FD vs mutual fund at a more aggressive 14% MF return assumption, ₹8 lakh over 12 years?

Why after-tax, not gross

A 12.5% mutual fund return and a 7% FD rate aren’t directly comparable on their own — they’re taxed completely differently. FD interest is added to your income and taxed at your marginal slab rate (new regime); equity mutual fund gains are taxed separately as long-term capital gains at a flat 12.5% above a ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption. This calculator applies both correctly, using your actual income to find your slab, so the comparison reflects what you’d actually keep — not just the headline rate.

Two simplifications, both toward keeping this readable

Inflation is ignored entirely, as requested — this is a pre-inflation, tax-aware comparison only. FD/RD interest is taxed once on the total amount earned rather than simulating year-by-year accrual taxation (real FD interest is technically taxable annually, not just at maturity). For SIP, the entire gain is treated as long-term capital gains, though a few of the most recent instalments could technically be short-term if redeemed within 12 months — negligible for any SIP running more than a year or two.

A note on the terms used here

"After tax" means what you actually keep once tax is paid — the number that matters more than the advertised rate. "Long-term capital gains" (LTCG) just means profit from an investment held over a year, taxed differently from your salary. The "crossover year" is simply the year the mutual fund/SIP option catches up to and overtakes the bank option, once tax is accounted for.