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Stamp duty is charged on the higher of price and circle rate

Stamp duty is a state tax, commonly 5% to 7% of the consideration, with about 1% registration charge on top. The 6% used here is a representative combined national figure; Maharashtra charges 6% inside municipal limits plus a 1% metro cess, Karnataka 5% in Bengaluru, Delhi 6% for a man and 4% for a woman.

The part that catches buyers out is the base. Duty is charged on the higher of the actual price and the state's circle rate, sometimes called the guidance or ready reckoner value: the minimum value the state will accept for that locality. Buy below the circle rate and you still pay duty on the circle rate, and the difference can also be taxed as income in your hands. So the transfer-tax figure here is a floor, not a ceiling.

Several states charge women buyers one to two percentage points less, and a few offer a further concession for a joint purchase in a woman's name. That is a real saving of tens of thousands of rupees on a typical purchase, and it is not modelled here.

No mortgage insurance, but a margin requirement

Indian home loans carry no mortgage insurance. The Reserve Bank's margin requirement does the equivalent work: lenders must keep 10% to 25% of the property value out of the loan depending on the ticket size, which is why the deposit here opens at 20%.

Municipal property tax is assessed on an annual rateable value rather than on the price, and the method differs by city: unit area in Delhi, capital value in Mumbai, annual rental value elsewhere. The 0.15% of price shown is a rough national equivalent, not a rate any municipal corporation publishes.

For how the calculation works, the formula behind it and what it leaves out, see the full guide.

Data sources

  • Indian stamp duty and registration charges

    Effective 2025-04-01 onward · retrieved 2026-08-30

    Stamp duty is set by each state and varies by city, buyer gender and property type, so the figure here is a representative national default rather than a rate you will be charged.

    How we checked these figures

    Representative published rates: Maharashtra 6% inside municipal limits plus a 1% metro cess, Karnataka 5% in Bengaluru, Delhi 6% for men and 4% for women.

    Current

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Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page with the official sources they came from.

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