Guidance Value: The Floor That Sets Your Bengaluru Stamp Duty
Guidance value is the minimum government value for a Karnataka property, and stamp duty and registration are charged on the higher of guidance value or your sale price. Here is what that floor means for a Bengaluru buyer's budget.
A Bengaluru buyer negotiating a resale flat in Ka Ra Puram in September 2026 was pleased to have talked the price down below what similar flats were quoting. Then his lawyer pointed out that the stamp duty would not fall with the price, because the government would still charge it on the guidance value of the property, which was higher than the deal he had struck. The saving on the price was real, but part of it was quietly offset by a tax bill that did not care what he had negotiated. Guidance value is the number that sets the floor, and a buyer who ignores it budgets wrong.
The short answer. Guidance value is the minimum value the Karnataka government sets for a property, and a sale cannot be registered below it. Stamp duty and registration are charged on the higher of the guidance value or your actual sale price, so if you negotiate below the guidance value, you still pay duty on the guidance value. You can check it free on the Kaveri portal before you agree a price. The trade-off is that a price far below guidance value does not lower your tax and can signal a valuation or title question worth examining, so it is a number to check early, not after you have shaken hands.
What is guidance value?
Guidance value is the minimum price, fixed by the Karnataka Department of Stamps and Registration, at which a property in a given area can be registered. It is also called the guideline value or the sub registrar value, and it exists so that properties are not registered at artificially low figures to dodge stamp duty. The government notifies guidance values area by area and revises them from time to time. For a buyer, it is the floor beneath your transaction: the registration system will not accept a sale recorded below the notified guidance value for that property.
Guidance value is not the same as the market price. The market price is what buyers and sellers actually agree, and it can be above or, in a soft market, even below the guidance value. The guidance value is simply the government's minimum reference for that location, and understanding the gap between the two is part of reading a deal properly.
How does guidance value set my stamp duty base?
Stamp duty and registration charges in Karnataka are calculated on the higher of the guidance value or the actual sale consideration. This is the single most important consequence of guidance value for a buyer. If your agreed price is above the guidance value, you pay duty on the price. If your agreed price is below the guidance value, you still pay duty on the guidance value, because the government charges on whichever figure is higher. So the tax base never falls below the guidance value, whatever you negotiate.
The table below shows how the value used for duty is decided in common situations. For the exact stamp duty and registration rates that apply to that base, see our dedicated guide on Karnataka stamp duty and registration charges.
| Situation | Value used for duty | What it means for you |
| Sale price above guidance value | The sale price | Duty follows the higher agreed price |
| Sale price equals guidance value | That same value | Both figures give the same base |
| Sale price below guidance value | The guidance value | Duty does not fall with your discount |
| Registration below guidance value | Not permitted | The sale cannot be registered that low |
| Buyer TDS base | Higher of price or stamp duty value | The same higher figure logic applies |
What if the agreed price is below the guidance value?
If you negotiate a price below the guidance value, you can still buy the property, but your stamp duty and registration will be charged on the higher guidance value, not on your lower price. This is worth knowing before you celebrate a discount, because part of the saving is offset by duty that does not shrink. It is common enough in a soft patch of the market or for a distress sale, and it is not by itself a problem, but it should change how you budget.
A price well below guidance value is also worth a second look for other reasons. It can simply reflect a motivated seller, but it can also hint at a title or valuation issue, or at pressure to under record the transaction, which you should never agree to. Treat a large gap as a prompt to ask why, verify the title and encumbrance position, and budget your duty on the guidance value regardless.
Where do I check the guidance value?
Check the guidance value free on the official Kaveri Online Services portal at kaveri.karnataka.gov.in before you finalise a price. A basic valuation lookup needs no login. You select the district, the taluk, the village or urban ward, and the street or survey number, and the portal returns the notified guidance value for that location. Doing this early lets you see the floor for your stamp duty and compare it against the price you are being quoted. Our step by step walkthrough on how to check guidance value on the Kaveri portal covers the screens in detail.
Check the value for the exact property, not just the broad locality, because guidance values can vary street by street and with the type of property. A figure for a nearby main road may be very different from the one for an interior lane, so use the specific location details when you look it up.
How does guidance value affect my TDS and my loan?
Guidance value feeds into more than stamp duty, because the same higher of two figures logic appears in your buyer TDS as well. The one percent tax you deduct as a buyer under the income tax rules is calculated on the higher of the agreement value or the stamp duty value, and the stamp duty value is driven by the guidance value. So a guidance value above your price can lift your TDS base too, as explained in our note on TDS on a property purchase. A buyer evaluating a project such as Brigade Exotica in KR Puram would check the guidance value alongside the price before running any of these numbers.
On the loan side, lenders form their own view of value and usually lend against the lower of the sale price or their valuation, not the guidance value. So guidance value and your loan valuation are separate figures, and it is worth keeping them distinct in your planning rather than assuming one drives the other. Where a guidance value sits above the price you agreed, your bigger cash outgo is the higher stamp duty, and where the bank values the flat below the price, your bigger outgo is the larger down payment the lender expects you to cover. Neither of those numbers is the guidance value itself, but both move around it, which is why a buyer benefits from mapping all three before committing.
How does the guidance value fit with my other checks?
Guidance value is one input into your cost planning, and it works alongside the title, encumbrance, and approval checks that decide whether to buy at all. It tells you the floor for your stamp duty and part of your TDS base, but it says nothing about whether the title is clear or the project is approved. Use it to budget your registration cost accurately and to sense check a suspiciously low price, then rely on your title, encumbrance, and RERA checks for the questions guidance value cannot answer. Read together, these give you both the true cost of the purchase and the confidence that the purchase is sound. A common and avoidable mistake is to treat guidance value as an afterthought discovered at the sub registrar's office on the day of registration, when the duty is already being calculated and there is no time left to plan for it. Checking it at the start, before you fix the price, turns it from a surprise into a number you have already budgeted for.
A seven step guidance value check
Use this before you agree a price.
- Note the exact district, taluk, village or ward, and street or survey number.
- Open kaveri.karnataka.gov.in and use the guidance value lookup.
- Read the notified guidance value for that specific property location.
- Compare the guidance value with the price you are being quoted.
- Budget stamp duty and registration on the higher of the two figures.
- Remember your buyer TDS base also uses the higher figure.
- Where the price is far below guidance value, ask why before proceeding.
Frequently asked questions
Is stamp duty charged on the sale price or the guidance value? On the higher of the two. If your agreed price is above the guidance value, stamp duty and registration are charged on the price. If your price is below the guidance value, they are charged on the guidance value instead. So a discount on the price does not pull the duty below the guidance value floor.
Can I register a property below its guidance value? No. Guidance value is the minimum value at which a property can be registered in Karnataka, so the registration system will not accept a sale recorded below it. You can still agree a lower price, but the registration and the duty will be based on the guidance value, which is why checking it before you negotiate matters.
Where do I check the guidance value for a Bengaluru property? On the official Kaveri Online Services portal at kaveri.karnataka.gov.in, where a basic valuation lookup needs no login. Select the district, taluk, village or urban ward, and the street or survey number to see the notified guidance value for that exact location. Guidance values vary street by street, so use the specific property details rather than a broad area.
Does a price below guidance value mean something is wrong? Not necessarily. It can simply reflect a motivated seller or a soft market. But a large gap is worth a second look, because it can also point to a title or valuation issue, or pressure to under record the deal, which you should never accept. Verify the title and encumbrance, and budget duty on the guidance value.
Last updated 2026-09-19. PropNewz Team.
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