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ELSS Calculator
Project your tax-saving mutual fund's returns and lock-in maturity value. Adjust any input below and your results update instantly.
Understanding ELSS
The concept, the motivation, and what to watch out for.
The shortest lock-in of any Section 80C investment — but not as short as it sounds
ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Scheme) is a tax-saving mutual fund with just a 3-year lock-in — far shorter than PPF's 15 years or EPF's till-retirement horizon. But if you invest via SIP, each instalment carries its OWN 3-year lock-in from its own investment date, not one clock that starts on day one — so your full corpus only becomes withdrawable 3 years after your very last instalment.
This calculator models that instalment-by-instalment lock-in directly, on top of projecting your equity returns and the Section 80C tax savings along the way — then works out the capital gains tax due when you finally redeem.
SIP instalments lock in individually
A 5-year SIP doesn't fully unlock at year 5 — the last instalment only clears its own lock-in at year 8.
Gains are always long-term, never short-term
Since every rupee has been locked for at least 3 years by the time it's redeemable, ELSS gains can never be taxed at the higher short-term rate — a guarantee no other equity investment offers.
How this calculator helps
Enter your SIP or lump sum amount, expected return, and tenure — see your projected corpus, when it's fully unlocked, your 80C tax savings, and the capital gains tax due on redemption.
Project your ELSS investment
Fill in the starred fields on the left — your results update instantly on the right.
Your details
Invest via monthly SIP
Off models a one-time lump sum investment instead.
e.g. ₹12,500/month (maxes out the ₹1.5L cap)
e.g. 12% (a commonly cited long-run equity average)
e.g. 5 years of continued SIP contributions
e.g. 20%
These are example numbers. Edit any input on the left to see your own.
Your ELSS corpus, after tax
₹13.62 L
Fully unlocked at year 8
Total invested
₹7.50 L
Total gains
₹6.84 L
₹14.34 L unlocked value − ₹72,703 LTCG tax = ₹13.62 L net, plus ₹1.56 L already saved via Section 80C.
Corpus vs. invested, through to full liquidity
ELSS valueAmount invested
Year-by-year, contributing to fully unlocked
Status shows whether you’re still contributing, still locked, or fully free to withdraw that year.
YearELSS valueInvestedStatus
1₹1.59 L₹1.50 L
Contributing
5% is gains
2₹3.37 L₹3.00 L
Contributing
11% is gains
3₹5.38 L₹4.50 L
Contributing
16% is gains
4₹7.65 L₹6.00 L
Contributing
22% is gains
5₹10.21 L₹7.50 L
Contributing
27% is gains
6₹11.43 L₹7.50 L
Still locked
34% is gains
7₹12.81 L₹7.50 L
Still locked
41% is gains
8₹14.34 L₹7.50 L
Still locked
48% is gains
Compare scenarios
See how a higher return or maxing out the 80C cap changes your after-tax corpus.
Your plan
SIP · unlocks year 8
₹13.62 L
Net maturity value
Baseline
+2% higher return (14%)
Year 8
₹15.03 L
Net maturity value
+₹1.41 L
Maxing out ₹1.5L cap instead
₹12,500/month
₹13.62 L
Net maturity value
No change
Worked example, using your numbers
A step-by-step walkthrough from investment to after-tax corpus.
Step 1 · Fully unlocked value
By year 8, your corpus grows to
₹14.34 L
Step 2 · LTCG tax on redemption
After the ₹1.25L exemption, tax due on your gain is
₹72,703
Step 3 · Net after-tax corpus
What you actually walk away with is
₹13.62 L
✓
Along the way, your Section 80C deduction already saved you ₹1.56 L in tax — on top of the ₹6.84 L your investment itself gained.
Personalised insights
What your numbers reveal, and what changing them would do.
48% of your unlocked corpus is pure gains
₹7.50 L invested grows to ₹14.34 L — ₹6.84 L is investment growth.
Your corpus is fully unlocked only in year 8, not year 5
Your last SIP instalment, made in year 5, only clears its own 3-year lock-in at year 8.
Your Section 80C deduction saves ₹1.56 L in tax over 5 years
At your 20% slab rate, this only applies if you file under the old regime — the new regime doesn't allow this deduction.
₹72,703 in LTCG tax is due on redemption
Your ₹6.84 L gain exceeds the ₹1.25L annual exemption, so the excess is taxed at 12.5% plus cess.
How this is calculated
Every step of the math behind your result, shown in the open.
SIP corpus, then a locked-in tail
r = expected annual return, L = the lock-in in years, Unlocked = the value once every instalment has cleared its own lock-in
Once your SIP contributions stop, the corpus keeps compounding for one more lock-in period before the last instalment is free to withdraw.
