Cost Inflation Index (CII) chart — India, base year 2001-02

The Cost Inflation Index (CII) is a single number, notified each year by CBDT, that tracks inflation for the purpose of computing indexed long-term capital gains. It is used to adjust the original cost of a capital asset upwards to a "today's money" equivalent, so that only the real gain — not the paper gain caused by rupee depreciation — is taxed.

Since the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, indexation has a much smaller footprint than it used to. The chart below is still needed in the specific cases set out in the next section.

When CII still matters — after July 2024

For any transfer of land or building on or after 23 July 2024, the default rule is 12.5% without indexation — the CII is not used at all.

Indexation under CII survives for:

• Resident individuals and HUFs selling land or a building acquired before 23 July 2024 — they may choose between 12.5% without indexation and 20% with indexation, and pay the lower tax. The CII is needed for the 20% route.
• Other capital assets for which Section 48 still prescribes indexed cost computation (e.g., certain unlisted securities sold by residents under the residual LTCG route, and some debt-oriented assets pre-transition).
• Historical computations — filing belated or revised returns for earlier years, litigation, or reconstructing past cost bases.

NRIs do not get the resident grandfathering option and, for transfers of Indian land or building on or after 23 July 2024, compute LTCG at 12.5% without indexation. For them the chart is relevant mainly for pre-23-July-2024 transactions, co-owner apportionments with a resident family member, or completed past years.

See how to calculate capital gains on property for the step-by-step formula and worked example under both routes.

Base year: April 1, 2001

Budget 2017 shifted the CII base year from 1 April 1981 to 1 April 2001. For an asset acquired before 1 April 2001, the taxpayer may substitute Fair Market Value (FMV) as on 1 April 2001 for the actual cost (capped at the stamp-duty value on that date for land or building). The indexation then runs on that substituted cost from base year 2001-02 (CII 100) forward.

Cost Inflation Index chart — India

Financial Year	CII
2001-2002	100
2002-2003	105
2003-2004	109
2004-2005	113
2005-2006	117
2006-2007	122
2007-2008	129
2008-2009	137
2009-2010	148
2010-2011	167
2011-2012	184
2012-2013	200
2013-2014	220
2014-2015	240
2015-2016	254
2016-2017	264
2017-2018	272
2018-2019	280
2019-2020	289
2020-2021	301
2021-2022	317
2022-2023	331
2023-2024	348
2024-2025	363
2025-2026	376

CBDT notifies each year's CII separately (typically via a notification in the Gazette of India during the first half of the financial year). Check the CBDT website for the current notification number if you are using this chart in an active assessment proceeding.

How to use the chart

Given an acquisition in FY Y1 at cost C, and a sale in FY Y2, the indexed cost is:

Indexation Factor = CII(Y2) / CII(Y1)

Indexed Cost of Acquisition = C × Indexation Factor

The same ratio applies to any cost of improvement — use the CII of the year the improvement was incurred, not the year of original purchase.

Worked snippet

• Bought residential plot in FY 2010-11 for ₹20 lakh.
• Spent ₹5 lakh on boundary wall and landscaping in FY 2015-16.
• Selling in FY 2025-26 for ₹95 lakh.
• Resident individual, eligible to choose 20% with indexation.

Indexation Factor on cost       = 376 / 167 = 2.252
Indexed Cost of Acquisition     = 20.00 × 2.252 = 45.04

Indexation Factor on improvement = 376 / 254 = 1.480
Indexed Cost of Improvement      = 5.00 × 1.480 = 7.40

Indexed LTCG = 95.00 − 45.04 − 7.40 = 42.56
Tax @ 20%    = 8.512
Plus 4% cess = 0.340
Total tax    ≈ ₹8.85 lakh

The alternative calculation at 12.5% without indexation on the same facts gives tax on ₹70 lakh (₹95L − ₹20L − ₹5L) = ₹8.75 lakh plus cess = ₹9.10 lakh. On this example the indexed route wins by a small margin — typical of mid-holding-period property. Longer holdings tilt the balance further toward the indexation route; shorter holdings favour the flat rate.

Notes on using the chart

• Financial year in India runs from 1 April to 31 March. The month of purchase does not matter for picking the CII — the whole FY uses a single number. A purchase on 31 March and another on 1 April fall in different CII years.
• The indexation benefit is available from the later of: the year the asset was acquired by the current owner, or the base year 2001-02. For an inherited/gifted asset, the law traditionally allowed indexation from the year the original owner acquired it — recent judicial treatment has varied; check the current position if it is material to your sale.
• Improvement costs before 1 April 2001 are ignored; only improvements on or after that date are indexable.
• CII is irrelevant to short-term capital gains — STCG is computed on actual cost without indexation and taxed at slab rates.

Summary

• CII base year is 2001-02 (CII 100).
• The latest notified CII (FY 2025-26) is 376.
• For land and building transferred on or after 23 July 2024, indexation applies only to resident individuals and HUFs who choose the 20%-with-indexation grandfathering option on a pre-23-July-2024 asset.
• NRIs and OCIs compute LTCG on Indian land/building at 12.5% without indexation and generally no longer need the CII for current-year sales.
• For the full calculation framework, exemptions, and TDS mechanics, see how to calculate capital gains on property.