Sovereign Gold Bond Returns ★ How much you can expect?

Sovereign Gold Bond has been quite popular investment from its launch. One question I often get asked about sovereign gold bond returns. As with most investments, the answer depends on when you invested, your holding period among other things. The post covers the topic in details.

Sovereign Gold Bond Returns – Issues till Date

The Sovereign Gold Bond was proposed in Budget 2015 and the first issue was opened for subscription in November 2015. From thereon there has been more than 50 issues now. The table below gives the dates, the issue price along with other details.

S. No.YearNSE SymbolNameIssue Date Issue Price Online Price InterestEarly Redemption DateDate of Redemption
12015-16SGBNOV23Sovereign Gold Bonds-2015-Series-I30-Nov-152,6842,6842.75%30-Nov-2030-Nov-23
22015-16SGBFEB24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-Series-I08-Feb-162,6002,6002.75%08-Feb-2108-Feb-24
32015-16SGBMAR24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-Series-II29-Mar-162,9162,9162.75%29-Mar-2129-Mar-24
42016-17SGBAUG24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-I05-Aug-163,1193,1192.75%05-Aug-2105-Aug-24
52016-17SGBSEP24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-II30-Sep-163,1503,1502.75%30-Sep-2130-Sep-24
62016-17SGBNOV24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-III17-Nov-163,0072,9572.50%17-Nov-2117-Nov-24
72016-17SGBMAR25Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-IV17-Mar-172,9432,8932.50%17-Mar-2217-Mar-25
82017-18SGBMAY25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-I12-May-172,9512,9012.50%12-May-2212-May-25
92017-18SGBJUL25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-II28-Jul-172,8302,7802.50%28-Jul-2228-Jul-25
102017-18SGBOCT25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-III16-Oct-172,9562,9062.50%16-Apr-2316-Oct-25
112017-18SGBOCT25IVSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-IV23-Oct-172,9872,9372.50%23-Apr-2323-Oct-25
122017-18SGBOCT25VSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-V30-Oct-172,9712,9212.50%30-Apr-2330-Oct-25
132017-18SGBNOV25VISovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VI06-Nov-172,9452,8952.50%06-May-2306-Nov-25
142017-18SGBNOV25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VII13-Nov-172,9342,8842.50%13-May-2313-Nov-25
152017-18SGBNOV258Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VIII20-Nov-172,9612,9112.50%20-May-2320-Nov-25
162017-18SGBNOV25IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-IX27-Nov-172,9642,9142.50%27-May-2327-Nov-25
172017-18SGBDEC25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-X04-Dec-172,9612,9112.50%04-Jun-2304-Dec-25
182017-18SGBDEC25XISovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XI11-Dec-172,9522,9022.50%11-Jun-2311-Dec-25
192017-18SGBDEC2512Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XII18-Dec-172,8902,8402.50%18-Jun-2318-Dec-25
202017-18SGBDEC2513Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XIII26-Dec-172,8662,8162.50%26-Jun-2326-Dec-25
212017-18SGBJAN26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XIV01-Jan-182,8812,8312.50%01-Jul-2301-Jan-26
222018-19SGBMAY26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-I04-May-183,1143,0642.50%04-Nov-2304-May-26
232018-19SGBOCT26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-II23-Oct-183,1463,0962.50%23-Apr-2423-Oct-26
242018-19SGBNOV26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-III13-Nov-183,1833,1332.50%13-May-2413-Nov-26
252018-19SGBDEC26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-IV01-Jan-193,1193,0692.50%01-Jul-2401-Jan-27
262018-19SGBJAN27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-V22-Jan-193,2143,1642.50%22-Jul-2422-Jan-27
272018-19SGBFEB27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-VI12-Feb-193,3263,2762.50%12-Aug-2412-Feb-27
282019-20SGBJUN27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-I11-Jun-193,1963,1462.50%11-Dec-2411-Jun-27
292019-20SGBJUL27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-II16-Jul-193,4433,3932.50%16-Jan-2516-Jul-27
302019-20SGBAUG27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-III14-Aug-193,4993,4492.50%14-Feb-2514-Aug-27
312019-20SGBSEP27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-IV17-Sep-193,8903,8402.50%17-Mar-2517-Sep-27
322019-20SGBOCT27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-V15-Oct-193,7883,7382.50%15-Apr-2515-Oct-27
332019-20SGBOCT27VISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VI30-Oct-193,8353,7852.50%30-Apr-2530-Oct-27
342019-20SGBDC27VIISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VII10-Dec-193,7953,7452.50%10-Jun-2510-Dec-27
352019-20SGBJ28VIIISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VIII21-Jan-204,0163,9662.50%21-Jul-2521-Jan-28
362019-20SGBFEB28IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-IX11-Feb-204,0704,0202.50%11-Aug-2511-Feb-28
372019-20SGBMAR28XSovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-X11-Mar-204,2604,2102.50%11-Sep-2511-Mar-28
382020-21SGBAPR28ISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-I28-Apr-204,6394,5892.50%28-Oct-2528-Apr-28
392020-21SGBMAY28Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-II19-May-204,5904,5402.50%19-Nov-2519-May-28
402020-21SGBJUN28Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-III16-Jun-204,6774,6272.50%16-Dec-2516-Dec-28
412020-21SGBJUL28IVSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-IV14-Jul-204,8524,8022.50%14-Jan-2614-Jul-28
422020-21SGBAUG28VSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-V11-Aug-205,3345,2842.50%11-Feb-2611-Aug-28
432020-21SGBSEP28VISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VI08-Sep-205,1175,0672.50%08-Mar-2608-Sep-28
442020-21SGBOC28VIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VII20-Oct-205,0515,0012.50%20-Apr-2620-Oct-28
452020-21SGBN28VIIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VIII18-Nov-205,1775,1272.50%18-May-2618-Nov-28
462020-21SGBJAN29IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-IX05-Jan-215,0004,9502.50%05-Jul-2605-Jan-29
472020-21SGBJAN29XSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-X19-Jan-215,1045,0542.50%19-Jul-2619-Jan-29
482020-21SGBFEB29XISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-XI09-Feb-214,9124,8622.50%09-Aug-2609-Feb-29
492020-21SGBMR29XIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-XII09-Mar-214,6624,6122.50%09-Sep-2609-Mar-29
502021-22SGBMAY29ISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-I25-May-214,7774,7272.50%25-Nov-2625-May-29
512021-22SGBMAY29IISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-II01-Jun-214,8424,7922.50%
522021-22SGBMAY29IIISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-III08-Jun-214,8894,8392.50%
532021-22Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-IV20-Jul-21
542021-22Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-V17-Aug-21
552021-22Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-VI07-Sep-21
Sovereign Gold Bond Returns – Issues till Date

