Additional charges when buying a house: stamp duty, registration and more
Besides the price, buying a house means paying stamp duty and a registration fee to the state. If you borrow, the loan has fees too, and the builder, broker or society may add charges. Banks and housing finance companies do not finance stamp duty or registration on homes above ₹10 lakh, so you pay them yourself.
In this guide
Key takeaways
- Stamp duty is charged on the higher of the price in your deed and the state's own value of the property.
- Banks and housing finance companies do not finance stamp duty or registration on homes above ₹10 lakh, so you pay them from your own money.
- On an ₹80,00,000 home with the state's value assumed not higher, Maharashtra city stamp duty at 5% is ₹4,00,000, or ₹3,20,000 for a woman buyer.
- TDS of 1% applies when the price or the stamp duty value (the state's value of the property) is ₹50 lakh or more. It is withheld from the seller's payment, not added to your cost.
- Rates change by notification, so check your state's registration department before you budget.
Besides the price, buying a house means paying stamp duty and a registration fee to the state. If you borrow, the loan has fees too, and the builder, broker or society may add charges. Banks and housing finance companies do not finance stamp duty or registration on homes above ₹10 lakh, so you pay them yourself. The rates depend on your state, and this article shows how they are worked out and what three states charge.
What do you pay when buying a house besides its price?
You pay stamp duty and a registration fee to the state, and then a handful of costs that vary with the deal. The table puts them side by side.
| Cost | Who sets it | Paid when |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty | The state | Before or at registration |
| Registration fee | The state | At registration |
| TDS (not an extra cost) | The income-tax law | Withheld from the price when the price or the state's value of the property is ₹50 lakh or more |
| Home loan fees | The lender | At sanction, all listed in the Key Facts Statement |
| Legal and valuation checks | The lender or your lawyer | Ask when you apply |
| Brokerage | The broker | Agree it before you start |
| Society transfer charges, maintenance deposit, parking | The society or the builder | Ask before you book |
Stamp duty is a state tax paid when a property is bought. The registration fee is the charge to record the sale with the state.
If you are buying from a builder, ask whether the price includes GST, and get it in writing.
RBI caps how much of a home's value a bank or housing finance company can lend. Up to ₹30 lakh, the cap is 90%. Above ₹30 lakh and up to ₹75 lakh, it is 80%. Above ₹75 lakh, it is 75%. The bands go by the size of the loan.
Stamp duty and registration are left out of the price for this cap. Only a home costing ₹10 lakh or less is an exception: there the lender may count them.
Take an ₹80,00,000 home. Eighty per cent is ₹64,00,000, which sits inside the ₹30 lakh to ₹75 lakh band, so ₹64,00,000 is the most you can borrow. At least ₹16,00,000 is yours, the down payment, which is the part of the price you pay from your own money. Stamp duty and registration come on top of that.
For the bigger question of whether the purchase makes sense at all, see Is buying a house really an investment?.
What is stamp duty, and how is it worked out?
Stamp duty is a state tax on the sale deed. It is charged on the property's value as the state fixes it, or on the price you pay, whichever is higher. Maharashtra calls the state's value the ready reckoner rate, Telangana uses market value and Karnataka uses the guidance value.
The wording differs, but the effect is the same in all three states. If the state's value is more than the price written in your deed, the duty is worked out on the state's value.
Maharashtra's Stamp Act charges duty on "the true market value of the property". A deed that looks undervalued can be referred to the Collector, who decides the true market value using the ready reckoner rates. Telangana's ready reckoner charges on the market value or the price, whichever is higher. In Karnataka, sub-registrars are the officers at the office where a sale deed is registered. The Department of Stamps and Registration says they are authorised to fix the correct market value from the guidance value the government publishes.
Who pays? The buyer pays the stamp duty, unless buyer and seller agree otherwise. Maharashtra's Act says so for a conveyance, and Telangana's department says the purchaser pays on a sale deed.
How do you pay it? Most states now take stamp duty online or through an authorised e-stamp vendor. Your sub-registrar's office will tell you how.
What are registration charges, and how are they different from stamp duty?
Registration records your sale deed with the government, and it carries its own fee. Stamp duty is the tax on the deed. The registration fee is a separate charge for entering it in the official records.
Under the Registration Act, 1908, a document that creates, assigns or ends a right in a property, such as a home, worth ₹100 or more must be registered. The deed is registered at the sub-registrar's office.
