Sovereign Gold Bond Calculator (India): Returns, Tax and Exit
Hold, redeem early or sell? Your SGB return with interest, and the tax on each exit.
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Sovereign Gold Bond 2.5% interest · 8-year tenor · exit from year 5 · Rules used
Tax
Interest dates
| Date | Interest | Taxed in | To you |
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Rules used and official sources
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Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the Sovereign Gold Bond Calculator (India): Returns, Tax and Exit
A Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) is a Government of India security in grams of gold, issued by the RBI. It pays 2.5% a year on its nominal value, every six months, runs for eight years, and may be redeemed early on an interest date after the fifth year; at redemption you get the gold price of the day — the simple average of the IBJA closing price of 999 gold of the three business days before (RBI’s SGB FAQ). Bonds in a demat account can also be sold on the stock exchange at any time.
Enter your series — the date of issue, the issue price and your grams — how you got the bonds, and how you plan to exit: at maturity, by early redemption, or by a sale. With the redemption price RBI announced (or your own estimate), the calculator gives every interest payment, the total return, the CAGR of the price and the XIRR with the interest, the dates on which early redemption is open, and the tax: interest at your slab rate, and the capital gain — which, from Tax Year 2026-27, is exempt only for a bond held from its original issue till maturity (Finance Act, 2026, section 43). No prices are fetched; everything is worked out in your browser.
How to use it
- Choose whether you subscribed at issue or bought on the exchange. If you bought, enter the date and the price you paid for one bond (one gram).
- Enter the date of issue of your series, the issue price (nominal value) of one gram and the number of grams. Tick the online discount if you applied online and paid digitally.
- Choose the exit: at maturity, early redemption on one of the interest dates listed, or a sale on a date you enter.
- Enter the price of one gram: the redemption price RBI announced for that date, your sale price, or your estimate for a future date. Choose your slab rate for the tax on the interest.
- Read the total return, CAGR, XIRR, every interest date and the tax. Copy the summary or download the interest schedule as CSV — with a pass, or after unlocking this result.
Examples
Interest 16 × ₹375 = ₹6,000; back ₹70,000 on ₹29,500 invested: a total return of ₹46,500. Redemption at maturity by the original holder is not taxed.
A capital gain of ₹70,500, long-term: tax ₹9,165 (12.5% plus 4% cess). Only redemption at maturity of a bond held since its issue stays exempt.
XIRR about 2.52% a year — the 2.5% interest, paid every six months.
Taxed: the gain from the price you paid is a capital gain, long-term after 12 months, because you did not hold the bond from its original issue.
How the bond pays
From the Gazette notification of each series (an example) and RBI’s FAQ:
- Interest: a fixed 2.5% a year on the nominal value, from the date of issue, in half-yearly payments; the last comes with the principal at maturity.
- Issue price: the nominal value; ₹50 a gram less for those who applied online and paid digitally — the interest is still on the nominal value.
- Tenor: eight years. Early redemption is allowed after the fifth year from the date of issue, on an interest date: approach your bank, post office, SHCIL office or agent up to 30 days before, and at least a day before, that date.
- Redemption price: the simple average of the closing price of 999 gold published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association for the three business days before the date of repayment; RBI announces it.
- Exchange: only bonds in demat form can be traded on the stock exchanges.
Tax on the interest and on the gain
- Interest is taxed every year it is paid, at your slab rate; TDS does not apply to the bonds (RBI FAQ).
- Redemption at maturity by an individual who held the bond from its original issue till maturity is not a transfer, so it is not taxed (Income-tax Act, 2025, section 70(1)(x) as amended by the Finance Act, 2026).
- From Tax Year 2026-27, everything else is a capital gain: early redemption, redemption by someone who bought on the exchange, and a sale on the exchange. Section 43 of the Finance Act, 2026 limits the exemption to a bond held by an individual from the date of original issue till maturity.
- Rates: a listed security is long-term after 12 months (section 2(101)), taxed at 12.5% (section 197) plus 4% cess; held 12 months or less, the gain is taxed at your slab rate.
- Redemptions before Tax Year 2026-27 — including early ones — were exempt for individuals under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Hold, redeem early or sell?
Holding to maturity keeps the 2.5% interest coming and, for an original subscriber, the gain tax-free. Early redemption gives the RBI price without a buyer, but from Tax Year 2026-27 its gain is taxed at 12.5%. A sale on the exchange is open on any trading day, at the market price, which can differ from the gold value of the bond, and is taxed the same way. The calculator lets you compare the three for your own series.
Limitations
- No live prices: enter the redemption price RBI announced, your contract-note price or your own estimate for a future date.
- Interest goes to the holder on each record date; for an exchange purchase or sale the calculator splits the interest by the interest dates alone.
- Surcharge, the lower tax when your other income is below the basic exemption limit, and set-off of losses are not worked out.
- Bonds received as a gift or inheritance take the previous holder’s cost and holding period; enter them as an exchange purchase at that cost to approximate.
- Exchange sales before 23 July 2024 are outside the tax rules applied here.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Sovereign Gold Bond Calculator (India): Returns, Tax and Exit shows the total return in full, with the tax rules for your exit, the early redemption dates and the first rows of the interest dates; every other figure is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
Is the SGB maturity amount tax-free?
Yes, for an individual who subscribed at the original issue and held the bond until it matured. If you bought it on the exchange, or redeem it early, the gain is taxed as a capital gain from Tax Year 2026-27.
Is early (premature) redemption of SGB taxable now?
From Tax Year 2026-27, yes: the exemption covers only redemption on maturity. The gain is long-term — early redemption comes after five years — and taxed at 12.5% plus cess. Redemptions before that year were exempt.
When can I redeem my SGB early?
On an interest date after the fifth year from the date of issue — the calculator lists them for your series. Ask your bank, post office, SHCIL office or agent up to 30 days before that date, and at least one day before it.
How is the SGB redemption price decided?
It is the simple average of the closing price of 999 gold published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association for the three business days before the date of repayment. RBI announces it for each date.
Is TDS deducted on SGB interest?
No. TDS does not apply to the bonds, but the interest is taxable at your slab rate and must be shown in your return.
How much interest does an SGB pay?
2.5% a year on the nominal value, in two payments a year. A bond with a nominal value of ₹3,000 a gram pays ₹37.50 a gram every six months — ₹375 for 10 grams.