Should you Invest in Gold?

We looked at more than 55 years history of gold to see if its a good idea to invest in Gold. We concluded that its more volatile than perceived but investing in long term may provide you with more stable returns. You can look at the complete analysis and our conclusion here – Looking at Gold Price History in India – Should you Invest in Gold?

Sovereign Gold Bond Returns on 1st Issue

This first issue of Sovereign Gold Bond completed 5 years in November 2020 and was open for early redemption on 30 May 2021. We would calculate the Sovereign Gold Bond Returns on this. There were two kind of gains you could make:

Based on the above this is how the cashflows would look like:

DateCash FlowsCash Flows After 30% TaxComments
20-Nov-15-2684-2683Investment
31-May-1636.9125.39Interest
31-Dec-1636.9125.39Interest
31-May-1736.9125.39Interest
31-Dec-1736.9125.39Interest
31-May-1836.9125.39Interest
31-Dec-1836.9125.39Interest
31-May-1936.9125.39Interest
31-Dec-1936.9125.39Interest
31-May-2036.9125.39Interest
31-Dec-2036.9125.39Interest
31-May-214873.914862.39Interest + Maturity Amount
XIRR13.5%12.8%
Sovereign Gold Bond Returns ln Sovereign Gold Bonds-2015-Series-I

We use XIRR function in Excel to calculate the Sovereign Gold Bond Returns and it comes out to be ~13.5% before taxes and ~12.8% for 30% tax bracket. To reiterate, the capital gains on Sovereign Gold Bond is tax free if its redeemed. But in case it’s sold in the stock market the capital gains are taxable as in the case of gold.

