What this brokerage calculator does
When you buy and sell shares on an Indian stock exchange, the price you see is only part of the story. Every executed order carries a stack of statutory levies and broker charges that together shrink your profit — or deepen your loss. This calculator rebuilds a full contract note for an equity round trip so you can see the true cost before you place the trade: broker's brokerage, Securities Transaction Tax (STT), exchange transaction charges, the SEBI turnover fee, stamp duty, 18% GST and any DP charge, netted against your gross price gain.
It supports both equity delivery (CNC) and equity intraday (MIS) trades on the NSE or BSE, and models either a flat per-order brokerage (discount brokers) or a percentage of turnover (full-service brokers). Because trading costs are what separate gross from net returns, it pairs naturally with a break-even calculator and a slippage & commission calculator.
How the charges are calculated
Turnover on each leg is simply quantity times price:
buyTurnover = Q × buyPrice · sellTurnover = Q × sellPrice
- Brokerage — flat model: your per-order fee on each of the two legs. Percent model:
min(pct% × leg turnover, per-order cap)on each leg, honouring the 2.5% regulatory ceiling. - STT — delivery: 0.1% on both buy and sell; intraday: 0.025% on the sell leg only.
- Exchange transaction charge — the exchange rate (NSE ~0.00297%, BSE ~0.00375%) applied to total turnover.
- SEBI turnover fee — 0.0001% (₹10 per crore) of total turnover.
- Stamp duty — buy leg only: 0.015% for delivery, 0.003% for intraday.
- GST — 18% on brokerage + exchange charge + SEBI fee. Never on STT or stamp duty.
- DP charges — a flat depository charge on a delivery sell; always zero for intraday.
totalCharges = brokerage + STT + exchangeTxn + SEBI fee + stampDuty + GST + DP · netPnL = (sellTurnover − buyTurnover) − totalCharges
Worked example: ₹100 → ₹105 on 100 shares
A 100-share round trip bought at ₹100 and sold at ₹105 (₹500 gross gain) with a ₹20 flat brokerage on NSE. The numbers below come straight from the calculator's engine, comparing the same trade as delivery vs intraday:
| Line item | Delivery | Intraday |
|---|---|---|
| Buy turnover | ₹10,000.00 | ₹10,000.00 |
| Sell turnover | ₹10,500.00 | ₹10,500.00 |
| Brokerage | ₹40.00 | ₹40.00 |
| STT | ₹20.50 | ₹2.63 |
| Exchange transaction charge | ₹0.61 | ₹0.61 |
| SEBI turnover fee | ₹0.02 | ₹0.02 |
| Stamp duty | ₹1.50 | ₹0.30 |
| GST (18%) | ₹7.31 | ₹7.31 |
| Total charges | ₹69.94 | ₹50.87 |
| Gross P&L | ₹500.00 | ₹500.00 |
| Net P&L | ₹430.06 | ₹449.13 |
Notice the delivery trade pays STT on both legs while the intraday trade pays it only on the sell — the main reason intraday statutory charges come out lower here, even though both keep the same ₹40 brokerage and ₹500 gross profit.
Rate reference table
Every rate the engine applies, and whether GST sits on top of it:
| Charge | Delivery | Intraday | GST? |
|---|---|---|---|
| STT | 0.1% buy + 0.1% sell | 0.025% sell only | No |
| Exchange txn (NSE) | ~0.00297% of turnover | ~0.00297% of turnover | Yes |
| Exchange txn (BSE) | ~0.00375% of turnover | ~0.00375% of turnover | Yes |
| SEBI turnover fee | 0.0001% (₹10/crore) | 0.0001% (₹10/crore) | Yes |
| Stamp duty | 0.015% buy only | 0.003% buy only | No |
| Brokerage | Flat / % (cap 2.5%) | Flat / % (cap 2.5%) | Yes |
| DP charges | Flat (sell leg) | None | No |
Reading the break-even move
The break-even figures answer a practical question: how far does the price have to move just to cover costs? On the delivery example above, total charges of about ₹70 on a ₹10,000 buy mean the price must rise roughly ₹0.70 per share (0.7%) before you see any profit. On small positions or thin moves, that hurdle can eat a real share of your edge — which is exactly why it pays to size positions and pick your segment deliberately. A dedicated expectancy calculator can then tell you whether your average trade still clears that hurdle over the long run.
Interpreting your results
Read the two headline figures together. Total charges is the full cost of the round trip; net P&L is what actually reaches your account after those costs. If net P&L is red while gross is green, the trade lost money to charges — the price moved, but not far enough to clear break-even. The break-even move tells you the minimum favourable move (in percent and in rupees per share) needed before the first rupee of profit, and the donut shows which line item dominates your cost (usually STT on delivery, brokerage on tiny trades).
Professional tips
- On delivery, STT on both legs is usually your biggest cost — factor it into the exit price, not just the entry.
- Compare the same idea as delivery vs intraday here before you place it; the STT and stamp-duty differences can flip which segment is cheaper.
- Confirm your broker's actual flat fee or percentage and per-order cap — plugging in real figures makes the break-even number trustworthy.
- Enter your broker's DP charge for delivery sells; it is a fixed rupee amount that hits small positions hardest in percentage terms.
- Verify the net figure against your contract note after the trade — this calculator uses published rates, but a broker circular can change an exchange rate mid-quarter.
Common mistakes
- Applying 18% GST to the whole contract-note total — GST never sits on STT or stamp duty.
- Charging STT on both intraday legs — intraday STT is sell-side only, at 0.025%.
- Adding a DP charge to an intraday trade — no demat delivery happens, so there is none.
- Ignoring charges on small positions, where fixed fees can exceed a thin price move's profit.
