Short-term capital loss can generally be set off against short-term or long-term capital gains.
Short-term capital loss can generally be set off against short-term or long-term capital gains. Long-term capital loss can be set off only against long-term capital gains. Unabsorbed eligible capital loss can be carried forward for eight years only with a timely loss return.
The phrase capital loss offsetting against capital gain compresses several legal questions into one line. The outcome cannot be trusted until the page identifies the relevant person, transaction, period, source document and statutory exception. A high-quality calculator should therefore show why an amount was accepted or rejected instead of displaying a black-box answer.
Character must be preserved transaction by transaction. Current-year set-off and future carry-forward are different questions. VDA losses are ring-fenced and cannot be set off or carried forward. Share buyback, special mutual-fund and transition items require separate classification.
Tax Year 2026–27 means income earned from 1 April 2026 under the Income-tax Act, 2025. AY 2026–27 relates to FY 2025–26 and remains under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
| Check | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Classification | Asset/income type, holding period and special provision |
| Computation base | Gross consideration/income less only permitted items |
| Adjustment | Eligible loss, threshold, exemption or deduction |
| Tax | Applicable normal/special rate, surcharge and 4% cess |
| Credit | TDS/TCS/advance tax adjusted after gross liability |
STCL ₹2 lakh, listed-equity STCG ₹80,000 and property LTCG ₹1.5 lakh. STCL can absorb both, leaving ₹30,000 STCL. If the return is timely, the balance can be carried forward. An LTCL of ₹2 lakh could not absorb the STCG.
The example is intentionally presented as a calculation trail. The final result must be recomputed when a date, residence test, holding period, asset classification, employee category, notification, treaty or source document changes.
Capital-gain pages often begin with a percentage and therefore miss the decisive work: identifying the asset, statutory acquisition date, transfer event, cost rule, holding period and special deeming provision. A 12.5%, 20% or 30% rate is meaningful only after the gain has been correctly characterised. TDS or STT does not perform that classification.
The computation should retain each acquisition lot, corporate action, cost adjustment, transfer expense, loss set-off and exemption allocation. Aggregation should occur only after character and rate are determined. This matters where a single financial year contains equity STCG, equity LTCG, property gain, VDA transactions and brought-forward losses, each with a different tax treatment.
The Finin2min calculator linked below should retain the user's original input, display the legally accepted amount, identify the formula and rate, and state the reason for every cap or rejection. Rate-sensitive output should show the applicable tax year or effective date. Where facts cannot be automated—such as treaty PE, beneficial ownership, continuity of service or property valuation—the tool should flag professional review rather than make an unsupported assumption.
Generic pages also tend to mix a tax credit with a deduction, a labour entitlement with an income-tax exemption, or a supply value with business income. That can produce a mathematically neat but legally wrong result.
For the complete rules on this topic, see the core guide: Set-Off and Carry Forward of Losses Under Income Tax.
See the broader Income-tax Act 2025 study guide hub for related rules and calculators on this topic.
Short-term capital loss can generally be set off against short-term or long-term capital gains. Long-term capital loss can be set off only against long-term capital gains. Unabsorbed eligible capital loss can be carried forward for eight years only with a timely loss return.
Finin2min rule: classify first, calculate second, and document every assumption.
Use the current official instrument, portal or regulator publication before acting. This panel separates the category authority from page-specific references.