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About this tool
See what inflation does to your money — future costs, shrinking purchasing power, and the return you need to beat it.
Inflation Purchasing Power Calculator compounds a rupee amount forward at your chosen inflation rate using FV = P x (1 + r)^n, and runs the same formula in reverse to show what today's cash will actually buy after n years. It also answers the return question: the pre-tax return you need to stay level is your inflation rate divided by (1 minus your tax rate), and it applies the Fisher relation to tell you whether a fixed deposit is really gaining ground once tax and inflation are both taken out. Rate presets cover India CPI at 6%, lifestyle at 8%, education at 10% and healthcare at 12%.
Open Inflation Purchasing Power Calculator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Pick a mode — Future cost, Purchasing power or Required return — then enter Today's cost (₹) and Years ahead, or in Required return mode your income-tax slab and current FD rate.
Set the Inflation rate (% per year), or tap a preset: India CPI ~6%, Lifestyle 8%, Education 10% or Healthcare 12%.
Read the headline figure with the Year / Projected cost / Rise vs today table, then use Copy summary or Download to save inflation-impact-summary.txt.
It works out the pre-tax return you need to break even against inflation at your own slab, which is the number most inflation calculators never show.
Fixed-deposit interest is taxed at slab and equity gains at a lower long-term rate, and both are compared on a post-tax, post-inflation basis rather than headline yield.
Every year from 1 to your horizon is listed with the cost and the cumulative rise, so you can see when a target crosses a threshold.
Multiply today's price by (1 + inflation rate)^number of years. At 6% inflation, Rs 1,00,000 becomes about Rs 1,79,000 in 10 years and about Rs 3,21,000 in 20 — the compounding, not the annual rate, is what makes the gap large.
Divide your inflation rate by (1 minus your marginal tax rate). At 6% inflation in the 30% slab, you need about 8.6% pre-tax just to stand still, which is why an FD at 7% loses purchasing power for a top-slab taxpayer.
Divide 72 by the inflation rate — the rule of 72. At 6% prices double in roughly 12 years, at 8% in about 9 years, and at 12% healthcare inflation in about 6 years.
Use a category rate rather than headline CPI, because the things you are saving for rarely inflate at the average. India's headline CPI has run around 6%, while school and college fees and hospital costs have historically risen faster — the presets here use 10% for education and 12% for healthcare. These are planning assumptions for information only; talk to a registered financial adviser before committing to a long-term plan.
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