- Assuming NSE and BSE cost the same — BSE's higher transaction rate makes an identical trade slightly costlier.
Assumptions and limitations
- India-specific and INR-only — STT, stamp duty, GST, the SEBI fee and exchange charges are Indian equity-market levies.
- Models a round-trip trade (buy and sell of the same quantity) in the equity delivery or equity intraday segment only.
- Exchange transaction rates and DP charges are exchange/broker-set defaults revised by circular — treat them as editable estimates, not fixed statutes.
- F&O, currency and commodity segments are deliberately out of scope: their STT rates changed materially in 2024–2026 and sources disagree on the current statutory values.
- Does not model account maintenance charges (AMC), call-and-trade fees, or auction/short-delivery penalties.
Frequently asked questions
What charges are included in this brokerage calculator?+
The calculator computes every component that appears on an Indian equity contract note: broker's brokerage (flat or percentage), Securities Transaction Tax (STT), exchange transaction charges (NSE or BSE), the SEBI turnover fee, stamp duty, and 18% GST on the applicable components. It also lets you add a DP (depository participant) charge for delivery sells, then nets everything against your gross profit or loss to give a true net P&L and break-even move.
How is STT calculated on delivery vs intraday trades?+
For equity delivery trades, STT is charged at 0.1% on both the buy and the sell turnover. For equity intraday trades, STT is charged at only 0.025% and only on the sell turnover — the buy leg of an intraday trade has no STT. This is why intraday trades usually carry lower statutory charges than an equivalent delivery trade, even though intraday stamp duty and brokerage costs can offset some of that saving.
Is GST charged on STT or stamp duty?+
No. GST at 18% is levied only on brokerage, exchange transaction charges and the SEBI turnover fee. STT and stamp duty are statutory taxes in their own right and are not subject to GST — a common misconception is to apply GST to the whole contract note total, which overstates the tax.
What is the SEBI turnover fee?+
The SEBI turnover fee is a very small regulatory fee of 0.0001% (Rs 10 per crore) of trade turnover, charged on non-debt securities to fund the regulator's operations. It applies to both the buy and sell legs and is one of the smallest line items on a contract note, but it is still subject to 18% GST.
How is stamp duty calculated on stock trades in India?+
Since the Indian Stamp Act amendment effective 1 July 2020, stamp duty is a uniform, single-sided charge on the buy leg only: 0.015% of buy turnover for delivery trades and 0.003% for intraday trades. It replaced a patchwork of state-level rates that varied depending on where your broker was registered.
What is the difference between flat and percentage brokerage models?+
A flat brokerage model charges a fixed fee per executed order (e.g. Rs 20), regardless of trade size — common with discount brokers. A percentage brokerage model charges a percentage of turnover (e.g. 0.03%) capped at a maximum per-order fee, common with full-service brokers. Indian exchange bye-laws cap brokerage at 2.5% of trade value regardless of the model used.
What are DP charges and when do they apply?+
DP (Depository Participant) charges are a flat fee levied by your depository participant (broker + CDSL/NSDL) whenever shares are debited from your demat account for a sale — so they apply only on a delivery sell, never on a buy, and never on an intraday trade (since intraday shares are never actually delivered into or out of your demat account). DP charges are broker-specific, not a fixed statutory rate — this calculator lets you enter your own broker's rate.
How do I calculate the break-even price move on a trade?+
Break-even move is the price change needed just to cover all your trading costs. It is calculated as total charges divided by quantity (breakevenPointsPerShare) or total charges divided by buy turnover, expressed as a percentage (breakevenPct). If your total charges are Rs 70 on a 100-share, Rs 10,000 buy, you need the price to move at least Rs 0.70 per share (0.7%) in your favour just to break even before accounting for profit.
Why are exchange transaction charges different for NSE and BSE?+
Exchange transaction charges are set independently by each exchange and are revised periodically by circular. NSE's equity transaction charge is typically around 0.00297% of turnover, while BSE's is typically around 0.00375% — both are small relative to STT but are levied on total turnover (buy plus sell) rather than a single leg, and both are subject to 18% GST.
Does this calculator support futures and options (F&O) trades?+
Not currently. F&O STT rates changed materially after the Finance Act 2024 (effective 1 October 2024) and different sources quote different current rates and effective dates for further revisions. Rather than risk publishing an incorrect statutory rate, this calculator is scoped to equity delivery and equity intraday trades only, where every rate is corroborated by multiple tier-1 regulatory sources.
Why is my net P&L lower than my gross profit even on a winning trade?+
Gross P&L only reflects the price difference between your buy and sell. Net P&L subtracts every statutory and broker charge — brokerage, STT, exchange transaction charge, SEBI fee, stamp duty, GST and DP charges — from that gross figure. On small trades or thin price moves, these charges can consume a meaningful share of your profit, which is exactly why checking the break-even move before entering a trade is useful.
Is the 2.5% brokerage cap a hard legal limit?+
Yes. Per SEBI's investor FAQ and the BSE/NSE bye-laws, a stock broker cannot charge brokerage exceeding 2.5% of the trade value, regardless of the brokerage model used. In practice, most brokers charge far less than this ceiling — discount brokers typically charge a small flat fee per order, and full-service brokers typically charge well under 1%.
Disclaimer
Sources
- SEBI Investor FAQ — brokerage regulatory ceiling (2.5%) and the separate statutory levies on a contract note
- Wikipedia — Securities Transaction Tax: equity delivery and intraday STT rates
- NSE — first-time investor guide to SEBI turnover fees, STT and other statutory levies
- PIB / Ministry of Finance — uniform stamp duty on securities transactions, effective 1 July 2020
Formula and data last reviewed by the TheCalculatorHive team on 10 July 2026. Figures are for general information, not professional advice.
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