About the SIP Real Return Calculator
What is the SIP Real Return Calculator?
A projected SIP corpus of ₹50 lakh in 15 years sounds large, but inflation will have eroded what it can buy by then. The real return is the growth left after inflation, and the real corpus is the value in today's rupees.
Enter your monthly SIP, expected return, period and inflation. The calculator shows the nominal corpus, its value in today's money, the real rate of return and how much purchasing power inflation takes away.
How to use the SIP Real Return Calculator
- Monthly SIP (₹) (sample: 10,000)
- Expected Return (% per year) (sample: 12)
- Investment Period (years) (sample: 15)
- Inflation (% per year) (sample: 6)
- Press Calculate Real Return (results also refresh as you type). The result card shows the Corpus in Today's Money, along with Nominal corpus, Total invested, Real return (after inflation) and Purchasing power lost to inflation.
Formula used
Real return = (1 + Nominal return) ÷ (1 + Inflation) − 1
- Real corpus = Nominal corpus ÷ (1 + inflation)^years
The nominal corpus uses the standard SIP formula with monthly compounding.
Worked example
These are the sample values already filled in the calculator above, and the result it returns for them:
| Input | Sample value |
|---|---|
| Monthly SIP (₹) | 10,000 |
| Expected Return (% per year) | 12 |
| Investment Period (years) | 15 |
| Inflation (% per year) | 6 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Corpus in Today's Money | ₹21,05,419 |
| Nominal corpus | ₹50,45,760 |
| Total invested | ₹18,00,000 |
| Real return (after inflation) | 5.66% |
| Purchasing power lost to inflation | ₹29,40,341 |
Tips for using the SIP Real Return Calculator
- Plan goals in today's money and use the real return, or inflate the goal and use the nominal return — never mix the two.
- At 12% returns and 6% inflation, the real return is only about 5.7%.
- Taxes reduce the real return further on debt investments.