The Vested calculator guide: 17 tools for cross-border investing

Calculators are not exciting. They are also the thing that turns "I read a useful article" into "I made a better decision." Most cross-border tax decisions for Indian residents come down to numbers — what's left after sell-to-cover, how much TCS gets parked with the government, what foreign tax credit you can actually claim, when an asset crosses into long-term territory. Reading about the rules tells you what's possible. Running the numbers on your own situation tells you what to do.

Vested has 17 calculators. They're all free, all built around Indian tax rules (not American), and they all use the live ECB USD/INR rate where it matters. This post is the guide to all of them: what each one calculates, when to use it, and why it matters.

Bookmark this article. Open the calculators in new tabs as you go.

How to think about the calculator stack

Before the individual tools, the bigger picture. The 17 calculators cluster into four groups, and they're meant to work together — not in isolation.

Group	What it covers	When you'd use it
RSU & equity comp	Vesting math, sell-to-cover, ESPP, options, concentration	At every vest event, every comp negotiation
Tax	LRS/TCS, Form 67, Schedule FA, capital gains, holding period, RNOR	Every March (year-end planning) and around any sale
Investing	Cost comparisons across investment routes	When deciding how to deploy capital, not just whether
Planning	Long-term projections — SIPs, currency hedge, tax-loss harvesting	Once a year, when reviewing the whole portfolio

The right way to use Vested calculators is not to run one in isolation. The right way is: read the matching pillar post, run the calculator with your real numbers, then run a second calculator that touches the next decision in the chain. For example: vest event → run the RSU calculator → then run the concentration tracker to see whether holding the post-tax shares pushes you over your concentration target.

Now the tools, one at a time.

RSU & equity-comp calculators

1. RSU take-home calculator

What it computes: The rupees in your hand after a single RSU tranche vests, after Indian perquisite tax, surcharge, and cess.

How to use it: Enter shares vesting, USD price per share, USD/INR (auto-fills with the live ECB rate), your slab, and surcharge. The output shows gross USD, gross INR, base tax, surcharge, cess, total tax, and net rupees retained — plus your effective tax rate.

Why it matters: The number on your offer letter is the gross. For a senior IC at a 30% slab with 15% surcharge and cess, the effective rate hits ~36%. That means a "$50,000 of RSUs vesting this year" line item lands closer to $32,000 in your account after tax. Knowing this changes how you plan rent, savings rate, and whether you actually need to do anything different with sell-to-cover proceeds. Run this every quarter when a tranche vests.

2. ESPP ROI calculator

What it computes: Your true return on an ESPP cycle after the 15% discount, the lookback feature (if your plan has it), and Indian perquisite tax on the discount.

How to use it: Enter your contribution amount, the stock price at offering start and at purchase, the discount percentage, and whether your plan has lookback. The calculator computes shares purchased, market value at purchase, the discount portion (taxed as perquisite), and the net cash if you sell immediately at purchase price.

Why it matters: Most Indians underuse their ESPP because the math feels confusing. The reality is that a 15% discount with lookback is one of the highest-return liquid investments available — a structural 17–53% return per six-month cycle depending on stock movement. Even if you don't fundamentally believe in your employer's stock, the discount alone justifies maxing the contribution and selling immediately at purchase. This calculator shows you what that quick-sell return is in your actual numbers.

3. Stock options (NSO/ISO) calculator

What it computes: The total cash you need to exercise stock options — strike payment plus Indian perquisite tax on the spread (FMV minus strike) — and the value of shares retained.

How to use it: Enter the number of options, strike price, current FMV (use latest 409A for private companies, market price for public), and your slab and surcharge. Output shows strike payment in INR, the spread that becomes taxable perquisite, the tax owed, total cash burn, and net wealth shift.

Why it matters: People with options often don't realize that exercising costs both the strike payment and the Indian tax on the spread, in cash, before they own a single share. For someone holding 1,000 NSOs at $1 strike with $20 FMV, that's roughly ₹87 lakh of cash needed at exercise. If you can't cashless-exercise (typical at private companies), this number determines whether you can exercise at all.

4. RSU concentration tracker

What it computes: Your single-stock concentration today, and projects it forward 8 quarters under three different sell strategies (sell-to-cover, sell-all, hold).

