Loading…
Loading PaisaToolsLoading…
Loading PaisaToolsTrue value of your SIP after inflation + tax (the shock number)
Reviewed by the PaisaTools Editorial Team · Last reviewed September 2026
How to use: Enter your SIP or lumpsum, return, inflation and tax — see the nominal, inflation-adjusted, post-tax and true value side by side, plus a year-by-year chart.
Example₹10,000/month at 12% for 20 years looks like ₹1 crore — but the true value after 6% inflation and tax is about ₹28 lakh
How are you investing?
Raise your SIP each year, e.g. with your salary
India's long-run average is around 6%
What you'll actually have (today's money, after tax)
₹56,98,972
Nominal — what other calculators show
₹1,98,88,715
Vanishes to inflation + tax (71.3%)
₹1,41,89,743
Step-up — your biggest lever
Inflation and tax eat most of your returns. Raising your SIP 10% a year is how you fight back.
Flat SIP — true value
₹28,24,380
With 10% step-up
₹56,98,972
+₹28.75L · 2.0× more
Stepping up turns ₹28.24L of real, spendable wealth into ₹56.99L — for the same start.
The four numbers
Reality check: that ₹1.99Cr headline is really worth ₹56.99L in today's money after tax — 71.3% less.
The gap widens every year
Year by year
| Year | Invested | Nominal | True value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹1.2L | ₹1.28L | ₹1.21L |
| 2 | ₹2.52L | ₹2.85L | ₹2.54L |
| 3 | ₹3.97L | ₹4.76L | ₹4L |
| 4 | ₹5.57L | ₹7.07L | ₹5.58L |
| 5 | ₹7.33L | ₹9.85L | ₹7.24L |
| 6 | ₹9.26L | ₹13.16L | ₹9.04L |
| 7 | ₹11.38L | ₹17.1L | ₹11L |
| 8 | ₹13.72L | ₹21.76L | ₹13.12L |
| 9 | ₹16.3L | ₹27.27L | ₹15.42L |
| 10 | ₹19.12L | ₹33.74L | ₹17.91L |
| 11 | ₹22.24L | ₹41.35L | ₹20.6L |
| 12 | ₹25.66L | ₹50.24L | ₹23.52L |
| 13 | ₹29.43L | ₹60.64L | ₹26.67L |
| 14 | ₹33.57L | ₹72.75L | ₹30.08L |
| 15 | ₹38.13L | ₹86.84L | ₹33.76L |
| 16 | ₹43.14L | ₹1.03Cr | ₹37.73L |
| 17 | ₹48.65L | ₹1.22Cr | ₹42.02L |
| 18 | ₹54.72L | ₹1.44Cr | ₹46.64L |
| 19 | ₹61.39L | ₹1.7Cr | ₹51.62L |
| 20 | ₹68.73L | ₹1.99Cr | ₹56.99L |
Most investment calculators sell you a comforting lie: a big nominal number with no mention of inflation or tax. The Wealth Reality Check fixes that. It shows all four numbers at once — nominal, inflation-adjusted, post-tax, and the one that actually matters: real value after tax, the money you can genuinely spend in today's terms.
Enter a SIP or lumpsum, your duration, expected return (with presets for FD, debt, Nifty and smallcap), an annual step-up, inflation, and your tax type. The chart shows the four lines diverging year by year — and the gap between the top line (the fantasy) and the bottom line (the truth) is usually a shock: often 40–60% lower.
It's not meant to discourage you — quite the opposite. Seeing the real number is how you set a goal that actually works: invest more, step it up, start earlier, and lean on tax-efficient options. Plan the building blocks with our SIP, step-up SIP and income tax tools.
Nominal value uses standard compounding (monthly for SIPs, with annual step-up; annual for lumpsum). Real value discounts the nominal by your inflation rate to today's money. Post-tax value subtracts tax on the gain — equity LTCG at 12.5% above the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption, or debt-fund/FD gains at your income-tax slab. The “true value” applies both. Tax is modelled on the projected gain as if realised at the horizon; returns, inflation and tax rules are assumptions, not guarantees. Educational estimate, not financial advice.
Free for any site. One line of HTML, no signup, no ads, and we keep the rates and rules current so you never have to.