax

₹0.00

In rupees of the year you invested

Tax on Inflation Alone

₹0.00

Tax on growth that only kept up with prices

Return Needed to Beat Inflation

0%

A year before tax, to break even in real terms

Real Yearly Return After Tax

0%

What your money really gained each year

Assumes everything is sold now with 30% tax on the gain; the 4% cess, TDS and fees are not included. For a return between two dates compared with a deposit, use the Crypto Investment Return Calculator.

How it is calculated

Inflation shrinks what each rupee buys, and tax is charged on the full rupee gain, even the part that only keeps up with prices.

  • Nominal yearly return = (value now ÷ invested) raised to the power of 1 ÷ years, minus 1
  • Real yearly return = (1 + nominal return) ÷ (1 + inflation), minus 1
  • After tax = the same, with the value now less 30% of the gain
  • Real gain after tax = (value now − tax) ÷ (1 + inflation) raised to the years, minus the amount invested
  • Tax on inflation alone = 30% of the part of the gain that only matches inflation: invested × ((1 + inflation) raised to the years − 1)
  • Return needed to beat inflation = the yearly return r where (1 + r) raised to the years = ((1 + inflation) raised to the years − 0.3) ÷ 0.7

Frequently asked questions

Short answers on real returns, inflation and tax on crypto.

It is your return measured in what your money can buy, not just in rupees. If ₹1,00,000 grows to ₹1,50,000 in 4 years, that is 10.67% a year. With prices rising 6% a year, your money buys only 4.40% a year more than it did, and after 30% tax on the gain that drops to 1.69% a year.

When the gain is smaller than inflation plus tax. ₹1,00,000 that grows to ₹1,25,000 in 4 years is a ₹25,000 profit in rupees, and you pay ₹7,500 tax on it. But at 6% inflation, the ₹1,17,500 left buys less than ₹1,00,000 did four years earlier: a real loss of ₹6,928.99, or −1.78% a year.

India taxes the whole rupee gain at 30%, with no allowance for inflation. Part of any gain only makes up for rising prices, yet it is taxed as profit. In the first example, ₹26,247.70 of the ₹50,000 gain just matches 6% inflation over 4 years, so ₹7,874.31 of the ₹15,000 tax is paid on growth that left you no better off.

More than the inflation rate, because tax takes a slice of the gain. At 6% inflation over 4 years, you need 8.29% a year before tax to have the same buying power after paying 30%. The calculator shows this hurdle for your figures; anything below it is a real loss.

For India, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the usual measure, and retail inflation has mostly run between about 4% and 7% a year over the past decade. Use the average for the years you held the investment, or your own cost of living if it rises faster. The table shows the result at other rates.

The 4% health and education cess on the tax makes the effective rate 31.2%, which lowers the real return slightly more; this calculator uses 30%. The 1% TDS deducted on the sale is credited against your tax, so it does not change the result. For the full tax on a sale, use the India Crypto Tax Calculator.

The Crypto Investment Return Calculator works from dates and compares with a fixed deposit. This one focuses on inflation and tax together: the real return after tax, the tax on inflation alone and the return you need to keep up. To project forward instead, use the Crypto Annual Investment Calculator, which shows a result in today’s money.

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