Karnataka charges 3% stamp duty between ₹20 and ₹45 lakh instead of 5%, and GST drops to 1% on qualifying affordable housing. Together they roughly halve your statutory charges — but both have conditions, and both are easy to lose.

The two concessions

Karnataka’s stamp duty is banded. Above ₹45 lakh it is 5%. Between ₹20 and ₹45 lakh it is 3%. Below ₹20 lakh it is 2%.

Separately, GST on under-construction residential property is 5% without input tax credit — but drops to 1% for affordable housing, defined as carpet area up to 60 sq m in a metro and a gross value up to ₹45 lakh. Bengaluru counts as a metro for this purpose.

Cess at 10% of stamp duty, surcharge at 2% inside BBMP or 3% outside, and registration at 2% apply either way. Registration rose from 1% to 2% on 31 August 2025, so check any older cost sheet.

The two concessions are independent of each other and are often confused. Stamp duty is a state levy banded purely on value. GST is a central levy with a two-part test — value and carpet area. You can qualify for one and not the other: a flat at ₹43 lakh with a carpet area of 70 sq m gets the 3% stamp duty but pays 5% GST. Work them out separately rather than assuming a cheap flat automatically gets both.

What the difference is worth

Take a flat at ₹41.47 lakh, outside BBMP.

With both concessions: GST ₹41,470, stamp duty ₹1,24,410, cess ₹12,441, surcharge ₹3,732, registration ₹82,940. Total ₹2,64,993, about 6.4%.

Without either — if the unit were priced just above ₹45 lakh, or the carpet area exceeded 60 sq m — GST would be 5% and stamp duty 5%, and charges on the same sort of flat would run near 12.7%.

On a ₹41 lakh purchase that is roughly ₹2.6 lakh of difference. For a buyer at this budget, ₹2.6 lakh is not a rounding error. It is a kitchen, or six months of EMI.

It also matters because none of it is financeable. Lenders fund the agreement value, not the taxes on it, so every rupee of that figure comes out of your own savings at registration — at precisely the point where a first-time buyer has least left. Halving it changes what you can actually afford, not just what the purchase costs on paper.

The first-sale condition, which catches people

The 3% stamp duty band applies to a first sale from the builder. It does not apply to a resale between individuals.

So a ₹40 lakh resale flat does not get the concessional rate simply by being under ₹45 lakh. That is a common and expensive misunderstanding, and it changes the comparison between new and resale at this budget more than most buyers realise.

It is also why a sold-out project being offered to you second-hand is a different transaction in tax terms as well as legal ones. Always establish who is actually selling: the builder, or an owner who bought from the builder.

There is a related case worth knowing: an assignment, where the original allottee transfers their booking to you before the project completes. It can look like buying from the builder because the builder signs the paperwork, but the tax treatment and the transfer charges differ. If anyone proposes this route, get the stamp duty position confirmed in writing before you agree a price.

The 60 sq m rule, in square feet

60 square metres is about 646 square feet of carpet area — and carpet area, not the saleable or super built-up figure in the brochure.

That distinction does most of the work. A flat advertised as 850 sq ft saleable might have a carpet area around 600 sq ft, which is comfortably inside the limit. A flat advertised at 1,000 sq ft saleable probably is not.

So do not assume from the headline size. Ask the builder to state the RERA carpet area in square metres and to confirm in writing which GST rate they will charge you. Both the area and the value test must be satisfied; failing either takes you to 5%.

Our note on what you actually pay for in carpet area explains how the two measures diverge.

How buyers lose the concession without noticing

This is the practical trap, and it is worth real attention.

The thresholds are tested on the gross amount charged, not on the advertised base price. A flat listed at ₹43 lakh can cross ₹45 lakh once floor rise, a car park and a clubhouse charge are added — and the moment it does, you lose the 3% stamp duty band and the 1% GST rate together.

The result is counter-intuitive: a ₹46 lakh flat can cost you more all-in than a ₹44 lakh one by considerably more than the ₹2 lakh difference in price.

So if you are buying near the line, ask for the full cost sheet early and check what the total agreement value will be, including everything the builder will charge. It is occasionally worth taking a lower floor to stay under the threshold, and that is a conversation worth having before you choose a unit rather than after.

What to get in writing

The RERA carpet area in square metres, for your specific unit.

The GST rate the builder will charge, and on what basis. If they say 1%, get it stated.

The full agreement value including floor rise, parking, clubhouse and infrastructure charges — the number stamp duty will actually be calculated on.

Confirmation it is a first sale from the builder, not an assignment of an existing allotment.

The guidance value on the land, since stamp duty is charged on the higher of guidance or agreement value. If guidance value pushes you over ₹45 lakh, the concessions can be lost even where the agreement value is below it.

Five answers, all in writing, before you pay anything non-refundable. At this budget they are worth more per minute than anything else in the process.

Official figures from Kalyani Developers’ own project page, read 3 October 2026. Items marked reported come from secondary sources and could not be confirmed with the builder. Statutory rates verified 3 October 2026 and subject to change. Nothing here is an offer or a contract — verify any registration number on the Karnataka RERA portal.