What a Bengaluru resale actually costs beyond the price
Above ₹45 lakh a Bengaluru flat pays 5% stamp duty. With cess, surcharge and the doubled registration fee, the statutory add-on is around 7.6%.
A resale flat in Bengaluru pays the full stamp duty rate, not the concessional slabs — those apply only to first sales. Add cess, surcharge and the registration fee and the statutory charges come to roughly 7.6% of assessed value inside city limits. On a ₹1.5 crore flat that is over ₹11 lakh before anyone has hired a lawyer.
Buyers budget for the price and the loan. The transaction costs are where the arithmetic goes wrong.
The concessional slabs almost certainly do not apply to you
This is the most common and most expensive misunderstanding in Bengaluru resale.
Karnataka’s stamp duty is banded by value: a concessional rate for properties below ₹20 lakh, a middle rate between ₹20 lakh and ₹45 lakh, and the full 5% above ₹45 lakh.
Almost every flat in Bengaluru that anyone is buying as a resale sits in the third band. So the practical position for most buyers is simple — you are paying 5%, and the lower numbers you have read about in general articles on Karnataka stamp duty are describing a property you are not buying.
There is also a view that the concessional bands attach only to a first sale rather than to resale transactions. Check which basis your Sub-Registrar applies if your property is genuinely under ₹45 lakh; above that threshold the question does not arise.
What actually stacks up
The statutory charges are not a single number. For a Bengaluru property above the ₹45 lakh threshold they stack like this:
- 5% stamp duty on the assessed value
- 10% of the duty as cess
- 2% of the duty as BBMP surcharge
- 2% of the assessed value as the registration fee
That registration fee was doubled from 1% to 2% with effect from 31 August 2025 — the first revision since 2003, and the reason older articles under-state the total.
Together those come to roughly 7.6% of assessed value within Bengaluru city limits. Rates outside city limits differ, so confirm which applies to your property rather than assuming.
Check the current components at the Karnataka Registration Department before you budget. This is an area where the figures move, and a blog post is not a substitute for the current schedule.
Guidance value, and why your price may not be the base
Duty is assessed on the higher of the agreed sale price and the government guidance value for that property.
If you negotiate a price below guidance value, you do not save duty. You pay duty on the guidance value and receive a discount only on the money going to the seller. Guidance values in Bengaluru urban limits were revised upward by 6–15% in February 2026, so a comparison against a figure someone quoted last year will be wrong.
Look the guidance value up for the specific property before you fix a price, not after. It sets a floor on your transaction cost that no amount of negotiation moves.
The costs that are not stamp duty
TDS. As buyer you are required to deduct tax at source on the consideration and deposit it with the Income Tax Department. Getting this wrong is a common cause of registration delays — see TDS under 194-IA.
Khata transfer. A modest charge payable to BBMP, commonly a small percentage of the stamp duty paid, but it comes with a process — see khata transfer after buying a flat.
Arrears that attach to the flat. Outstanding BBMP property tax and society dues follow the property, not the person. Ask for a no-dues position in writing before completion, because after it these become yours.
Title verification. The one line in this list that is optional and the one that is worth the most. Everything else on the page is a cost you cannot avoid. This is the cost that tells you whether the rest were worth paying.
Frequently asked questions
What is the stamp duty on a resale flat in Bangalore?
Karnataka bands stamp duty by value, with the full 5% applying above ₹45 lakh. Almost every Bengaluru resale flat sits above that threshold, so the concessional bands quoted in general articles will not apply to your purchase.
What are the total registration costs in Bengaluru?
Stamp duty, plus cess and surcharge on it, plus the registration fee. Taken together the statutory charges come to roughly 7.6% of the assessed value within Bengaluru city limits. Confirm the current components before you budget, as the registration fee was revised upward in 2025.
Is stamp duty calculated on the sale price or the guidance value?
On whichever is higher. If the agreed price is below the government guidance value for that property, duty is assessed on the guidance value, not on what you actually paid.
What else should a buyer budget for beyond stamp duty?
Khata transfer charges, legal and title verification, any outstanding property tax or society dues that attach to the flat, loan processing fees, and the TDS you are required to deduct and deposit on the seller's behalf.