Holding-period statement for mutual funds

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A holding-period statement for mutual fund units is a pre-redemption planning document generated by RTAs (CAMS and KFintech) and available through platforms such as MFCentral, that lists each individual purchase lot held in a folio with its purchase date, purchase NAV, cost of acquisition, number of units in the lot, and the number of days (or months and years) the lot has been held as of the statement generation date. Investors use the holding-period statement to determine which lots of units have crossed the threshold for long-term capital gains (LTCG) treatment and to plan redemptions in a tax-efficient manner.

There is no separate SEBI circular mandating the “holding-period statement” as a distinct document. It is a derived report generated from the standard transaction ledger using FIFO logic, and is offered by RTAs and platforms as an investor convenience tool.

Why the holding period matters

Under Indian income-tax law, capital gains on mutual fund unit redemptions are classified as short-term or long-term based on the holding period of the units being redeemed:

  • Equity and equity-oriented funds: STCG if held for 12 months or less; LTCG if held for more than 12 months
  • Debt funds purchased before 1 April 2023: STCG if held for 24 months or less; LTCG with indexation if held for more than 24 months (pre-Finance Act 2023 treatment for grandfathered holdings)
  • Debt funds purchased on or after 1 April 2023: All gains are taxed as STCG (ordinary income) regardless of holding period, following the Finance Act 2023 amendment

Because FIFO applies to redemptions, earlier lots are always redeemed first. If an SIP investor has been investing monthly for two years, the first 12 months’ lots will be LTCG-eligible before the later lots are. Redeeming after the first lot has crossed 12 months but before all lots have crossed 12 months will yield a mix of LTCG and STCG.

Contents of a holding-period statement

A typical holding-period statement shows, for each folio and scheme:

FieldDescription
Scheme nameFull name with plan and option
Purchase dateDate the lot was purchased (or SIP instalment date)
Purchase NAVNAV at the time of purchase
Units in lotNumber of units still held from this purchase lot
Cost of acquisitionUnits × purchase NAV
Holding daysNumber of days from purchase date to statement date
Holding periodExpressed as years, months, and days
LTCG / STCG statusWhether the lot qualifies for LTCG treatment as of the statement date
LTCG eligibility dateThe future date on which this lot will cross into LTCG territory (if still in STCG window)

How to obtain a holding-period statement

From CAMS (mycams.com)

CAMS provides a “Transaction Statement with Cost” or a “Portfolio Summary with holding period” report under the Investor Services section. Not all CAMS portal views show lot-level holding period, but the capital gains computation page (under “Tax Reports”) shows the FIFO-ordered lots with purchase dates, which effectively serves as a holding-period reference.

From KFintech (kfintech.com)

KFintech’s KFinKart portal offers a “Portfolio with Cost” or “Capital Gains Forecast” report in the Tax Reports section, showing the holding period of each lot.

From MFCentral

MFCentral provides a “Holding Period Statement” or “Tax Harvest” report that covers folios across both CAMS-serviced and KFintech-serviced AMCs, making it the most convenient option for multi-AMC portfolios.

From platform apps

Platforms such as Zerodha Coin, Groww, and Paytm Money display lot-level holding periods within their portfolio analytics sections, drawing from the same RTA data.

Tax harvesting using the holding-period statement

Tax harvesting (or tax-loss harvesting) is the practice of strategically redeeming and reinvesting units to optimise the investor’s tax liability. Common strategies enabled by the holding-period statement include:

  • LTCG harvesting: Redeeming equity fund units held for more than 12 months to realise up to Rs 1.25 lakh of LTCG tax-free (under Section 112A exemption, FY 2024-25 onwards), and immediately reinvesting at the current NAV. This resets the cost base to the current (higher) NAV without triggering a tax liability.
  • Loss booking: If certain lots are at a loss, redeeming them to book the capital loss, which can be set off against capital gains elsewhere. Short-term losses can be set off against both STCG and LTCG.
  • SIP STCG avoidance: Pausing a redemption until recently purchased SIP lots complete 12 months, to avoid STCG on those lots.

Relationship to the capital gains statement

The CAMS/KFin capital gains statement is a post-redemption document showing gains already realised. The holding-period statement is a pre-redemption planning tool showing lots still held and their current STCG/LTCG status. The two documents are complementary.

See also

References

  1. Income Tax Act, 1961, Sections 111A, 112, 112A – Capital gains holding period thresholds.
  2. Finance Act 2023 – Section 50AA, debt fund gain treatment post April 2023.
  3. Finance Act 2024 – Revised LTCG exemption threshold of Rs 1.25 lakh.
  4. CAMS portfolio and tax reporting documentation, mycams.com (accessed May 2026).

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The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

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