How to use it: Enter your current company stock value, your other investments, the size of each quarterly vest, your effective tax rate, and pick a strategy. Tweak expected stock and other-wealth growth rates. Output shows quarter-by-quarter concentration percentages with risk-band coloring (Low / Moderate / High / Concentrated).

Why it matters: Most concentrated RSU holders never deliberately decided to be concentrated — they defaulted to sell-to-cover for years, never sold older long-term lots, and woke up at 60%+ of net worth in their employer's stock. By the time they realize, the tax cost of unwinding is large. This tracker shows you where your strategy is taking you. If your concentration trajectory crosses into red within 12 months, change strategy now.

5. Sell-to-cover simulator

What it computes: Net shares retained after sell-to-cover for a vest, and the value of those retained shares under five stock-movement scenarios over the next 12 months.

How to use it: Enter shares vesting, current price, USD/INR, and effective tax rate. The calculator shows shares sold to cover tax, shares retained, and the INR value of those retained shares if the stock is flat / +20% / +50% / -20% / -40% twelve months later.

Why it matters: Sell-to-cover happens at vest-day price. If the stock drops 20% the next week, you've already paid tax on the higher price — there's no refund. This simulator makes that risk concrete. Seeing "stock drops 40% → your remaining shares are worth less than the tax you already paid" tends to clarify the case for sell-all on every vest if your concentration is high.

Tax calculators

6. LRS & TCS calculator

What it computes: The Tax Collected at Source on an LRS remittance, given how much you've already remitted in the financial year, and the net amount that lands at your US broker.

How to use it: Enter the amount you're remitting now and how much you've already used of your ₹10 lakh TCS-free LRS bucket this FY. The output shows the TCS-free portion (if any), the TCSable portion, the 20% TCS owed, and the net amount.

Why it matters: TCS is not a tax — it's a refundable credit. But it parks 20% of any remittance above ₹10 lakh per FY with the government for 6–12 months until you file your ITR. On a ₹50 lakh annual investing budget, that's ₹8 lakh of cash flow tied up. Knowing the exact TCS at the time of remittance helps you stagger remittances across financial years (one ₹10L in March, another ₹10L in April = zero TCS) or budget for the cash-flow drag.

7. US capital gains calculator (INR)

What it computes: Indian capital gains tax on a US stock or ETF sale, in INR, with automatic STCG vs LTCG classification based on the 24-month rule.

How to use it: Enter shares sold, buy date, buy price USD, USD/INR on buy date, sell date, sell price USD, USD/INR on sell date (auto-fills live), and slab + surcharge. The calculator computes INR cost basis, INR proceeds, capital gain in INR, classifies as STCG or LTCG based on holding period, and applies the right rate.

Why it matters: Three things people miss. First, the 24-month threshold (vs. 12 months for Indian listed shares) — selling at month 23 is short-term, taxed at slab rate. Second, gains are computed in INR, not USD, which means rupee depreciation creates taxable gains even when the underlying USD asset is flat. Third, after Budget 2024, foreign-equity LTCG is 12.5% with no indexation and no ₹1.25L exemption. This calculator bakes all of that in.

8. Form 67 / FTC calculator

What it computes: The foreign tax credit available to Indian residents on US dividends, and the net Indian tax owed after the credit.

How to use it: Enter gross dividend in INR, US withholding rate (25% with W-8BEN, 30% without), and your slab + surcharge. Output shows US tax withheld, Indian tax computed on the gross, the FTC claimable (lower of the two), net Indian tax payable, and effective rate.

Why it matters: If you skip Form 67, you forfeit the FTC entirely — the Indian tax department denies the credit even when documentation is in order, simply because the form wasn't filed before the ITR. For a 30% slab person with ₹1 lakh of US dividends, missing Form 67 turns a ₹31,200 tax bill into ₹56,200. This calculator shows you the cost of skipping it. Filing takes 30 minutes.

9. Schedule FA helper

What it computes: The four numbers Schedule FA wants for each foreign equity holding — initial value, peak value during the FY, closing balance, and total income — all in INR.

