RSU & ESOP Tax Calculator
Stock pay is taxed twice — as salary when it vests or you exercise, and as capital gains when you sell. See both, for shares listed in India or only abroad, and what you keep.
How it works
The perquisite is section 17(1)(d) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, valued under rule 15(6) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, with dollar amounts converted under rule 206. Its tax is worked out by the same engine as the in-hand salary calculator, as a one-off amount on top of your CTC. On sale, your cost is the value already taxed (section 73(1)), so only the rise after vesting is a gain. The New Regime's ₹12 lakh rebate doesn't reduce tax on gains taxed at 20% or 12.5% (section 156(3)).
The ₹1.25 lakh exemption is shared with any other long-term gains on Indian shares and equity funds in the same year. Short-term gains on shares listed abroad are taken as falling in the vesting year. For the concepts side by side, read ESOPs vs RSUs: how each is actually taxed.
Sources & further reading
Section numbers are the Income-tax Act, 2025's, with the 1961 Act's in brackets.
Law and official notices
- Income-tax Act, 2025 (No. 30 of 2025) — Gazette of India, 21 Aug 2025, in force 1 Apr 2026
- Income-tax Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 198(E) — Central Board of Direct Taxes, 20 Mar 2026
Frequently asked questions
How are RSUs taxed in India?
Twice. When they vest, their value is a perquisite taxed as salary at your slab rate (section 17(1)(d) of the Income-tax Act, 2025). When you sell, the rise over that value is a capital gain. 100 RSUs vesting at ₹2,000 on a ₹30 lakh CTC (New Regime) add ₹62,400 of income tax; selling them within a year at ₹2,500 adds ₹10,400 more.
How are ESOPs taxed?
The same way, but the perquisite arises when you exercise — not when the options are granted or vest — and it's only the value on the exercise date minus the exercise price you pay. Your cost for capital gains is that exercise-date value.
What value is used at vesting or exercise?
For shares listed on an Indian stock exchange, the average of that day's opening and closing price (rule 15(6) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026). For shares not listed in India — such as a US parent's — the rule asks for a merchant banker's value; employers usually use the US market price, so check the figure on your payslip.
Which exchange rate applies to US shares?
SBI's telegraphic-transfer buying rate on the last day of the month before the one in which the income arises — the vesting month for the perquisite, the sale month for the sale (rule 206).
When is the gain long-term?
Shares listed in India: after more than 12 months, taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh of such gains a year; within 12 months it's 20%. Shares listed only abroad count as unlisted: long-term after more than 24 months at 12.5%, otherwise at your slab rate. Holding starts on the vesting or exercise date.
I work for a startup. When do I pay the tax?
If your employer is an eligible start-up (section 140, old 80-IAC), tax on the perquisite is due 14 days after the earliest of: 5 years from the end of the tax year, your selling the shares, or your leaving the company (section 289(3)). The value of unlisted shares comes from a merchant banker. This calculator doesn't model the deferral.