Work out the full cost of an Indian equity trade. Brokerage, STT, exchange charges, SEBI fee, stamp duty, GST, DP charges and the break-even price.
Why is STT so much larger than my brokerage?
Because free brokerage is a marketing decision and STT is a law. On a delivery trade STT is 0.1% of both the buy and the sell, which on a ₹1,00,000 round trip is ₹200 against ₹0 of brokerage. Discount brokers give away the small line and keep the large ones invisible.
Why does stamp duty only appear on the buy side?
The Indian Stamp Act charges the instrument, and the instrument is the transfer to the buyer. Since 1 July 2020 the rate has been uniform across states: 0.015% on delivery, 0.003% on intraday and options, and 0.002% on futures. A seller pays none of it.
What is a DP charge and why is it flat?
It is what the depository, CDSL or NSDL, charges to move shares out of your demat account. It is per scrip per day, not per share, so selling one share and selling ten thousand cost the same. That is why small delivery sales are expensive in percentage terms.
Is GST charged on the whole trade value?
No. GST is 18% on brokerage plus the exchange transaction charge, the SEBI turnover fee and the DP charge. It is never charged on turnover, and it is never charged on STT or stamp duty, because a tax is not a service.
How is an option trade different?
Everything is charged on the premium, not on the notional value of the contract. Sell an option worth ₹105,000 of premium and STT is 0.15% of that. If the option is exercised, the buyer instead pays 0.15% on the intrinsic value, which is a separate event this page does not price.
Do these rates change?
Often. Futures STT rose to 0.05% and options STT to 0.15% with effect from 1 April 2026, and exchange transaction charges move by circular. The rates here carry the date they were checked, and every one of them is worth confirming against your own contract note.
Why is my contract note a few paise different?
Because a broker rounds each line to the paisa before adding them, and this page carries every line at full precision and rounds only what you see. On a large trade the two can differ by a few paise in either direction. Nothing else should differ. If a whole rupee is missing, look for a call and trade fee, an auto square-off charge, or an IPFT levy of a paisa a crore.