Example: ₹10.21 L × (1 + 12%)^3 → ₹14.34 L
Redemption gains are always long-term
Gain = Unlocked value minus total invested, Taxable Gain = the portion above the annual LTCG exemption that's actually taxed
Because every ELSS rupee is held past the 12-month equity long-term cliff by the time it's unlocked, the 12.5% long-term rate always applies — never the higher short-term rate.
Example: ₹6.84 L − ₹1.25L → ₹5.59 L taxable → ₹72,703 tax
Tax saved via Section 80C
s = your income tax slab rate, c = health & education cess, Tax Saved = the actual rupee tax benefit from your 80C deduction
This benefit only applies under the old tax regime — the new regime doesn't allow a Section 80C deduction at all.
Example: ₹1.50 L × 20% × 1.04 → ₹1.56 L saved
Assumptions
- Expected return is held constant across the full tenure — real equity returns vary year to year and aren't guaranteed.
- The full corpus is assumed redeemed in a single financial year, using that year's ₹1.25L LTCG exemption once — spreading redemption across years would reduce the tax due.
- The Section 80C tax saving only applies under the old regime — the new regime doesn't allow this deduction at all.
- Figures are indicative — not financial or tax advice.
Did you know?
A few facts behind how ELSS locks in and gets taxed.
3 years
The shortest lock-in among every Section 80C option
PPF locks in for 15 years, EPF until retirement, and tax-saver FDs for 5 — ELSS's 3-year lock-in is the shortest by a wide margin.
Per instalment
A SIP's lock-in clock resets with every contribution
Unlike a lump sum, which locks in once from day one, each SIP instalment in an ELSS fund has its own independent 3-year lock-in.
Never STCG
ELSS is structurally immune to short-term capital gains tax
Since nothing can be sold before clearing its own 3-year lock-in, and equity's short-term cutoff is just 12 months, ELSS gains can never fall into the short-term bucket.
₹1.25L
The LTCG exemption is shared, not per-investment
The ₹1.25 lakh annual long-term capital gains exemption applies across all your equity and equity-fund gains for the year combined — not a fresh ₹1.25 lakh for each fund you redeem.
Old regime only
The new tax regime skips Section 80C entirely
ELSS's tax-saving benefit only materializes if you file under the old regime — under the new regime, the investment still grows, but there's no upfront deduction for contributing to it.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions we hear most about ELSS.
If ELSS has a 3-year lock-in, why does my SIP take longer to fully unlock?
Each SIP instalment is a separate investment with its own 3-year lock-in starting from its own date. If you invest monthly for 5 years, your first instalment unlocks after 3 years, but your last instalment — made in month 60 — doesn't unlock until year 8. The full corpus is never withdrawable before then.
Can ELSS gains ever be taxed as short-term capital gains?
No — since nothing can be redeemed before its own 3-year lock-in ends, and the short-term/long-term cutoff for equity is just 12 months, every ELSS gain is automatically long-term. This is one of the only equity investments where short-term tax literally cannot apply.
Does the Section 80C deduction apply every year, or just once?
If you invest via SIP, each financial year's contributions are freshly eligible for that year's 80C deduction (subject to the shared ₹1.5 lakh cap across all your 80C investments). A lump sum investment only earns the deduction once, in the year you invest it.
Is the Section 80C benefit available under the new tax regime?
No — Section 80C, including ELSS, is only available if you file under the old tax regime. The new regime's lower slab rates and higher standard deduction don't come with 80C or most other itemized deductions.
How is tax calculated when I finally redeem my ELSS units?
Your total gain (redemption value minus what you invested) is taxed under Section 112A: the first ₹1.25 lakh of long-term gains in that financial year is exempt, and anything above that is taxed at 12.5% plus cess. This exemption is shared across all your equity/equity-fund long-term gains for the year, not just ELSS.
How does ELSS compare to PPF or a tax-saver FD?
ELSS has by far the shortest lock-in (3 years vs. PPF's 15 and a tax-saver FD's 5), but its returns are market-linked and not guaranteed, unlike PPF's fixed government-set rate or an FD's contracted rate. ELSS also carries the small LTCG tax on redemption, while PPF is fully tax-free.
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Learn more
Articles to go deeper on the ideas behind this calculator.
Strategy
ELSS vs. PPF vs. tax-saver FD: picking the right 80C mix
Comparing lock-in, risk, and returns across the most common tax-saving options.
6 min read
Fundamentals
Why SIP instalments in ELSS lock in one at a time
The instalment-by-instalment lock-in mechanic, explained with a timeline.
4 min read
Fundamentals
How equity LTCG tax actually works
The ₹1.25 lakh exemption, the 12.5% rate, and how they interact across your whole portfolio.
5 min read