Infosys‘ buyback record date is on November 14. The current market price is around Rs 1,542 per share, and the company is offering Rs 1,800 per share. Many in the market may interpret that gap as a direct gain, and this could trigger many retail investors to offload their stakes in the IT giant. However, it’s not as straightforward.
Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath took to social media and shared a post on X on November 13, 2025, to outline how the tax treatment works for investors preparing to tender shares. Kamath addressed the assumptions one by one in the social media post.
Who can participate in Infosys buyback?
In his post, Kamath explained who qualifies for the buyback. “Infy is one of the most highly held stocks by investors, and the record date for their massive buyback is November 14, the biggest buyback ever in India. That is, you can participate in the buyback if you hold the shares in your demat account as of November 14.”
Tax treatment of gains made from offloading stake during buyback
Additionally, he explained how the payout is treated under tax law. “If you participate in the buyback at Rs 1,800 (current price is Rs 1542.35 as of Nov 13 closing), here’s the taxation: The money you receive from the buyback is considered income from other sources and is taxed at your applicable slab rate.”
The entire payout enters the “other sources” section of an investor’s income. Kamath then laid out what happens to the investor’s original cost. “And, the entire investment value is then considered as a capital loss.”
He clarified how the holding period changes the label on that loss. “If the investment was done <1year, then it is a short-term capital loss, and >1 year, it is a long-term capital loss.”
He added the one situation where the structure works in the investor’s favour: “One scenario where the buyback becomes attractive is when you have other capital gains that can be offset against these capital losses,” he explained.
In the absence of such gains, the outcome resembles the treatment of a dividend. “Otherwise, it is essentially like a dividend,” he added.
All in all, it is amply clear from the post that investors must take informed decisions and clearly understand the implications of a corporate event before participating in it
