Stamp duty and registration charges in India: 10 states
Stamp duty runs 4.9–7% depending on the state, plus registration on top. Indicative rates for 10 major states, including women's concessions.
Buying a home is probably the biggest financial decision you’ll ever make. And yet, most people obsess over the home loan interest rate and completely ignore a cost that can quietly add ₹4–9 lakh to their bill before they’ve even moved a single piece of furniture in. That cost is stamp duty and registration charges — and if you’re not accounting for it upfront, your budget is already broken.
What Stamp Duty Actually Is (and Why It Hits Hard)
Stamp duty is a tax you pay to the state government for the legal transfer of property from the seller to you. Think of it as the government’s way of saying “we’ll recognise this property as yours — for a fee.” Registration charges are a separate, smaller fee for physically recording the transaction in government records.
Together, these two costs add up to roughly 5.5–11% of your property’s value across the states covered below, depending on where you’re buying. On a ₹80 lakh flat that is anywhere from ₹4.4 lakh to ₹8.8 lakh paid upfront — in cash, not covered by your home loan.
That last part matters. Most banks won’t finance stamp duty. It comes out of your own pocket on the day of registration.
Rates for 10 Major States
Here’s where it gets interesting, because India has no single national rate. Every state sets its own. Some also offer a discount for women buyers, which is worth knowing if the property is going in your spouse’s name or jointly.
The table below covers 10 states, not all 28 states and 8 union territories. If yours isn’t here, the note underneath tells you exactly where to find its current rate.
| State | Stamp Duty (Men) | Stamp Duty (Women) | Registration Charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 6% | 5% | 1% (max ₹30,000) |
| Karnataka | 5% | 5% | 1% |
| Delhi | 6% | 4% | 1% |
| Tamil Nadu | 7% | 7% | 4% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 7% | 6% | 1% |
| West Bengal | 6% | 6% | 1% |
| Gujarat | 4.9% | 4.9% | 1% |
| Rajasthan | 6% | 5% | 1% |
| Telangana | 5% | 5% | 0.5% |
| Haryana | 7% | 5% | Around ₹50,000 flat |
Treat these as indicative, not as a quote. States revise stamp duty in their annual budgets and occasionally mid-year, and the headline percentage isn’t always the whole bill — many states charge differently for municipal versus rural land, and some add a local body or metro cess on top.
Before you budget, confirm the current figure with your state’s Department of Registration and Stamps. Most publish a stamp duty calculator on their IGR portal, and the sub-registrar’s office handling your registration will confirm it too. If your state isn’t in the table, that portal is where to look — the structure works the same everywhere, only the percentage changes.
The Real-World Numbers You Need to See
Take a ₹90 lakh apartment in Bengaluru. Stamp duty is 5%, so that’s ₹4.5 lakh. Registration is 1%, so another ₹90,000. Total upfront cost just for legal transfer: ₹5.4 lakh. Your bank gave you a loan for ₹72 lakh (80% of property value) and this ₹5.4 lakh sits completely outside that.
Now take the same flat in Chennai. Tamil Nadu charges 7% stamp duty plus 4% registration. That’s ₹6.3 lakh + ₹3.6 lakh = ₹9.9 lakh — almost ₹10 lakh out of pocket, on the same property value. This is why Chennai buyers often need a significantly larger cash buffer than Bengaluru buyers do.
Delhi has one of the more interesting structures because women buyers pay just 4% versus 6% for men. On a ₹1 crore property in Dwarka, that’s a difference of ₹2 lakh simply by registering in your wife’s name or jointly. Thousands of Delhi buyers do exactly this — it’s completely legal and genuinely worth doing.
What You Can (and Can’t) Claim Back on Tax
Section 80C of the Income Tax Act lets you claim the stamp duty and registration amount as a deduction — but only in the year you pay it, and only up to the overall ₹1.5 lakh 80C ceiling. Since most salaried people already max out 80C through PF, ELSS, and LIC, there’s often no room left for this deduction in practice.
Don’t build your savings plan around this tax benefit. Treat the stamp duty as a pure cost and plan your cash accordingly.
The one thing you can do is factor it into your total property cost when calculating capital gains later if you sell. Stamp duty and registration form part of your cost of acquisition — meaning they reduce your taxable profit when you eventually sell the property.
What You Should Actually Do Before Buying
Get this number locked down early — before you start negotiating on the property price. Find out your state’s current rate, apply it to your target property price, and add that to your down payment calculation.
If you’re buying a ₹70 lakh flat in Hyderabad (Telangana), you’re looking at 5% stamp duty plus 0.5% registration = ₹3.85 lakh in additional upfront costs. That needs to sit in your savings account, not in a mutual fund you’ll need to liquidate at short notice.
And if you’re buying jointly with your spouse in a state that offers women’s discounts — Delhi, Maharashtra, UP, Rajasthan — register it in her name or jointly. The savings are real and the paperwork is identical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is stamp duty included in the home loan amount?
No. Almost no bank covers stamp duty in the home loan. It’s paid separately, in cash, directly to the state government at the time of property registration. Plan for it as part of your own funds.
Can I negotiate stamp duty with the seller?
You can’t negotiate the rate — it’s set by the government. But some buyers undervalue the property in the sale agreement to reduce the taxable amount. This is illegal, creates problems if you sell later, and isn’t worth the risk.
What happens if I don’t pay stamp duty?
The property transfer is not legally valid without it. You also face penalties — typically 2–10 times the unpaid stamp duty amount — if the shortfall is discovered by authorities.
Does stamp duty apply to resale flats too?
Yes. Stamp duty applies whether you’re buying from a builder or a previous owner. The rate is the same either way, applied to whichever is higher — the agreement value or the government’s circle rate (the minimum official property value for your area).
Do NRIs pay the same stamp duty as resident Indians?
Yes, NRIs pay the same stamp duty rates as resident Indians when buying property in India. There’s no separate rate for NRIs, though the payment process may involve additional documentation.