“Peak value” is where most Schedule FA numbers go wrong — because your statements only show period-end balances. The peak is a daily high-water mark, not a year-end snapshot.
What peak value actually means
Peak value is the highest value a holding reached on any single day during the calendar year, expressed in INR. It is not the value on 31 December, and not the highest month-end — it is the maximum over every trading day the asset was held.
The formula
value(d) = units_held(d) × price(security, d) × SBI_TT(d, currency) for each trading day d peak_INR = max over d of value(d) d* = the day that maximum occurs
The peak is the maximum of the daily rupee value: each trading day is valued at that day's price and that day's SBI TT rate, and the largest of those daily values wins. It is not the year's highest foreign price converted at a different day's rate — price and exchange rate are always read on the same day, so a day when the rupee is weak can carry the peak even if the foreign price was slightly higher elsewhere.
Per security (A3) vs per account (A2)
In table A3, peak is measured per holding, each on its own peak date. Do not add up per-security peaks to get an account peak: table A2 asks for the single day on which cash plus the total value of all securities was highest — and those individual peaks fall on different days.
account_value(d) = cash(d)×FX(d) + Σ_securities units(d) × price(d) × FX(d) A2_peak = max over all days d in the year of account_value(d)
What it takes to compute exactly
An exact peak needs two things: the daily holdings path (every buy, sell, vest and transfer, so you know how many units you held on each day) and a daily price series for the security. You reconstruct the quantity held on each day, value it at that day's price and rate, and take the maximum across the year.
When you only have period-end snapshots
If all you have is quarter-end or year-end statements, there is no true intra-year path. You can carry each snapshot forward and scan prices for an approximate peak, but a buy-then-sell that happens entirely between two snapshots is invisible. The honest approach is to disclose the approximation rather than present an estimate as exact — the reasoning is in the main Schedule FA guide.
A worked example
You held 100 shares of a US stock all year. The engine values them on every trading day at that day's price and that day's SBI TT rate; three of those days:
| Date | Shares | Price ($) | SBI TT (₹/$) | Value (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January | 100 | 180 | 82 | 14,76,000 |
| 7 August | 100 | 240 | 84 | 20,16,000 ← peak |
| 31 December (closing) | 100 | 180 | 85 | 15,30,000 |
The peak is the largest daily value — ₹20,16,000 on 7 August, with the price and the rate both read on that day. It is not the 31 December closing value of ₹15,30,000; reporting the year-end mark as the peak would understate it by nearly ₹4.9 lakh. Under-reporting is the direction that carries risk.
Upload your foreign bank and brokerage statements. FinDrishti reconstructs every lot, peak, and closing value — showing the source and math on every number — and builds your Schedule FA. The first three rows are free.