CII at 384: How Much Tax You Save on Property Sale?

The government has set the Cost Inflation Index at 384 for FY2026-27. This number helps you adjust the original price you paid for assets like property or gold, so you pay capital gains tax only on real profits — not inflation-driven gains.

Here's what happened: The Income Tax Department has officially notified the Cost Inflation Index (CII) as 384 for Financial Year 2026-27, effective April 1, 2026.. CII is used to inflate the original purchase cost of long-term assets — property, gold, unlisted shares — before calculating taxable capital gains.. A higher CII means your indexed cost of acquisition rises, reducing your net capital gain and therefore your tax liability on eligible asset sales..

What you should do: Check your property or gold purchase year and compare its CII value against 384 to estimate your indexed cost before selling in FY2026-27.. Consult your CA or use an online capital gains calculator to see whether indexation benefit actually lowers your tax versus the flat 12.5% LTCG rate — pick whichever is lower.. Preserve all original purchase documents, stamp duty receipts, and improvement invoices, as these form the base cost for indexation calculations during ITR filing..

For properties purchased before 2001, the government allows you to use the Fair Market Value as of April 1, 2001 as your base cost — this can dramatically reduce your taxable gain even before applying indexation.