Know about the latest issues of Sovereign Gold Bonds

Sovereign Gold Bonds are one of the better ways to invest in gold. It’s safe, backed by government of India and you need not be worried about purity of gold or storage. The icing on the cake is you get interest paid on your investment. You can buy these Sovereign Gold Bonds from NSE/BSE but the liquidity is a problem. So it’s a good idea to subscribe to latest issue of Sovereign Gold Bonds which comes almost every month.

Sovereign Gold Bond Returns

The thing is what we calculated above is returns on 1st issue of Sovereign Gold Bond. However, your returns would vary on timing and duration of your investments. As of today, you can only sell these in stock exchanges. The table below gives the issue price, Interest rate, LTP (Last traded price on NSE on 30th May 2021), Interest Income and total & % Profit.

Total Profit = Interest Income till date + (LTP - Issue Price)
% Profit = Total Profit/Issue Price
S. No.NSE SymbolNameIssue Date Issue Price InterestLTPInterest IncomeTotal Profit% Profit
1SGBNOV23Sovereign Gold Bonds-2015-Series-I30-Nov-152,6842.75%4,8994062,21583%
2SGBFEB24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-Series-I08-Feb-162,6002.75%4,8703582,27087%
3SGBMAR24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-Series-II29-Mar-162,9162.75%4,8254011,90965%
4SGBAUG24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-I05-Aug-163,1192.75%4,8273861,70855%
5SGBSEP24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-II30-Sep-163,1502.75%4,8073901,65753%
6SGBNOV24Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-III17-Nov-163,0072.50%4,8253381,81860%
7SGBMAR25Sovereign Gold Bonds-2016-17-Series-IV17-Mar-172,9432.50%4,8002941,85763%
8SGBMAY25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-I12-May-172,9512.50%4,8152951,86463%
9SGBJUL25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-II28-Jul-172,8302.50%4,8382482,00871%
10SGBOCT25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-III16-Oct-172,9562.50%4,8232591,86763%
11SGBOCT25IVSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-IV23-Oct-172,9872.50%4,7512611,76459%
12SGBOCT25VSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-V30-Oct-172,9712.50%4,8002601,82962%
13SGBNOV25VISovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VI06-Nov-172,9452.50%4,7232581,77860%
14SGBNOV25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VII13-Nov-172,9342.50%4,9272571,99368%
15SGBNOV258Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-VIII20-Nov-172,9612.50%4,7852591,82462%
16SGBNOV25IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-IX27-Nov-172,9642.50%4,8002591,83662%
17SGBDEC25Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-X04-Dec-172,9612.50%4,9982222,03769%
18SGBDEC25XISovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XI11-Dec-172,9522.50%4,7902211,83862%
19SGBDEC2512Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XII18-Dec-172,8902.50%4,6752171,78562%
20SGBDEC2513Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XIII26-Dec-172,8662.50%4,7412151,87565%
21SGBJAN26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18-Series-XIV01-Jan-182,8812.50%4,7362161,85564%
22SGBMAY26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-I04-May-183,1142.50%4,8232341,70955%
23SGBOCT26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-II23-Oct-183,1462.50%4,8001971,65453%
24SGBNOV26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-III13-Nov-183,1832.50%4,7801991,59750%
25SGBDEC26Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-IV01-Jan-193,1192.50%4,8501561,73155%
26SGBJAN27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-V22-Jan-193,2142.50%4,7901611,57649%
27SGBFEB27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19-Series-VI12-Feb-193,3262.50%4,7901661,46444%
28SGBJUN27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-I11-Jun-193,1962.50%4,7711201,57549%
29SGBJUL27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-II16-Jul-193,4432.50%4,8001291,35739%
30SGBAUG27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-III14-Aug-193,4992.50%4,7471311,24836%
31SGBSEP27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-IV17-Sep-193,8902.50%4,78914689923%
32SGBOCT27Sovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-V15-Oct-193,7882.50%4,75614296826%
33SGBOCT27VISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VI30-Oct-193,8352.50%4,77414493924%
34SGBDC27VIISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VII10-Dec-193,7952.50%4,7759598026%
35SGBJ28VIIISovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-VIII21-Jan-204,0162.50%4,79010077419%
36SGBFEB28IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-IX11-Feb-204,0702.50%4,93410286421%
37SGBMAR28XSovereign Gold Bonds 2019-20-Series-X11-Mar-204,2602.50%4,75610749612%
38SGBAPR28ISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-I28-Apr-204,6392.50%4,8001161613%
39SGBMAY28Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-II19-May-204,5902.50%4,7801151904%
40SGBJUN28Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-III16-Jun-204,6772.50%4,780581032%
41SGBJUL28IVSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-IV14-Jul-204,8522.50%4,77961-73-1%
42SGBAUG28VSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-V11-Aug-205,3342.50%4,80067-534-10%
43SGBSEP28VISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VI08-Sep-205,1172.50%4,78664-331-6%
44SGBOC28VIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VII20-Oct-205,0512.50%4,76463-287-6%
45SGBN28VIIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-VIII18-Nov-205,1772.50%4,79765-380-7%
46SGBJAN29IXSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-IX05-Jan-215,0002.50%4,7780-222-4%
47SGBJAN29XSovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-X19-Jan-215,1042.50%4,7750(329)-6%
48SGBFEB29XISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-XI09-Feb-214,9122.50%4,7710(141)-3%
49SGBMR29XIISovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21-Series-XII09-Mar-214,6622.50%4,76301012%
50SGBMAY29ISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-I25-May-214,7772.50%0
51SGBMAY29IISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-II01-Jun-214,8422.50%0
52SGBMAY29IIISovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-III08-Jun-214,8892.50%
53Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-IV20-Jul-21
54Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-V17-Aug-21
55Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22-Series-VI07-Sep-21
Sovereign Gold Bond Returns

