Infosys Rs 18000 Crore Buyback Opens Today: All You Need To Know

Infosys, one of India’s largest IT services companies, today opened its largest-ever share buyback programme worth Rs 18000 crore. The five-day tender window will remain open until November 26, 2025, with the company offering to buy back shares at Rs 1,800 apiece, a healthy premium to Wednesday’s closing price.

While the headline price appears attractive, the revised tax rules have made the decision far more complex than in previous buybacks. Here’s a clear guide for retail shareholders.

Buyback Size and Key Numbers

The company is offering a Buyback Price of Rs 1,800 per share for the repurchase of up to 10 crore equity shares. This buyback represents up to 2.41% of the total paid-up equity share capital and only those individuals who held shares on the Record Date of November 14, 2025, are eligible to participate.

Who is Eligible?

Only shareholders who held Infosys shares on the record date (November 14, 2025) can participate. Anyone who bought shares after that date is not eligible.

Promoters and the promoter group, including Nandan Nilekani and Sudha Murty (who together hold 13.05%), have decided not to tender any shares. This slightly improves the acceptance chance for public shareholders.

Small Shareholder Advantage

• If the market value of your Infosys holding on November 14, 2025, was Rs 2 lakh or less, you qualify as a “small shareholder”.
• Small shareholders have a reserved quota of at least 15% of the total buyback size.
• Buyback ratio for small shareholders: 2 equity shares accepted for every 11 shares held.
• Buyback ratio for the general category: 17 equity shares accepted for every 706 shares held.

This means small investors have a significantly higher chance of full or near-full acceptance.

How to Tender Your Shares

The buyback is through the tender offer route. The process is completely online/demat:

• Contact your stockbroker (must be registered with BSE or NSE).
• Instruct the broker on the number of shares you want to tender.
• The broker will place the bid on the stock exchange platform.
• You will get a Transaction Registration Slip (TRS) as proof.
• No physical form or submission to the registrar is required for demat shares.

Shareholders must ensure their demat account is active and their bank account is linked for payment of accepted shares and return of unaccepted shares.

The Big Catch: New Tax Rules

This is where most shareholders will feel the real pinch.

Under the new tax regime (introduced in Budget 2022 and applicable to all buybacks after July 2024), the entire buyback proceeds of Rs 1,800 per share are treated as “income from other sources” and taxed at your marginal slab rate.

Example: If you are in the 30% tax bracket with an effective tax of ~34.94% (with surcharge & cess), you keep only ~Rs 1,172 per share after tax.

Earlier system (till 2024): The Company paid a 23.296% buyback tax; shareholders received the full amount tax-free in their hands.

Your original purchase cost is NOT deducted from the Rs 1,800. Instead, it becomes a capital loss that can be set off only against capital gains (short-term or long-term, depending on holding period) in the current or future years.

Should You Tender Your Shares or Just Sell Them in the Market?

It all boils down to one question: how much tax will you really pay? If you’ve held your Infosys shares for more than 12 months, selling on the exchange is usually the smarter move.

You’ll pay only 12.5% long-term capital gains tax (and the first Rs 1.25 lakh of LTCG in a year is completely tax-free for most people). In the buyback, however, the entire Rs 1,800 you receive gets added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, which is 30% plus surcharge and cess for many salaried investors.

For short-term holders (shares bought within the last year), the gap narrows a bit. Selling in the market triggers a 20% short-term capital gains tax on the profit, whereas the buyback still taxes the full Rs 1,800 at your slab rate. If you fall in the 30% bracket, the buyback remains costlier; only investors in the 5% or 10% slab come out ahead.

So, when does tendering actually make sense?

• You are in the lower tax slabs (0-10%).
• Your total income this year, even after adding the buyback money, stays below Rs 12 lakh, so you can claim a full rebate under Section 87A (new tax regime).
• You have big capital gains elsewhere this year or in the coming years and the capital loss created by the buyback (your original purchase price) will save you real tax.

Run the numbers based on your tax slab, holding period and total income before making a decision. 

Also Read: ED Attaches Additional Rs 1400 Crore Assets Of Anil Ambani

TDS on Buyback Proceeds

Infosys will deduct 10% TDS on proceeds above Rs 1,000. Investors in lower tax brackets can claim a refund while filing returns, but it affects their immediate cash flow.