Stamp duty, registration and the real cost of buying a home
The price on the brochure is not the amount that leaves your account. This adds up everything payable to complete the purchase — starting with duty on the circle rate, which is where most estimates go wrong.
Where the extra money goes
The price on the brochure is the builder's share. On top of it sit the state's share — stamp duty and registration, charged on whichever is higher of your agreement value and the circle rate — then GST if the building is not finished, then everyone else's: the broker, the bank's processing fee, and the list of charges printed below the headline on the cost sheet.
The circle rate catches people out
Every state publishes a guideline value per locality. Duty is collected on that figure or on your agreement value, whichever is greater. Buy below the circle rate and the duty does not fall with the price — it is calculated on the state's number, and the difference can also be treated as income in your hands. Enter both figures and the calculator shows which one was used.
The charges that are not in the price
Parking, preferential location, club membership, power backup, the maintenance deposit, connection charges and legal costs are quoted separately or not at all. Each one starts empty here rather than at a typical value, because a default would put money into your total that no builder has actually asked you for. Fill in only what appears on your cost sheet — and treat the empty ones as a list of things to go and ask about.
What this deliberately leaves out
Monthly maintenance, property tax, insurance and the interest on your loan are all real costs, and none of them belong in this total. They are the cost of owning the home over years, not of acquiring it on one day, and folding them in would give you a figure you could not put next to a quoted price. For the loan, use the EMI and amortization calculator, which shows the interest separately over the whole term.
Check the project as well as the price
A cost sheet is one half of the diligence. The other is the filing: registration status, the promised completion date, the revised one, and what the promoter reported in their quarterly progress reports. Those are on the project record, reproduced from UP-RERA with a link to the source.
Questions about stamp duty, registration and GST
What is the real cost of buying a flat in India?
The agreement value plus stamp duty, the registration fee, GST where the sale is under construction, brokerage, and the charges a builder lists separately — parking, preferential location, club membership, maintenance deposit, power backup and connection charges. Together these commonly add 10% to 20% on top of the quoted price.
Is stamp duty charged on the price I agreed?
On the higher of your agreement value and the state’s circle rate — the guideline value it publishes for that locality. A sale written below the circle rate still pays duty on the circle rate, which is why the calculator asks for both.
What is the stamp duty rate?
It is set by each state and changes. Uttar Pradesh charges 7% for a male buyer, 6% for a sole female buyer and 6.5% for a joint male–female purchase, plus a 1% registration fee in every case. Across India the rate runs from about 3.5% to 8%. Check the current rate for your state and your buyer category before you sign — the calculator starts from a figure, it does not look yours up.
Do women pay less stamp duty?
In many states, yes. Uttar Pradesh charges a sole female buyer 6% against 7% for a male buyer, and 6.5% where a man and a woman buy jointly — on a ₹1 crore flat that is a ₹1 lakh difference. Some states apply a further rebate below a value ceiling; those vary by state and are not modelled here.
Do I pay GST on a flat?
Only on an under-construction sale. A completed home with its completion certificate attracts no GST. Where it applies, the rate is commonly 5% without input tax credit, or 1% for a sale meeting the affordable-housing criteria.
Is GST charged on stamp duty too?
No. GST is charged by the builder on what they supply — the price and the charges that form part of it, such as parking, location and club charges. It is not charged on stamp duty, on the registration fee, on brokerage, or on a refundable maintenance deposit.
Why does this not include maintenance or property tax?
Because those are the cost of owning, not of buying, and mixing a monthly figure into a one-time total produces a number that cannot be compared against a quoted price. This tool answers one question: what leaves your account to complete the purchase.
Every figure above is worked out from the numbers you entered. Nothing on this page comes from the RERA register, and the starting values are common ones, not a quote. Rates, charges and duties change — check yours before you act on any of this. Rates and ranges on this page last checked .