How to use it: Enter your USD cost basis and the USD/INR rate on acquisition (or the average), the peak USD market value during the FY and the FX on that day, the closing USD value on March 31 and the FX that day, total dividends in USD, and any realized gains from the cap gains calculator.

Why it matters: Schedule FA is enforced under the Black Money Act. The penalty for non-disclosure is ₹10 lakh per year of default, even unintentional. The "peak value during the FY" trip-hazard catches a lot of people — it's not the closing value, it's the highest the holding hit at any point. This calculator does the conversions correctly and produces the exact INR numbers you'll type into the ITR utility.

10. RNOR window calculator

What it computes: The financial years during which you'll be Resident-but-Not-Ordinarily-Resident (RNOR) after returning to India from an NRI status — typically a 2-year tax-friendly window.

How to use it: Enter your planned return date and how many years of the last 10 you've been an NRI. The calculator tells you when RNOR begins and ends, and when you become Ordinarily Resident.

Why it matters: During RNOR, your foreign-source income is mostly not taxable in India and you don't have to file Schedule FA. This is the planning window — sell heavily-appreciated US stocks, do Roth conversions, restructure foreign accounts. People who skip this window end up paying Indian capital gains tax on every dollar of appreciation they've accumulated as an NRI. Knowing the exact dates lets you plan the sell sequence.

11. Repatriation cost calculator

What it computes: The total cost of bringing US investment proceeds back to India — capital gains tax, FX markup at your Indian bank, and wire fees.

How to use it: Enter USD to repatriate, cost basis of those shares, FX on purchase day vs. sell day, holding period (LTCG vs STCG), bank FX markup in paise per USD, and number of wires. Output totals every cost line and shows your effective cost as a percentage of gross.

Why it matters: Three line items eat into repatriation that most people don't budget for. Bank FX markup ranges from 30 paise (private banks) to 100 paise (some PSU banks) per USD — on a $50,000 wire that's a ₹15,000–50,000 difference. Wire fees of ₹500–1,500 per wire add up across multiple transfers. And capital gains tax depends on whether you hit the 24-month LTCG threshold. Run this before repatriating to know your true net.

12. Holding period checker

What it computes: Whether a holding has crossed the LTCG threshold for its asset class today, and if not, exactly how many days until it does.

How to use it: Pick the asset class (Indian listed equity, US equity, RSU, ESPP, real estate, gold, etc.) and enter the acquisition / vest / purchase date. The output shows months held, the LTCG threshold for that asset class, the date it becomes LTCG-eligible, and the LTCG / STCG rates.

Why it matters: Different asset classes have different thresholds — Indian listed shares are 12 months, US shares are 24 months, gold (post-April-2023 acquisition) is 24 months. RSUs are measured from vest date, ESPP from purchase date. People sell at the wrong time and pay 2–3x the tax they should have. This tool is a one-click check before any sale.

13. Old vs new tax regime

What it computes: Which Indian tax regime saves you more, given your salary, RSU perquisite, foreign dividends, and old-regime deductions.

How to use it: Enter cash salary, total RSU vest value for the year, foreign dividends, and your old-regime deductions (₹50K standard + 80C ₹1.5L + NPS ₹50K + HRA + others). The calculator runs both regimes and tells you which wins, and by how much.

Why it matters: Most regime calculators don't model RSU perquisite or foreign dividends — they assume a clean salary picture. Cross-border earners often have 30–50% of taxable income come from non-salary perquisite, which changes the math. The new regime tends to win for high-RSU, low-deduction profiles; the old regime wins for salary-heavy + 80C/HRA-heavy profiles. Run this in March before locking in your declaration for the year.

Investing calculators

14. Indian funds vs direct US (cost comparison)

What it computes: 20-year wealth from PPFAS Flexi Cap, MOSL Nasdaq 100 FoF, and direct VTI via LRS — same underlying gross return, different expense ratios.

How to use it: Enter monthly contribution, time horizon, and expected gross return. The calculator projects each route's final corpus with the expense drag baked in, and shows the absolute rupee gap.

Why it matters: Indian international funds have 0.5–1.6% expense ratios; direct US ETFs are 0.03%. Over 20 years, even a 1% expense gap turns into roughly 18–20% lower terminal wealth — millions of rupees of difference at meaningful contribution levels. The calculator isolates expense drag from tax / compliance trade-offs (which favour PPFAS for small investors). Use it to know exactly what the cost-of-simplicity is in your own numbers.

