Plan a Goal, Not a Random Number
Most SIP calculators ask "how much will ₹10,000/month become?" That's the wrong direction. You don't start with the SIP — you start with the goal. A down-payment. Tuition. A retirement corpus. This calculator works backwards: name the number, name the year, and it tells you the monthly cheque required to hit it.
Good goals for this calculator
Concrete examples — pick whichever is closest to yours and adjust the inputs:
- House down-payment: ₹20 L in 7 years → at 12% return, about ₹14,500/month SIP.
- Kid's college (engineering): ₹40 L in 15 years → about ₹8,000/month.
- Retirement corpus: ₹3 Cr in 25 years → about ₹15,500/month if you start now.
- Wedding fund: ₹15 L in 4 years → about ₹25,000/month — short horizons need bigger SIPs.
- Car upgrade: ₹10 L in 5 years → about ₹12,000/month.
- Foreign masters (MS): ₹60 L in 8 years → about ₹38,000/month.
Notice the pattern: the shorter the horizon, the harder compounding has to work — so the monthly outflow climbs fast. Long horizons reward small, boring SIPs.
A caution on the return rate you pick
The 12–13% you see on equity SIP examples is a long-term historical average for Indian equity mutual funds across 10+ year periods — not a guarantee, not even a promise. Markets crashed in 2008, 2020, and will crash again. Pick the wrong rate and your goal arrives short.
- Goals over 10 years — equity-heavy, 11–13% is reasonable.
- Goals 5–10 years out — hybrid mix, plan for 9–10%.
- Goals under 5 years — use 7–8% (debt-heavy). Equity can lose 30% in a bad year, and you don't have time to recover.
If you're not sure, model your goal at both the optimistic and conservative rate. The truth lands somewhere between.
Inflation will eat your target — adjust it
₹40 L for college today is not ₹40 L for college in 15 years. Indian education inflation runs ~8–10%; healthcare and weddings, similar. Before you enter your goal, multiply today's cost by (1 + inflation%)years. A ₹40 L college today at 9% inflation is ₹1.45 Cr in 15 years. Plan for that number, not today's.
The reverse-SIP formula
- P — Monthly SIP you need to start
- M — Your target goal amount
- i — Monthly return (annual ÷ 12 ÷ 100)
- n — Total months until the goal
What to do if the required SIP is too high
It happens. The calculator says ₹38,000/month and your salary disagrees. Three levers:
- Extend the timeline. Adding 3–5 years drops the SIP sharply — compounding does more work.
- Step-up the SIP each year as your salary grows. A 10% annual top-up can cut the starting amount by ~30%.
- Lower the target. Or split it — partial loan + partial SIP for the house, scholarship + partial corpus for college.
What you should not do: push the return rate to 18% to make the math work. That isn't planning, that's wishing.
Tax on what you get back
- Equity funds — LTCG (held > 1 year): 10% on gains above ₹1 Lakh per year. STCG: 15%.
- ELSS — same as equity, plus 80C deduction (Old Regime), 3-year lock-in.
- Debt funds bought after 1 April 2023 — taxed at your slab rate.
For goal planning, build the tax outflow into your target. If you need ₹40 L net for college, plan for ₹42–43 L before tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much SIP do I need to reach ₹1 Crore?
Depends entirely on your timeline. At 12% expected return: ₹1 Cr in 10 years needs ~₹43,000/month. In 15 years, ~₹20,000/month. In 20 years, ~₹10,000/month. In 25 years, ~₹5,300/month. Every extra year of compounding cuts the monthly burden sharply.
What return rate should I use for my goal?
Match the rate to the timeline. For 10+ year goals, 11–13% (equity-heavy) is the long-term historical average. For 5–10 year goals, use 9–10% (hybrid). For goals under 5 years, drop to 7–8% (debt-heavy) — equity can lose 30% in a bad year and you won't have time to recover. These are historical averages, not guarantees.
Should I adjust my goal for inflation?
Yes. ₹40 L for college today is not ₹40 L for college in 15 years. Education and healthcare inflation in India run ~8–10%. Multiply today's cost by (1 + inflation%)^years to get the future cost — then plan for that. Otherwise you reach your goal and discover it doesn't cover the bill.
What if the required SIP is more than I can afford?
Three options: (1) Extend the timeline — adding 3–5 years drops the monthly amount sharply. (2) Use a step-up SIP that grows 10% each year with your salary — that can cut your starting SIP by ~30%. (3) Lower or split the goal — partial loan plus SIP for a house, scholarship plus partial corpus for college. Do not bump the return rate to 18% to make it fit.
Is goal-based SIP better than just investing a fixed amount?
Yes, for any specific target. Investing a random fixed amount and hoping it's enough is how people show up short for college fees or down-payments. Goal-based planning works backwards from the number you actually need, so you know on day one whether your SIP is sized correctly — or whether you need to extend the timeline or shrink the goal.
Can I plan multiple goals at once?
Yes — and you should. Run this calculator separately for each goal (retirement, kids' education, house, etc.), get the monthly SIP for each, and sum them. That's your total monthly investment commitment. If the sum exceeds what you can save, prioritise: retirement and kid's education are non-negotiable; the wedding fund or car upgrade can flex.
Does this calculator save my data?
No. All calculations happen entirely inside your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is sent to any server. We do not track, log, or store any of the figures you enter.