Looking at the prices you can think that if you want to sell your Sovereign Gold Bond today you can get ~ 4,800 per bonds. This means that you would in loss if you had invested after June 2020 as the gold prices have gone up since then and come back to similar levels.

How to Pay 0 Income Tax on Salary of Rs 20+ Lakh?

Salary components and salary structure plays a very important role in how much income tax you pay. We have come up with some optimised salary structure using which you pay NO income tax even with CTC of more than Rs 20 Lakhs.

The second problem is the liquidity is very low for these Sovereign Gold Bond here and so you may not get fair price. If you look at the NSE data, the highest trading was just 1513 bonds and there were many series with no trading at all. This essentially means that you can get your best returns when the series open for early redemptions.

Sovereign Gold Bond Returns
Sovereign Gold Bond Returns

Is Sovereign Gold Bond a good investment?

Looking at the Sovereign Gold Bond returns, the next question is – is Sovereign Gold Bond a good investment?

My answer it depends – if you want to invest in gold for long term (at least 5 years), Sovereign Gold Bond is the best way out. It not only gives you market linked returns, but also is the most efficient way to invest in terms of cost of investment, holding cost, tax free capital gains and extra interest paid. You should try to hold the bond till the early redemption period as you may not get the right price by selling on stock exchange and if you do the capital gains would be taxable.

We hope this post helps you understand Sovereign Gold Bond returns and hopefully help you take the right investment decision.

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