Goal Planning Calculator
Turn a goal in today's money into the monthly SIP or lumpsum it needs after inflation.
Assumes a constant 12% annual return compounded monthly and 6% inflation compounded yearly. The SIP is invested at the start of each month. Actual returns vary.
Independent · No commissions · No fund-house data — how the numbers are computed
How it works
A goal is an amount in today's money with a date attached — a house deposit in 7 years, a wedding in 12, a sabbatical in 3. This calculator does the two steps that turn it into a plan: it grows the amount at your inflation assumption so the target is in the rupees of that future year, then works out the monthly SIP, or the one-time lumpsum today, that reaches it at your expected return. Anything already set aside for the goal is compounded at the same return and netted off first, so the SIP only funds the shortfall.
The defaults — ₹10 lakh in 10 years, 12% return, 6% inflation — are starting points. The inflation figure matters more than it looks: at 6% a ₹10 lakh goal is ₹17.9 lakh in ten years, and the SIP needed is sized against that larger number, not the one you typed. Education and medical costs have historically run well above headline inflation, which is why the child-education version of this page defaults to 10%.
The SIP figure is the same arithmetic as the SIP calculator run backwards — the future value of ₹1 a month at your return, divided into the target — so the two pages always agree. It assumes a constant return, which no fund delivers; treat it as the contribution that works on average and revisit it yearly as the goal date nears.
Target_future = Target_today × (1 + i)^n; SIP = Target_future ÷ FV(₹1/month, r, n)i is annual inflation, n the years to the goal, and FV(₹1/month, r, n) is the future value of one rupee invested monthly at annual return r for n years — the SIP calculator's annuity factor.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the target larger than the amount I entered?
Because the calculator prices the goal in the rupees of the year you need it. ₹10 lakh of today's purchasing power costs about ₹17.9 lakh after ten years of 6% inflation, and a plan that saves only ₹10 lakh would fall short by the difference. The inflation slider sets the rate; set it to 0% to see the un-adjusted figure.
Should I use the SIP or the lumpsum figure?
They are two routes to the same target, not alternatives to weigh — the lumpsum is the single amount that, invested today, grows to the target; the SIP is the monthly amount that gets there by the same date. Most people fund goals from monthly income, so the SIP is the usual answer; a windfall or existing savings can be entered under "already saved" to shrink the SIP instead.
What return should I assume for a goal?
Match the assumption to how the money will be invested, which in turn follows the horizon. Money needed within about three years usually sits in debt or liquid funds, where 6–7% is a realistic assumption; goals a decade or more out are typically funded through equity funds, where long-run category returns have been in the low teens. The 12% default is an equity-style figure and is not appropriate for a short goal.
Does the calculator account for tax on the investment?
No. The target and the SIP are pre-tax: equity fund gains attract 12.5% long-term capital-gains tax above ₹1.25 lakh a year on redemption, and debt fund gains are taxed at your slab rate. For a large goal the tax on the final redemption can be meaningful, so it is prudent to aim slightly above the figure shown or to plan the redemption across two financial years.
Go further
Why a goal with a date beats a vague 'invest more', and how to bucket money by horizon.
The same planner with the horizon set by a child's age and education inflation.
Run the SIP this page suggests forward and see its growth path.
What 6% a year quietly does to a fixed rupee target.
Pick the funds to run that SIP through, with the rules shown.