Stamp duty and registration charges, state by state

• The state, and sometimes the city or whether the area is urban or rural.
• The value: duty is worked on the higher of the price in your agreement and the government's circle rate, also called the ready reckoner or guideline value.
• Who buys: several states charge women less, but only if the woman buys alone or is a named owner.
• Value bands: some states charge more above a value, such as Delhi above ₹25 lakh and West Bengal above ₹1 crore.

Some figures need care. Telangana's 5.5% duty on a sale deed and 0.5% registration are from the state's 2021 orders; with transfer duty the total is 7.5%. Delhi adds 1% MCD transfer duty above ₹25 lakh; sources differ on joint buyers. Rajasthan's surcharge is reported to take the duty to about 8% for men and 6.65% for women. Tamil Nadu's registration fee is 2% in most sources and 4% in some. Haryana's rural rates are 2% lower.

In Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, women pay a lower rate. In Gujarat they pay the same duty but no registration fee. In Tamil Nadu, women pay 1% registration on homes with a guideline value up to ₹10 lakh.

• Maharashtra's 1% concession applies to a woman buying a home in her name alone. A joint purchase with a man pays the men's rate.
• Uttar Pradesh gives 1% off on homes up to ₹1 crore, so the most you save is ₹1 lakh.
• Delhi charges a man and a woman buying together 5%, between the two rates.

A woman buys a flat in Pune alone. The agreement says ₹80 lakh. The circle rate for the flat works out to ₹85 lakh, so duty is on ₹85 lakh.

• Stamp duty at 6%: ₹5,10,000.
• Registration at 1% would be ₹85,000, but it is capped at ₹30,000.
• Total: ₹5,40,000. A man buying the same flat would pay 7%, or ₹5,95,000 plus ₹30,000: ₹6,25,000.

The same ₹80 lakh flat in Bengaluru, with no higher circle rate, would carry about 5.6% duty (₹4,48,000) and 2% registration (₹1,60,000): about ₹6,08,000 for any buyer.

1. Check the circle rate for the property on the state's registration website.
2. Work out the duty on the higher of that and your agreement value.
3. Pay the duty. Most states use e-stamping, run through Stock Holding Corporation of India, either online or at authorised centres. Some states use their own online challan.
4. Book a slot at the sub-registrar's office, often online.
5. Attend with the seller, two witnesses, ID, photographs and the e-stamp certificate. Fingerprints and photos are taken there.
6. Collect the registered deed, then apply to change the property tax and utility records to your name.

• Budgeting on the agreement value when the circle rate is higher.
• Using old rates from a website. Karnataka doubled its registration fee in August 2025, and older pages still say 1%.
• Leaving duty out of the down payment. Banks don't fund it on most homes.
• Under-stating the price in the agreement. It can bring penalties and trouble at resale.

A property lawyer checks the title and drafts the deed. Your bank checks the papers if you take a loan. For a house you will build, the architect needs the registered deed to apply for building sanction.