What an Indian delivery trade actually costs
"Zero brokerage on delivery" is true and deeply misleading. Brokerage is genuinely ₹0 — and a round trip on a ₹1,500 position still costs you about ₹18.68, which is 1.2% of the position before the stock has moved at all.
If your journal models costs as a single percentage, it is wrong in a direction that always flatters you.
The actual components
For equity delivery — which is what a swing trade held overnight is — the charges are:
| Charge | Rate | Which side |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | ₹0 | — |
| STT | 0.1% | Both buy and sell |
| Exchange transaction (NSE) | 0.00307% | Both |
| SEBI turnover | ₹10 per crore | Both |
| Stamp duty | 0.015% | Buy only |
| DP charge | ₹15.34 flat per scrip | Sell only |
| GST | 18% | On brokerage + SEBI + exchange only |
Two of these are the ones people get wrong.
STT is charged on both sides for delivery
Many calculators apply STT to the sell side only. That's the intraday rule, where the rate is also lower. Mixing the delivery rate with the intraday side rule halves your STT — and STT is the largest single cost on most delivery trades.
The DP charge is flat, and it's brutal on small positions
₹15.34 per scrip, per day, whenever you sell. Not a percentage — a flat fee. It doesn't care whether you sold ₹1,500 or ₹15,00,000 of stock.
On a ₹1,500 position that single fee is over 1% of the trade. On a ₹12,00,000 position it's 0.001%. Any model built on percentages cannot represent this, and it is precisely the cost that decides whether small trades are worth taking.
Worked example
5 shares of RELIANCE at ₹2,800 — a ₹14,000 position.
| Component | Buy | Sell |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | ₹0.00 | ₹0.00 |
| STT (0.1%) | ₹14.00 | ₹14.00 |
| Exchange | ₹0.43 | ₹0.43 |
| SEBI | ₹0.01 | ₹0.01 |
| Stamp duty | ₹2.10 | — |
| DP charge | — | ₹15.34 |
| GST | ₹0.08 | ₹0.08 |
| Total | ₹16.62 | ₹29.86 |
Round trip: ₹46.49. The stock has to move 0.33% before you break even.
How wrong does it get?
An earlier version of Trader Blueprint's calculator used a plausible-looking formula — 0.01% brokerage capped at ₹20, STT on sells only, no stamp duty, no DP charge. Comparing it against the correct figures:
| Position | Old estimate | Correct | Understated |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,500 | ₹2.10 | ₹18.68 | 8.9× |
| ₹14,000 | ₹19.62 | ₹46.49 | 2.4× |
| ₹85,000 | ₹119.10 | ₹204.45 | 1.7× |
| ₹12,00,000 | ₹1,445 | ₹2,685 | 1.9× |
Note the shape of the error: it's worst on small trades, because that's where the flat DP charge dominates. A journal with this bug makes exactly the trades you should question look most attractive.
What the app does
The trade form offers two modes. Auto calculates from the rates above and shows every line item, so you can see where the money goes. Manual lets you type the exact figure from your contract note.
Manual always wins. The calculator is a convenience, not an authority — and rates change with government policy. When your broker's note disagrees with the calculator, the note is right.
Rates verified against zerodha.com/charges, July 2026, for equity delivery on NSE. Intraday and F&O use different rates and sides.