Skip to content
IndiaCorridorFree toolsAboutSubscribe
Menu
HomeIndiaCorridorFree toolsAbout
Free tool · no signup · nothing you type leaves your browserAll free tools

What does your gold really cost?

The receipt says jewellery. The family says investment. This prices the gap: metal value, making charge, GST, what you'd get back today, and how far gold has to rise before you're even. Free, in your browser, or as a sheet you keep.

By · every number checked at its source · how we verify

The calculator

Traps & behaviour

Type your bill or quote. The maths runs in your browser: nothing is sent anywhere, and we don't fetch a gold price. You type the day's rate from the IBJA site or the jeweller's board.

Your gold bill, priced

IBJA or the jeweller's board rate for 24K, 22K or 18K.
The number on your bill or quote.

Same formulas as the sheet: you pay = (metal + making + other) × (1 + GST). Back today = metal × (1 − deduction). Rise needed = you pay ÷ back today − 1. Stones count going in, not coming back.

Worked example

From India #03
10 g 22K necklace10 g 24K coin
Metal value at the IBJA rate₹1,35,624₹1,48,061
Making charge (illustrative)12% = ₹16,2752% = ₹2,961
GST at 3% on metal and making₹4,557₹4,531
You pay₹1,56,456₹1,55,553
Under water on day one₹20,832 (13.3%)₹7,492 (4.8%)
Rise in gold needed to get back what you paid15.4%5.1%
Same, if the buyer deducts 3%18.9%n/a

About one rupee in eight you paid for the necklace is gone before gold moves at all. That's the bangle tax: the making charge and the GST on it. A necklace isn't a bad buy. It's a necklace. Just know which of the two trades you're making.

Our calculation. IBJA rates for 12 October 2026 (PM), per 10 g before GST. Making charges and the buyback deduction are illustrative; no jeweller named. GST on jewellery stayed at 3% in the September 2025 GST rate changes (Business Standard).

Before you pay, check the six-digit HUID on the piece in the BIS CARE app ("Verify HUID"). The hallmark tells you the purity. It doesn't tell you what you'll get back.

Get the sheet

Free
Google Sheet · Excelv1.0 · 18 Oct 2026 · CC BY 4.0

Gold true-cost sheet

You enter: weight, purity, the day's rate per 10 g, making charge (% or ₹ a gram), stones and other charges, GST and the buyback deduction.
It shows: metal value, what you pay, what you'd get back today, rupees under water, and the rise gold needs to get you back to zero. One row per piece, so you can compare quotes.
It won't: fetch a gold price, name a jeweller or fund, or tell you whether to buy.
✓ No scripts · no add-ons · no signup
Make a copyDownload .xlsx

Known limits

Read these first
  • It can't know your jeweller's buyback or exchange rule. Ask, and get it in writing.
  • Old-gold exchange offers often value your old piece differently from a cash buyback.
  • Stones and enamel are priced at zero coming back.
  • GST defaults to 3%. Check your bill and type what it says.
  • It prices a purchase. Whether you love the piece is your call, and a fair one.

Tested against six hand-checked cases (v1.0, 18 October 2026), matched to the rupee and to 0.1 percentage point.