Tax on Gold in India - 2025
Tax on Gold in India is divided into 2 buckets - an STCG(Short Term Capital Gains) tax and an LTCG(Long Term Capital Gains). STCG is generally dependant on your income tax slab and LTCG is 12.5%.
STCG gets applied on a shorter tenure and LTCG is applied on a longer holding period. The tenure depends on the type of Gold asset you've chosen, as we'll discuss below in this article.
Tax on Gold Assets
Table: How are different Gold assets taxed in 2025?
Please note: Tax on physical gold is not applicable only if you don't sell. If you are selling physical gold - it gets taxed as per STCG(income tax slab) if tenure is under 2 years and LTCG of 12.5% id tenure is more than 2 years.
Other Taxes on Gold
- GST on Gold - When ever you buy gold a one-time GST of 3% is applicable on the total buy price of gold. Below are the gold assets which incur GST.
- Physical Gold
- Digital Gold
- Gold Leasing
Please note that while Gold ETFs don't incur any GST you'd still have to pay an expense ratios(around 0.5%) per annum
2. Import Duty on Gold - Import duty or custom duty on Gold are applicable when you're getting gold from an outside country. They typically range around 6% for most people. Import duty on gold differs on the basis of the quantity you're bringing and depending on your gender.
Table: Import Duty on Gold in 2025
| Gender | Quantity | Import duty applicable |
|---|---|---|
| Male | under 20 gms | No import duty |
| Male | 20gms-50gms | 3% |
| Male | 50gms-100gms | 6% |
| Male | 100gms+ | 10% |
| Female & children | under 40 gms | No import duty |
| Female & children | 40gms-100gms | 3% |
| Female & children | 100gms-200gms | 6% |
| Female & children | 200gms+ | 10% |
How to calculate custom duty on Gold in India?
Custom duty is applicable on Gold that's being bought outside India, when you bring it back to the country. Duty is applicable on the cost price of the jewellery. Herr's how you can calculate the import duty on gold:
Formula: Final Price of gold bought • custom duty% applicable on the Gold.
Let's understand this with examples. Here, we'll assume gold price per gram as ₹10,000 & this is the final price of the gold per gram you have bought.
Custom duty for men across different weight ranges -
| Gold bought | Final Price(per gram price * grams bought) | Custom duty% applicable | Total custom duty paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 gms | ₹1,50,000 | 0% | ₹0 |
| 25 gms | ₹2,50,000 | 3% | ₹7,500 |
| 75 gms | ₹7,50,000 | 6% | ₹45,000 |
| 150 gms | ₹15,00,000 | 10% | ₹1,50,000 |
Custom duty for women & children across different weight ranges -
| Gold bought | Final Price(per gram price * grams bought) | Custom duty% applicable | Total custom duty paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 gms | ₹3,00,000 | 0% | ₹0 |
| 50 gms | ₹5,00,000 | 3% | ₹15,000 |
| 150 gms | ₹15,00,000 | 6% | ₹90,000 |
| 250 gms | ₹25,00,000 | 10% | ₹2,50,000 |
3. Capital Gains Tax on the sale of inherited gold- Capital gains tax on the sale of inherited gold is the same as that of physical gold i.e., 12.5% if holding period is more than 2 years and based on your income tax slab if holding period is less than 2 years. Most Indian households have some gold that gets passed from generation to generation, hence it is important to know about the Capital Gains Tax on the sale of inherited gold.
Here's how you calculate it - If you have 10gms gold with current selling price per gram at ₹10,000 and buying price 3 years back was ₹7,000/gm.
Now, when selling it, you'll get ₹1,00,000(10,000•10)
Now, profit made = Final sell price - Initial Buy price = ₹1,00,000 - ₹70,000 = ₹30,000
Tax to be paid = 12.5%*30,000 = ₹3,750
Hacks to Save on tax on Gold
- Save on Capital Gains Tax - Keep your Holding period more than 2 years so that you're eligible for LTCG Tax of 12.5%, which is generally lower for most people than paying an STCG tax
- Save on GST on Gold - Explore Gullak's Gold+ plan, where you get Extra 4% Gold per annum. Not only does this negate the loss from paying GST, but also brings you exponential returns over the years on top of Gold price increase.
- Save on Custom Duty - If you're bringing Gold from outside, go with your friends/family so you can bring more gold overall but pay lesser/nil custom duty
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