Financial Calculators
Post-Tax Return Calculator
An 8% deposit at a 30% tax rate in 6% inflation is not growing your money. Do this arithmetic before choosing any avenue.
Real return after tax and inflation
-0.38%
- Post-tax return
- 5.6%
Enter your own tax rate; the calculator makes no slab assumptions. Many taxable fixed-income avenues barely beat inflation after tax, which is the quiet argument for growth assets in long-term money.
The three haircuts every return takes
A quoted return is pre-tax and pre-inflation. Tax takes its share first, at your rate for that income; inflation then erodes what remains. The survivor is the real post-tax return, the only number that measures whether wealth actually grew.
You supply your own tax rate here, so the calculator makes no slab assumptions and never goes stale with budgets. The uncomfortable finding for many taxable deposits: the real return hovers near zero, the quiet case for growth assets in long-term money.
After tax, after inflation
Post-tax = return x (1 - tax rate)\nReal = (1 + post-tax) / (1 + inflation) - 1Worked example: an 8% return taxed at 30% leaves 5.6% post-tax; against 6% inflation the real return is -0.38% a year, purchasing power actually shrinking.
Frequently asked questions
What tax rate should I enter?
The rate that applies to that specific income for you: slab rate for interest income, the applicable capital gains rate for funds. You know your situation; the calculator stays agnostic.
A negative real return: is my FD losing money?
In purchasing power, at those assumptions, yes, even as the balance grows in rupees. FDs still have roles, stability, near-term goals, senior schemes; just not the job of long-term growth.
How do equity funds fare on this arithmetic?
Growth assets aim to outrun inflation meaningfully before tax, and equity taxation is generally gentler than slab rates on interest. That combination is their structural advantage for long horizons.
Does this include surcharge and cess?
Enter your all-in effective rate including cess if you want precision; the formula applies whatever rate you give it.
Compare avenues after the haircuts.
Every recommendation we make is post-tax, post-inflation honest.