The price on the brochure is not the price. Every buyer knows this in the abstract and almost none of them budget for it properly, which is why so many purchases stall at agreement stage when the real number lands.

Here is the full cost of buying a flat in Kolkata, line by line, with worked examples at three budgets so you can see what actually leaves your account.

The statutory costs

Stamp duty. Charged on the government's assessed market value, not your negotiated price. In Kolkata and Howrah Corporation areas it is 6% below ₹1 crore and 7% above. Municipal and notified areas match that. Panchayat areas are 5% and 6%.

Above ₹1 crore there is also a 1% additional stamp duty, urban and rural alike. Note that the widely-quoted "₹25 lakh threshold" is a 2007 slab and has not applied for years. Our West Bengal stamp duty guide reproduces the current government table.

Registration fee. 1% of market value, minimum ₹50. Plus a standard user charge of ₹300 for up to 17 pages, then ₹9 per page.

The tax that only applies sometimes

GST is charged on under-construction property and not on completed property with its occupancy certificate issued. This single line can swing a comparison between two flats by a large amount, which is why our guide to under construction vs ready to move treats it as the deciding factor rather than a footnote.

The developer's extras

Parking. Rarely included in the headline price. At DTC Good Earth Madhyamgram, for example, the box price includes one MLCP slot, and additional parking is priced separately: basement independent ₹5.5 L, ground dependent ₹4.75 L, basement dependent or open independent ₹4.5 L, mechanical ₹4 L. If you run two cars, that is a second flat-sized decision.

Maintenance corpus and advance. Most projects collect a one-time sinking fund contribution plus twelve to twenty-four months of maintenance in advance at possession. Budget for it as a lump sum, not a monthly cost.

Legal and documentation. Agreement drafting, legal vetting and documentation charges. Modest individually, but they arrive together at the worst moment.

Club or amenity charges. Larger townships often levy a one-time club membership on top of the unit price. Ask specifically, because it is frequently absent from the first price sheet.

Worked examples

₹55 lakh flat, Kolkata Corporation, under construction.

• Stamp duty at 6%: ₹3,30,000
• Registration at 1%: ₹55,000
• GST: applicable, varies by project
• Second parking, if needed: ₹4,00,000 to ₹5,50,000
• Corpus, advance maintenance, legal: budget a further lump sum

Statutory alone: ₹3.85 lakh, or 7% of value.

₹95 lakh flat, Kolkata Corporation.

• Stamp duty at 6%: ₹5,70,000
• Registration at 1%: ₹95,000

Statutory alone: ₹6.65 lakh. Still 7%, because you are under the threshold.

₹1.5 crore flat, Kolkata Corporation.

• Stamp duty at 7%: ₹10,50,000
• Additional stamp duty at 1%: ₹1,50,000
• Registration at 1%: ₹1,50,000

Statutory alone: ₹13.50 lakh, or 9%. The jump from 7% to 9% happens the moment you cross ₹1 crore, which is why staying under the line is worth engineering.

The costs people forget entirely

Beyond the obvious line items sit several that rarely appear on a price sheet but reliably appear on your bank statement.

Interior fit-out. Most Kolkata flats are handed over without wardrobes, kitchen cabinetry beyond a basic counter, light fittings, or in many cases air conditioning. A functional fit-out on a 2 BHK is a serious sum, and on a 3 BHK it is more. Budget it deliberately rather than discovering it the week you get keys.

The gap between agreement and possession. On under-construction purchases you may face escalation clauses, revised statutory levies, or charges for changes you requested along the way. Read the agreement's escalation language before you sign, not after.

Moving and society formation. Modest but real, and they land in the same fortnight as everything else.

Property tax. Annual, based on the municipal assessment, and it begins the moment you take possession whether you have moved in or not.

None of these are large individually. Together they routinely add up to more than the registration fee, and almost nobody plans for them.

What your loan will and will not cover

Lenders fund a percentage of the agreement value, typically 75% to 80%. They do not fund stamp duty, registration, parking, corpus or legal costs. Those come from you, in cash, on top of the down payment.

On a ₹55 lakh flat that means roughly ₹11 lakh of down payment plus ₹3.85 lakh of statutory cost before any extras: close to ₹15 lakh in hand. Our home loan guide for Kolkata buyers covers how eligibility is sized.

Get the assessed value before you budget

The most common budgeting error is using the negotiated price. Duty is charged on the government's assessed market value, so if the circle rate values your ₹55 lakh flat at ₹60 lakh, you pay on ₹60 lakh.

Generate the official e-Assessment Slip through the West Bengal Registration portal first. It takes minutes and removes the largest variable in the whole calculation.

The rule to budget by

Under ₹1 crore in a corporation area: set aside 7% of assessed value for duty and registration, plus GST if under construction, plus parking and corpus. Above ₹1 crore: make it 9%.

Get that right at the shortlist stage and nothing later surprises you. We will run the full all-in number for any project we represent, free. Start with buy a home, browse verified properties, or go straight to our legal and loan help desk. We are a RERA-registered agent, WBRERA/A/HOW/2025/000651.