F&O brokerage and charges in India: the complete cost breakdown
Every F&O order in India carries seven potential line items: brokerage, STT, exchange transaction charges, SEBI turnover fees, stamp duty, GST, and (for some brokers) clearing charges. Because most discount brokers charge a flat fee per executed order, the percentage impact depends entirely on your lot size and premium. This guide breaks down each charge and works through a real NIFTY options example so you can verify your own contract note.
How is brokerage charged on F&O trades?
Most discount brokers charge a flat fee per executed order — commonly ₹20, regardless of quantity or number of lots inside that order. Full-service brokers may instead charge a percentage of turnover or per-lot rates. Flat pricing means one order of 10 lots costs the same brokerage as one order of 1 lot, so batching lots into fewer orders directly reduces cost.
What is STT on futures and options?
STT applies only on the sell side in F&O. On futures, it's 0.02% of the contract's sell value. On options, it's 0.1% of the premium on sale — not the strike or notional value. There's one trap: if you let a bought option expire in-the-money and it's exercised, STT is charged at 0.125% on the intrinsic value, which can be far larger than the premium-based figure. Active traders usually square off before expiry to avoid this.
What are exchange transaction charges in F&O?
NSE charges roughly 0.00173% on futures turnover and about 0.03503% on options premium turnover. These look tiny, but on options they're levied on premium — the same base your P&L comes from — so they matter more than the decimals suggest. SEBI adds a turnover fee of ₹10 per crore, and stamp duty applies on the buy side (0.002% futures, 0.003% options premium).
How does GST apply to F&O charges?
GST is 18%, charged not on your trade value but on the sum of brokerage plus exchange transaction charges plus SEBI fees. On a typical flat-fee options order, GST works out to a few rupees — small, but it's there on both legs.
Worked example: one lot of NIFTY options
Say you buy one NIFTY lot (75 qty) at a ₹100 premium and sell at ₹105, with ₹20 flat brokerage per order:
| Charge | Buy leg | Sell leg |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | ₹20.00 | ₹20.00 |
| STT (0.1% of sell premium) | — | ₹7.88 |
| Exchange txn (~0.035%) | ₹2.63 | ₹2.76 |
| SEBI fees + stamp duty | ₹0.24 | ₹0.01 |
| GST (18% on brokerage + txn + SEBI) | ₹4.11 | ₹4.10 |
Gross profit is ₹5 × 75 = ₹375. Total charges ≈ ₹61.7 — about 16% of the gross. Your net is roughly ₹313. Run your own numbers in our free F&O brokerage calculator — switch to the Futures or Options tab and every charge above is itemised automatically.
Why do charges matter more in options than equity?
Because your working capital is the premium, not the notional. A ₹40 total-charge load on a ₹7,500 premium position is over 0.5% per round trip — do that daily and charges alone consume double-digit percentages of your capital annually. Scalpers with small per-trade targets feel this hardest: a 2-point target on NIFTY (₹150 gross per lot) loses 40%+ of the move to charges at flat ₹20×2 brokerage.
How can you reduce F&O trading costs?
- Batch lots into fewer orders — flat brokerage is per order, not per lot.
- Square off in-the-money long options before expiry to avoid 0.125% STT on intrinsic value.
- Prefer limit orders where your broker prices them cheaper than market orders.
- Track your monthly charge total in your ledger — what's measured gets managed.
- Before every trade, check the breakeven with a P&L target calculator so you know the exact exit that covers all charges.
Pair this with sound sizing — our position size calculator and risk-reward calculator are built for exactly that.
Educational content only, not investment advice. Charge rates are indicative and revised periodically by exchanges, SEBI and the government; verify current rates on official NSE/BSE circulars or your broker's pricing page.