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Post-tax bond yield calculator

A bond quoting 14.5% does not pay you 14.5%. Interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab, so the number that matters is what is left afterwards. Set the yield, your slab and the amount below to see it.

Your numbers

5%15%
₹10,000₹20L
Your income tax slab The rate your last rupee of income is taxed at.
Bond type

Post-tax yield

Post-tax yield 7.00 percent.

What a 10% bond leaves you with at the 30% slab, on ₹1,00,000 invested.

Pre-tax interest per year ₹10,000
Income tax at your slab ₹3,000
TDS deducted at 10% Nil
Net interest per year ₹7,000

TDS applies to interest above ₹10,000 in a financial year. It is tax paid in advance, adjustable against your final liability, not a cost on top of the slab tax above.

Highest post-tax yields on live bonds

The bonds we track, showing what each one keeps after tax at the 30% slab. Every taxable bond loses the same share of its yield, so the slab changes the figures rather than the order. A tax-free bond would break that, since its coupon is exempt.

See the full highest-yield list

How this is calculated

Interest from a bond is income. It is added to everything else you earn in the year and taxed at your marginal slab rate, so the yield you keep is the quoted yield reduced by that rate.

post-tax yield = YTM x (1 - slab / 100) net interest per year = amount x YTM / 100 x (1 - slab / 100) TDS = 10% of annual interest, when that interest is above ₹10,000

For a tax-free bond the coupon is exempt, so the first line becomes post-tax yield = YTM and no tax or TDS is deducted.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the post-tax yield on a bond?

Multiply the yield by one minus your slab rate. A 12% bond at the 30% slab pays 12 x (1 - 0.30) = 8.4% after tax. Interest from a listed corporate bond or a government security is added to your total income and taxed at your slab, so the higher your slab, the smaller the gap between two bonds becomes. Tax-free bonds are the exception: their coupon is exempt, so the quoted yield is what you keep.

Is TDS an extra tax on my bond interest?

No. TDS is tax collected in advance, not an additional levy. The issuer deducts 10% on interest above ₹10,000 in a financial year and deposits it against your PAN, where it appears in your Form 26AS. You claim it when you file your return, so it reduces your final tax bill rupee for rupee. If your total income is below the taxable limit, Form 15G or 15H filed with the issuer can stop the deduction.

Are tax-free bonds better than higher-yielding taxable bonds?

It depends on your slab. A tax-free bond at 6.5% keeps all 6.5%. A taxable bond has to yield about 9.3% to match that at the 30% slab, but only about 6.9% at the 5% slab. That is why the slab control here matters: it decides which of two bonds is really ahead. The catch is supply. Tax-free bonds are older PSU issues that are no longer being issued, so there are few of them, none are in today's listings, and the bonds ranked below all move by the same factor when you change the slab.

Is interest on a G-Sec taxed differently from a corporate bond?

For interest, no. A government security's coupon is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, exactly like a corporate bond coupon. The real difference is credit risk: a G-Sec carries the credit of the Government of India, while a corporate bond carries the issuer's. Capital gains on a bond sold before maturity follow separate rules, and this calculator covers interest only.

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Results are estimates for guidance only, not investment or tax advice. Yields, minimum investments and availability change daily, and your actual tax depends on your full income, surcharge and cess. Verify every number on the platform before you invest.