P&L target calculator

What this calculator does

Most profit targets are set as a price, but what matters is the money left after charges. This calculator works backwards: you enter the net profit you want and it finds the exit price that leaves exactly that amount after brokerage, STT, exchange charges, stamp duty, DP charges and GST.

Because some charges depend on the sell value, the exit price cannot be found with a simple formula. The calculator tries prices repeatedly, narrowing the range each time (a bisection search), until the net profit matches your target to within a fraction of a paisa.

Worked example

You buy 100 shares at ₹500 for delivery through Zerodha and want ₹2,000 net. A naive target of ₹520 gives ₹2,000 gross but only about ₹1,871 net, because charges come to about ₹129. The calculator finds an exit near ₹521.29: the extra ₹1.29 per share covers the charges, including the STT on the higher sell value.

Why it matters for small targets

Fixed costs such as the DP charge and per-order brokerage take a bigger share of small profits. On a ₹500 target, charges can be a quarter or more of the profit, while on a ₹20,000 target they are a few percent. Use the calculator to check that a target is still worth taking after costs.

Segments

• Delivery: STT is charged on both buy and sell at 0.1%, and a DP charge applies on the sale.
• Intraday: STT is 0.025% on the sell side only and there is no DP charge.
• Futures: STT is 0.05% of the sell value from 1 April 2026; use total units (lots × lot size) as quantity.
• Options: prices are premiums; STT is 0.15% of the premium sold.

Limits

The result assumes one buy and one sell order at the prices given. Partial fills, slippage and taxes on profit (such as income tax on trading gains) are not included.

Frequently asked questions