Planning calculators

15. US ETF SIP calculator

What it computes: A long-term SIP corpus in both USD and INR, with rupee depreciation modeled in.

How to use it: Enter monthly INR SIP, time horizon, expected USD return, expected INR depreciation per year (default 3%, historical average ~3–4%), and starting USD/INR. The calculator projects corpus in both currencies and shows the final USD/INR rate, total INR invested, and total gain.

Why it matters: Most SIP calculators ignore currency. For an Indian residing in India, currency is half the bet. A 9% USD return + 3% INR depreciation per year compounds to roughly 12% INR return over time — and that's before you factor in the diversification benefit. This calculator models both legs and shows what the corpus actually looks like in INR terms when you eventually repatriate.

16. Currency hedge sizing calculator

What it computes: A recommended USD allocation as a percentage of your total investable net worth, based on your USD-flavored expenses and emigration plans.

How to use it: Enter total annual spending, broken-out spending on foreign software / international travel / foreign education / imported goods, total investable net worth, an optional diversification premium, and whether you plan to emigrate. The calculator recommends a USD allocation percentage and a reasonable range.

Why it matters: "How much US allocation should I have?" is the question every Indian US investor asks at some point. Most answers online are vibes. This tool grounds the answer in your actual USD-flavored spending — if 25% of your spending is USD-correlated and you have a diversification premium, ~30% USD allocation is defensible on hedging grounds alone. If you're planning to emigrate, that number jumps significantly.

17. Tax-loss harvesting calendar

What it computes: Net taxable gain after offsetting your foreign-equity lots against each other, given that short-term losses can offset any gain category and long-term losses can only offset long-term gains.

How to use it: Add each lot you hold (acquisition date, cost basis, current value). The calculator classifies each as STCG / STCL / LTCG / LTCL, applies the offset rules (STCL absorbs first; LTCL only absorbs LTCG), and shows your net taxable gain along with a recommendation for each lot ("Harvest STCL — best flexibility", "Wait Nd for LTCG", etc.).

Why it matters: India doesn't have a wash-sale rule for foreign equity — meaning you can technically sell at a loss and rebuy. But the offset rules are subtle: short-term losses are more flexible (offset any gains), long-term losses are restricted (offset only LTCG). Optimizing the order in which you realize losses can save lakhs across a multi-lot portfolio. Run this before March 31 every year.

A few patterns for using calculators well

After watching how readers use these tools, three patterns separate productive use from busy work:

1. Pair every calculator with the matching pillar post. Each tool has a corresponding deep-dive in the archive. The calculator gives you your number; the post tells you what the number means and what to do about it. The pairings are wired into the post-page CTAs.

2. Run two calculators in sequence for any major decision. A vest event isn't just an RSU calculation — it's also a concentration tracker run, and possibly a sell-to-cover simulation. A repatriation isn't just the cost calculator — it's the holding-period checker first to see whether to wait. The single-calculator answer is usually incomplete.

3. Save your inputs. I keep a personal spreadsheet that captures the inputs I plugged into each calculator at each decision point — vest date, FX rate, slab, etc. Not because the calculator can't reproduce the answer, but because two years later when the IT department wants context on a number from your Schedule FA, having a paper trail saves you a long evening.

Where this is going

The 17 calculators cover the dominant cross-border decisions. Some asks have come up that we'd add over time:

• A what-if sell calendar that takes your full lot list and proposes the sell sequence that minimizes tax over a multi-year horizon.
• An NPS vs PPF vs EPF vs US ETF comparator for "where should the next ₹1 of savings go" decisions.
• A founder-equity simulator for early-stage employees with cliff-vesting + secondary-sale offers.

If a calculator you'd find useful doesn't exist yet, drop a note via the newsletter or to hello@vested.blog.

The summary

Vested calculators are designed around one principle: every number on Vested should match the way the Indian tax department actually treats your money. No US-only assumptions, no missing perquisite tax, no "round it to the nearest 10%." If the math is right and the inputs are yours, the answer is something you can take to your CA without translation.

Browse all 17 calculators →