Each state sets its own registration fee. Karnataka, for instance, changed its fee by a notification issued under Section 78 of that Act.
What do stamp duty and registration cost in three states?
Rates change by notification, so treat every figure below as dated. The examples use an ₹80,00,000 home and assume the state's value is not higher than the price. If it is higher, every rupee figure rises with it.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra charges stamp duty of 5% in cities and towns (municipal corporation, municipal council and nagar panchayat areas) and in rural areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It charges 4% elsewhere, including gram panchayat areas, which are village areas governed by an elected village council. That is per the Maharashtra Stamp Act schedule, as modified up to 13 July 2026 and published by the state's Department of Registration and Stamps.
A woman buying a home gets 1 percentage point off. The reduction has applied since 1 April 2021 to residential units sold to a woman buyer. Home loan benefits for women in India covers the wider picture.
On the ₹80,00,000 home in a city, 5% is ₹4,00,000. For a woman buyer, 4% is ₹3,20,000. City buyers may also pay a further surcharge, so check with the sub-registrar before you budget.
Telangana
Telangana's registration department lists three parts for a sale deed in its ready reckoner, as of 3 October 2026, adding up to 7.5%. The split depends on where the home is.
Outside gram panchayat areas, it is 5.5% stamp duty, 1.5% transfer duty and 0.5% registration fee. Transfer duty is a second duty the department lists separately from stamp duty. In what the department lists as a gram panchayat area, it is 5.5% stamp duty and a 2% registration fee, with no transfer duty. The department's ready reckoner charges on the market value or the price, whichever is higher.
On the ₹80,00,000 home outside a gram panchayat area, that is ₹4,40,000 stamp duty, ₹1,20,000 transfer duty and ₹40,000 registration fee. The total comes to ₹6,00,000.
Karnataka
Karnataka's registration fee is 2% of the property's value since 31 August 2025, when the government raised it from 1%, according to the Department of Stamps and Registration. On the ₹80,00,000 home, that is ₹1,60,000 before stamp duty.
Stamp duty is charged on top of the fee. Check the current rate with the sub-registrar or on the department's Kaveri portal.
If your state is not one of these three, the state's registration department is the place to check. Do not rely on a table that lists every state without dates.
Do you have to deduct TDS when buying a property?
Yes, if the price paid or the stamp duty value is ₹50 lakh or more. TDS means tax deducted at source, tax the payer cuts before paying someone.
You, the buyer, deduct 1% of the price paid or the stamp duty value (the state's value of the property), whichever is higher. The ₹50 lakh test counts what all buyers pay all sellers together. On an ₹80 lakh home with a stamp duty value no higher than the price, 1% is ₹80,000.
You withhold it from the payment to the seller and deposit it with the government. It is part of the price, not an extra cost, because the seller receives that much less. Rules differ when the seller is a non-resident.
What does the home loan add to the cost?
Loan fees are set by the lender, and they come before your first EMI. An EMI is the fixed amount paid each month that covers interest and part of the loan.
Before you sign a home loan, the lender must give you a Key Facts Statement in a standard format and a language you understand. It lists the loan amount, the rate, every fee and the repayment schedule. You get at least three working days to accept it on those terms.
A fee that is not in the Key Facts Statement cannot be charged later unless you explicitly agree to it.
SBI's home loan FAQ, read on 3 October 2026, says it also recovers out-of-pocket costs such as legal opinion and valuation fees. Amounts are lender-specific, so read your own statement line by line.
For the mistakes to avoid, read 5 common mistakes people make while taking home loans. How to apply for a home loan walks through the steps, and the home loan calculator shows what the EMI comes to.
What other charges should you ask about?
Ask about every charge before you pay the booking amount, because several smaller costs may apply.
- Brokerage, if a broker found the home.
- Society transfer charges, if you are buying a resale flat in a housing society.
- A maintenance deposit.
- Parking.
- Utility connections.
If you are buying from a builder, ask for a written break-up of the price, including any preferential location charge.
The old tax regime is the older set of income-tax rules, which allows deductions such as section 123. Under it only, stamp duty and registration paid in the year count towards your section 123 (the old Section 80C) deduction, within its overall limit. Home loan tax benefits has the detail.
Once you have the full list, When should you buy a house? Signs you're ready helps you judge the timing.