Complete Guide: Profit & Loss in Indian Equity Intraday Trading
This is your complete reference for understanding P&L calculation, charges, breakeven, and risk management. Read this before every real trade.
1. Why P&L Understanding = Trading Survival
90% of retail traders lose money not because they pick wrong stocks, but because they ignore execution costs. Brokerage, STT, transaction charges silently eat 30-50% of small profits.
Intraday trading amplifies this problem. ₹300 target profit with ₹150 charges = 50% edge destroyed before you start. Professionals never enter without knowing exact net numbers.
• Is net profit worth the risk?
• What's my exact breakeven?
• How much do I lose if stop-loss hits?
2. Gross vs Net Profit (The Hidden Truth)
Gross Profit Formula:
Example: Buy 100 shares @ ₹100, Sell @ ₹105
Reality: After ₹120 charges, net profit = ₹380. Beginners celebrate ₹500, pros see ₹380.
3. Turnover = Your Real Enemy
Intraday Turnover = Buy Value + Sell Value
Turnover = ₹50,000 + ₹50,500 = ₹100,500
STT, transaction charges, stamp duty = all calculated on ₹100,500, not your ₹500 profit.
4. Complete Charge Breakdown
- Brokerage: ₹20/order (₹40 round trip)
- STT: 0.025% of sell value
- Transaction: 0.00325% both sides
- Stamp Duty: 0.015% buy side (UP)
- SEBI: ₹10/crore
Total round trip: ~₹120-150 for ₹1 lakh turnover.
5. Breakeven = Your Real Target
Breakeven ≠ Buy Price. It's buy price + all charges.
50p minimum move needed just to recover costs
Target 1% move? Breakeven eats 50% of it.
6. Risk Management Math
- Risk 1% capital per trade
- ₹5 lakh capital → ₹5,000 max risk
- Stop-loss 1% below entry → Max 500 shares
Calculator shows this instantly. No guesswork.
7. The 5 Fatal Mistakes
- Calculating gross profit only
- No breakeven awareness
- Overtrading to recover losses
- Large qty on small moves
- No position sizing discipline
Practice → Profit
Use this calculator + paper trading for 100 trades. Track: Gross vs Net P&L ratio. When consistently >1.5x, you're ready for real money.
Disclaimer: Educational tool only. PaperTradeLab provides no investment advice.