The sticker price of a flat is never the price you pay. Between stamp duty, GST, registration and a handful of charges that rarely make it onto the first quotation, the "final" number can climb 8–12% higher. Here is exactly what those charges are in 2026 — and which ones you should insist on seeing in writing before you commit a rupee.
1. Stamp duty — the biggest add-on
Stamp duty is a state tax on the registration of your property. In Maharashtra it is the largest single charge on top of the base price, so it deserves your attention first.
As a working guide for 2026, stamp duty in Mumbai and the major metropolitan areas is around 6% for male buyers (a base rate plus the 1% metro cess), and the rate is lower in municipal-council areas. The exact figure depends on the location and the agreement value or the Ready Reckoner rate — whichever is higher.
The women-buyer concession
Maharashtra offers a 1% concession on stamp duty when the property is registered in a woman's name. On a one-crore home that is a saving of roughly a lakh — reason enough to plan the ownership structure before you sign, not after.
2. Registration charges
Separate from stamp duty, the state charges a registration fee of 1% of the property value, capped at ₹30,000 for homes above ₹30 lakh. It's a smaller line, but it's mandatory and it's easy for a casual quotation to leave it out.
3. GST — and why "ready-to-move" changes everything
This is the charge buyers most often get wrong. GST applies only to under-construction homes:
- 1% GST on affordable housing (within the defined value and carpet-area limits), without input tax credit.
- 5% GST on other under-construction residential property, without input tax credit.
The moment a project receives its Occupancy Certificate (OC) and becomes "ready-to-move," it is legally a completed building — and no GST is charged at all. For a buyer choosing between an under-construction unit and a ready home, that 1–5% can be a meaningful part of the decision.
4. The charges that hide in the fine print
Beyond the three big statutory charges, a quotation can carry several more. None of them are necessarily wrong — but every one of them should be named upfront, not revealed at the agreement table:
- Advance maintenance — usually collected for 1–2 years.
- Society formation & legal/documentation charges.
- Floor-rise charges — common in tall towers; ask for the per-floor rate.
- Parking, club membership and infrastructure/development charges.
5. A worked example (illustrative)
For an under-construction home, a realistic all-in build-up looks like this:
| Component | Typical basis |
|---|---|
| Base price (agreement value) | Quoted rate × carpet area |
| Stamp duty | ~5–6% of value (1% less for women buyers) |
| Registration | 1%, capped at ₹30,000 |
| GST (under-construction only) | 1% affordable / 5% other |
| Advance maintenance + legal | Project-specific, ask upfront |
Add them up and you understand why two flats with the same "price" can cost very different amounts to actually own.
We quote one all-in number — every statutory and society charge named upfront, in a written cost sheet at your site visit. No floor-rise surprises, no charge revealed at the signing table.
Before you sign — a 60-second checklist
- Is the project MahaRERA registered? Verify the number on the portal yourself.
- Is GST being charged correctly for the construction stage (or not at all, if it's OC-ready)?
- Have you been given a written, all-in cost sheet — not a verbal estimate?
- Is the ownership structured to use the women-buyer stamp-duty concession if applicable?
- Are floor-rise, parking and maintenance charges itemised, not bundled into a vague "extras"?
Want the all-in cost — in writing?
Ask us for the complete, itemised cost sheet on any Metric home. No obligation, no telecaller follow-up — just the real number.