Every charge on your trade, explained (brokerage, STT, GST and the rest)

Open any contract note after a trade and you'll see a small pile of charges with cryptic names. Most people just look at the final number and move on. But understanding these saves you real money, because some are unavoidable and some are entirely in your control.

Let me walk through them the way I wish someone had explained to me.

The one you control: brokerage

Brokerage is what your broker charges to execute your trade. This is the only charge you can shrink by choosing wisely.

• Discount brokers: often ₹0 on delivery, and a flat fee like ₹20 per order (or lower) on intraday and F&O.
• Full-service brokers: often a percentage of the trade value, which can be many times higher.

Everything else below is charged by the government or the exchange, so it's the same no matter which broker you use.

The government's cut

• STT (Securities Transaction Tax): A tax on the value of your trade. On delivery equity, it's charged on both buy and sell. It's small per trade but real.
• Stamp duty: A small state-level charge on the buy side. Tiny, but there.
• GST: 18%, charged on the brokerage and transaction charges (not on the whole trade value). So if your brokerage is low, your GST is low too, another reason cheap brokerage helps.

The exchange and depository's cut

• Exchange transaction charges: A tiny fee the NSE/BSE charges on turnover.
• SEBI turnover fee: Almost negligible, but listed.
• DP (Depository Participant) charges: A small flat fee (often ₹13 to ₹20 plus GST) charged when you sell shares from your demat, because the shares move out of your depository account. This one surprises people, so budget for it.

A worked example

Let's buy and later sell ₹50,000 of shares for delivery with a discount broker that charges ₹0 delivery brokerage:

• Brokerage: ₹0
• STT: a small percentage on buy and sell
• Exchange + SEBI charges: a few rupees
• Stamp duty: a few rupees on buy
• GST: 18% on (brokerage + transaction charges), which is tiny here because brokerage is ₹0
• DP charge: a flat ~₹15 + GST when you sell

All in, your total charges on this round trip might be roughly ₹30 to ₹60. Compare that with a full-service broker charging 0.4% each side: brokerage alone would be around ₹200 on the buy and ₹200 on the sell, before the same statutory charges. That's the difference, laid bare.

Charges that quietly add up

• AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge): ₹0 to ₹400 a year for the demat account. Small, but check it.
• Payment/gateway or fund transfer fees: Some brokers charge a few rupees to add money via certain methods. Use the free ones (UPI is usually free).
• Call & trade fees: If you place an order by phone instead of the app, there's often a charge. Just use the app.

The takeaway that actually matters

For a long-term investor, the single biggest controllable cost is brokerage, and it compounds. A frequent trader paying percentage-based brokerage can hand over a startling amount over a year without noticing. The statutory charges are the same for everyone, so the lever you control is which broker you pick and how often you trade.

Want to see this for your own numbers instead of a generic example? Use our brokerage calculator, punch in your trade, and it'll show you the full breakdown for different brokers. Then, once your costs make sense, the last big worry usually is: is my money even safe? That's the next guide.