📜 What the law says — 30% flat tax on crypto / VDA gains, Income-tax Act 2025
Chapter XIII special-rate table: "Any income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset — 30% — (a) no deduction in respect of any expenditure (other than cost of acquisition, if any) or allowance or set off of any loss shall be allowed..."
In plain language
Income from transferring any VDA is taxed at a flat 30% (plus surcharge and cess) under Chapter XIII. Unlike normal capital gains:
- No expenses are deductible except the cost of acquisition — no brokerage, no interest, no indexation.
- Losses cannot be set off against any other income, and cannot be carried forward.
- The 30% rate applies regardless of your slab or holding period.
💡 Example
Example: You buy crypto for ₹4,00,000 and sell for ₹7,00,000. Taxable gain = ₹3,00,000; tax = 30% = ₹90,000 (plus surcharge/cess). If you also lost ₹1,00,000 on another coin, that loss cannot be set off against this gain.
C
CA Rajat Agrawal
Chartered Accountant, EaseValue · Reviewed 03 Jul 2026
This explainer is prepared and reviewed by EaseValue's tax team, based on the text of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026).
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