LTCG on Equity, Sovereign Gold Bond

Hello,

I have question on LTGC taxation.

I sold shares in FY 2024/25 and made profit of about Rs. 75,000. I bought these shares in 2015. Will this be completely tax free and not considered for taxation?

I also sold sovereign gold bond in FY 2024/25 and made profit about Rs 1,50,000. I bought Sovereign gold bond in 2022/23 and holding period was more than 1 year but less than 3 years. Will this be consider as long term or not?

If above rs 1,50,000 profit is considered as long term capital gain then…

I have some equity shares which are in loss (holding period is 2.5 years). If I sell shares worth rs 50,000 (loss amount) then can my tax liability will be reduced?

Thanks in advance.

@Quicko

@Quicko , @Meher_Smaran ,

Can you please help ?

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Hi @muthu.radhakrishnan,

  1. Since your total long-term capital gains (LTCG) from shares are below ₹1.25 lakh, they will be exempt from taxes.

  2. Regarding the sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), if you bought them from the secondary market and held them for more than 12 months, the gains will be considered long-term. While there are different views on the holding period, we believe that since SGBs are listed on the exchange, a holding period of 12 months determines whether the gains are long-term or short-term.

    However, the ₹1.25 lakh exemption does not apply to gains from SGBs sold in the secondary market. These gains will be taxable.

  3. Yes, you can sell your equity shares at a loss to offset your gains and reduce your tax liability. This is commonly referred to as tax loss harvesting.

Hi @Quicko

Thanks for your response.

With ref to point#1. I bought shares in 2015 Long term capital gain was completely free at that time). I believe those who bought shares and MF before LTCG was introduced (I think in 2019) will get all profits completely tax free and will not be subject to tax. Can you confirm this point?

Point#2. I bought SGB when they were initially issued. I didn’t buy in secondary market but sold in secondary market. If this is taxable then at what rate? As per my income tax slab or as per LTCG tax rate?

Hi @muthu.radhakrishnan

The entire profits will not be tax-free. However, in such cases the grandfathering clause is applies. For equity shares and equity mutual funds bought on or before 31/01/2018, the cost of acquisition should be calculated as follows:

  1. Lower of FMV as of 31st January 2018 or the actual selling price
  2. Value derived in Step 1 or actual cost price whichever is higher.

This cost of acquisition will then be used to calculate the capital gains.

If you are selling SGB in the secondary market, the tax rate will be 12.5% for LTCG and slab rate for STCG.

Hi, @Quicko

How will SGB be taxed if bought in the Secondary market but held till Maturity?

Hi @ramesh1985,

This gains will be exempted in this case.

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Thanks @Quicko for your reply.

I understood all the points.

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