Guide 02 / India15 min read • Reviewed 11 Aug 2026
How to calculate crypto tax in India
Use the official VDA formula, then reconcile 30% tax, cess, any applicable surcharge, and eligible TDS credit. This guide works through a simple INR example and the records needed for Schedule VDA.
How to calculate cryptocurrency tax in India
Start with each relevant disposal rather than one net portfolio number. The Income Tax Department’s basic computation subtracts the cost of acquisition, if any, from the full value of consideration. The resulting VDA income is subject to the 30% special rate.
Full sale consideration − cost of acquisition = taxable VDA income.
Taxable VDA income × 30% = base VDA income tax.
Add 4% Health and Education Cess and any surcharge applicable to your total income.
Reconcile eligible TDS and other credits against the tax calculated in the complete return.
This example deliberately keeps the facts simple. Your final liability can change because of surcharge, residential status, the nature and timing of receipts, missing acquisition records, other income, tax credits, rounding, and filing rules.
Why TDS and final crypto tax are different
Current department guidance describes 1% TDS on the consideration paid to a resident for a VDA transfer when the applicable threshold and other conditions are met. It is calculated on consideration, not on your profit, and is not increased by surcharge or cess.
The 30% special-rate calculation applies to VDA income. Treat the TDS shown in the appropriate tax statement or evidence as a potential credit to reconcile, not as proof that the final tax has been paid in full. Crypto-to-crypto and in-kind transactions can also create TDS responsibilities, so check the exact payer and platform process.
Do not automatically subtract one crypto loss from another gain
The official VDA rules generally allow only cost of acquisition as a deduction and restrict setting off or carrying forward a VDA transfer loss. A ₹20,000 loss elsewhere should not simply be subtracted from a ₹50,000 profitable VDA transfer to report ₹30,000 of taxable income.
Fees and other expenditure are not automatically deductible either. Where the composition of acquisition cost is uncertain, preserve the invoice and seek advice rather than silently adding every platform or network charge to cost.
The official VDA framework
The Income Tax Department describes virtual digital assets as including crypto assets and certain NFTs. Its current guidance says income from a VDA transfer is taxed at a flat 30% rate, plus applicable surcharge and cess.
The department also states that expenditure is generally not deductible except for cost of acquisition, and that a loss from a VDA transfer cannot be set off against other income or carried forward. These restrictions are why transaction-level calculation matters.
2026 has a filing-language transition
The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies to income earned from 1 April 2026, using the term “Tax Year.” Income earned through 31 March 2026 remains associated with the earlier Act and assessment-year flow.
The e-Filing portal’s TDS guidance distinguishes transactions by the date of credit or payment. For qualifying VDA payments on or after 1 April 2026, it points users to the new Act’s process, including section 393 and Form 141 in relevant individual/HUF cases. Verify the exact workflow for your role and transaction instead of copying an old form number.
What Schedule VDA needs from your records
The department describes Schedule VDA as transaction-wise reporting. That means one annual profit number is not enough; you need the acquisition and transfer information behind each relevant disposal.
- Transaction date and time
- Asset and quantity
- Transaction type
- INR value or consideration
- Cost of acquisition
- Fees shown separately
- Exchange, wallet, and transaction ID
- TDS amount and available statement evidence
Do not lose the non-trade movements
A withdrawal from an exchange and the matching deposit into your own wallet may be a movement between accounts you control, but the records are still essential. Without the exchange ID, wallet address, network, quantity, fee, and transaction hash, the later deposit can be hard to explain.
Keep rewards, airdrops, gifts, transfers in kind, and crypto-to-crypto trades clearly categorized. Their treatment can depend on facts that a generic calculator cannot infer.
Use the calculator as a review tool
The CryptooChai calculator can help organize FIFO-based gains, crypto-to-crypto trades, TDS estimates, financial-year totals, and CSV transactions. It is useful for spotting gaps and testing your data, but it does not replace the official return or professional advice.
Open the 2026 tax calculatorWhen to ask a tax professional
Get individual advice when records are incomplete, you traded across multiple countries or entities, received business or mining income, used derivatives, handled gifts or inheritance, lost platform access, or cannot reconcile TDS and transaction statements.
Check the source