Because each one carries its own cost basis and its own holding-period clock. A tranche exercised in 2023 and one exercised last quarter are different assets for tax purposes even though the shares are identical. Averaging them together, which is what most spreadsheets end up doing, produces the wrong answer on any partial sale.

The exercise date for options, or the vesting date for restricted units. Not the grant date. That is the day the shares became yours, and it is where the holding-period clock starts.

In the Form 16 for the year you exercised, in the salary breakdown where the perquisite is shown. That is the value you were already taxed on and the figure that becomes your cost. If you no longer have the Form 16, ask your employer before reconstructing it from share prices.

They do different jobs. The gap between them is the perquisite you were taxed on as salary. The FMV alone is your cost when you sell. The tool shows both so you can see how much has already been taxed and stop that amount being taxed twice.

Listed in India if the shares trade on an Indian exchange. Unlisted for a private company. Listed abroad for a foreign parent, even a large one on a major exchange. That last case catches people out — a foreign listing does not make a share listed for Indian tax, so it follows the twenty-four month rule rather than twelve.

Days remaining until that tranche qualifies for long-term treatment. Once it passes, the pill switches to Long term. It is the single most useful number here, because selling a few weeks early can move an entire gain from a concessional rate to your slab rate.

By the strategy you choose. Lowest tax first takes long-term tranches ahead of short-term ones, and within each group takes the highest cost basis first, since that produces the smallest gain. Oldest and newest first are there for comparison, and the difference between them is often larger than people expect.

For tax alone, usually. As a decision, not necessarily. Selling your cheapest tranches keeps the low-basis ones on your books for later, which can concentrate a larger unrealised gain in a single company that also pays your salary. The tool optimises the tax; whether that is the right trade is a separate judgement.

Yes, on both legs. Each foreign tranche stores the rate on its own vesting date, and the simulator applies today's rate to the sale. The difference between the two is part of your taxable gain, which is a real cost that flat-rate calculations miss entirely.

It applies once to your total long-term equity gain for the year, not per tranche or per company. The simulator applies it to the sale being modelled. If you have already used part of it on other equity sales this year, reduce the exemption setting accordingly or treat the answer as optimistic.

Surcharge, loss set-off against other capital gains, treaty relief and foreign tax credit. Each of those depends on your total income or your position elsewhere, which this tool deliberately does not ask for. Where the numbers are large enough for surcharge to apply, take the working to a chartered accountant.

No. Everything stays in this browser using local storage. Nothing reaches our servers and nothing is associated with you. The consequence is that clearing your browser data, or switching device, loses the list — so keep your own record of the underlying dates and values.

Yes. For restricted units, enter the vesting date as the date and leave the exercise price at zero, since you paid nothing. The FMV on the vesting date is both the perquisite you were taxed on and your cost basis.

Reduce the quantity on that tranche to what remains. The tool tracks current holdings rather than transaction history, so keeping the quantities current is what makes the sale simulation accurate.

The quantity you asked to sell exceeds what is recorded. Either a tranche is missing from the list, or a quantity is out of date. It is worth reconciling against your broker statement before relying on any figure.

They answer different questions. The calculator prices a single grant from exercise through to sale, which is what you want when deciding whether to exercise. The tracker manages a portfolio of grants over years and answers what a sale today would cost across them. Most people need both at different moments.