A Bengaluru buyer negotiates hard and gets a flat in Whitefield for a little under what the seller first asked. Pleased with the discount, they are surprised when the sub registrar computes stamp duty on a higher figure than the price they agreed. The reason is a number they had never looked up: the guidance value, the government's minimum value for that location, which the department uses as the floor for duty no matter how good a deal you struck. Knowing that number before you negotiate is what turns your stamp duty from a surprise at the counter into a figure you calculated weeks earlier. It is a small lookup that removes one of the most common last minute shocks in a Bengaluru purchase.

The short answer. Guidance value, also called the guideline value or circle rate, is the minimum per square foot value the Karnataka Department of Stamps and Registration sets for a location, and a property cannot practically be registered below it. Your stamp duty is charged on whichever is higher, the guidance value or your actual sale price, so it acts as a floor under your cost. You can look it up free on the Kaveri portal at kaveri.karnataka.gov.in before you buy. The trade off to understand is that negotiating below the guidance value does not lower your duty, because the department still charges on that minimum. So the guidance value is worth knowing before you make an offer, not after.

What is guidance value?

Guidance value is the government's minimum value per square foot at which a property in a given area must be registered. As Homesok explains, the Karnataka Department of Stamps and Registration sets these zone wise rates, and they represent the floor for registration, not the market price. In fact market prices in prime Bangalore zones are often well above the guidance value, so the two numbers can differ significantly for the same flat. That gap is normal and expected; guidance value was never meant to match what buyers actually pay.

Because it is set location by location, guidance value varies sharply across the city. Premium areas carry far higher rates than peripheral ones, and even nearby micro locations can differ, so there is no single city wide figure. This is why you look up the guidance value for your exact area and property rather than assuming a general number, since the rate that applies to your flat is specific to where it sits. Two flats a kilometre apart can carry different guidance values, so even a familiar area is worth checking afresh.

How does guidance value set your stamp duty?

It sets the floor that your stamp duty is calculated on. Working from the same source, stamp duty is charged on whichever is higher, the guidance value or your actual sale price, so even if you negotiate a price below the guidance value you still pay duty on the guidance value itself. This is what makes undervaluing a sale deed pointless as a way to save duty, because the department applies the minimum regardless of what the parties wrote.

For most Bengaluru flats, where the market price sits above the guidance value, your duty is simply computed on your price. But in cases where a negotiated price dips below the guidance value, the guidance figure takes over as the base. Either way, the guidance value is the number you cannot go under, which is why it belongs in your budget from the start rather than as an afterthought at registration. Building it in early also means your total budget does not wobble when the sub registrar produces the figure.

How do you check it on the Kaveri portal?

You look it up free on the state's Kaveri portal, no registration required. According to Homesok, you visit kaveri.karnataka.gov.in, select your district such as Bangalore Urban, choose the relevant sub registrar office for your property's location, enter identifiers like the village or area name, hobli, survey number or street name, and select the property type. The portal then returns the per square foot guidance value for that exact location, and a built in calculator lets you estimate the duty. Having both the rate and the calculator in one place means you can move from location to likely duty in a single sitting.

Doing this yourself, before you finalise anything, gives you the real base for your cost. The portal is the primary source, so the figure you pull from it is the one the sub registrar will use, unlike an older number from a general guide that may be out of date. A few minutes on the official portal replaces guesswork with the exact rate that governs your stamp duty. It is also reassuring to see the number yourself, rather than take a broker's estimate on trust.

How do guidance value and market price compare?

The two answer different questions, and confusing them leads to budgeting errors. The table below sets out how they differ for a buyer.

The pattern to take from the table is that guidance value is a floor set by the government, while market price is what the flat commands. Your stamp duty attaches to whichever is higher, so a buyer who knows both can predict the duty exactly. When the market price is comfortably above the guidance value, your duty follows your price; only when a price falls below the guidance value does the floor come into play. Keeping the two ideas separate is what stops a good negotiation from being undone by an unexpected duty bill.

Why does guidance value get revised?

Because it is meant to track values over time, though it moves in steps rather than continuously. Guidance values are revised periodically, typically every few years rather than annually, so between revisions the figure stays fixed even as the market moves around it. When a revision happens, the guidance value for an area can step up, which raises the floor for stamp duty on properties in that zone. This is why a revision can quietly raise closing costs for buyers in an area even when nothing about the flat has changed.

For a buyer, the practical consequence is to always use the current figure rather than an old one. Because revisions happen in jumps, a guidance value quoted from a guide written a year or two ago may no longer be accurate, and the only reliable number is the live one on the Kaveri portal. Pulling the current rate at the time you buy ensures your stamp duty estimate matches what the department will actually charge. The gap between an old quoted figure and the current one can be a real sum on a large flat.

How does this fit your other Bengaluru costs?

Guidance value is the base that several of your closing numbers are built on. It feeds directly into the rates we set out in our guide to stamp duty and registration charges in Karnataka, since those percentages are applied to the higher of your price or this value. Reading the two together lets you compute the whole closing cost rather than just the rate. Get this base number right and every percentage applied to it falls into place.

The same idea of a government minimum value applies in other cities under different names, which we cover in our guide to checking guideline value on TNREGINET in Chennai, so the habit of looking up the official floor travels with you. If you are weighing a specific project, a registered development such as Adarsh Primrose in Gunjur sits in a defined zone whose guidance value you can look up directly, making your duty easy to forecast.

What should a Bengaluru buyer do?

Look up the floor before you negotiate the price:

1. Open the official Kaveri portal at kaveri.karnataka.gov.in before you finalise a purchase.
2. Select Bangalore Urban and the sub registrar office for your property's location.
3. Enter the area, hobli, survey number and property type to get the rate.
4. Note the per square foot guidance value for your exact location.
5. Compare it with your negotiated price and use the higher figure for duty.
6. Remember that negotiating below the guidance value does not lower your stamp duty.
7. Pull the live rate at the time of purchase, since values are revised periodically.

Frequently asked questions

What is guidance value in Bangalore?

Guidance value, also called guideline value or circle rate, is the minimum per square foot value the Karnataka Department of Stamps and Registration sets for a location. A property cannot practically be registered below it. It is a floor for registration rather than the market price, and in prime zones the market price is often well above it.

How does guidance value affect my stamp duty?

Your stamp duty is charged on whichever is higher, the guidance value or your actual sale price. So even if you negotiate a price below the guidance value, you still pay duty on the guidance value itself. For most flats the market price is higher, so duty follows your price.

How do I check the guidance value of a property?

Visit the Kaveri portal at kaveri.karnataka.gov.in, select your district such as Bangalore Urban, choose the sub registrar office for the location, and enter the area, hobli, survey number and property type. The portal returns the per square foot guidance value for that exact spot. The lookup is free and needs no registration.

Does the guidance value change over time?

Yes. Guidance values are revised periodically, typically every few years rather than annually, so between revisions the figure stays fixed while the market moves. When a revision happens, the value for an area can step up, raising the stamp duty floor. Always pull the live rate from the Kaveri portal at the time you buy.

Last updated 2026-07-24. PropNewz Team.