India Stamp Duty Calculator 2026
Property purchases, lease and rent agreements, company incorporation and share transfers — verified rates for 15 states, with the official source behind every number.
Calculator
The Basics
How Stamp Duty Works in India
Stamp duty is a tax on instruments — the legal documents that give effect to a transaction — not on the transaction itself. It is levied under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and the state stamp acts that have replaced or amended it (the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 and the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, for example). Because the Constitution assigns most stamp duties to the states, the rate on an identical document can differ several-fold depending on where it is executed or where the property sits.
For property, the duty is never charged on the bare sale price. Every state publishes a government benchmark — Delhi's circle rates, Maharashtra's ready reckoner, Tamil Nadu's guideline values, Gujarat's jantri — and duty applies on the higher of the declared consideration and that benchmark. Registration fees, cesses and surcharges then stack on top: Maharashtra adds a 1% metro cess in its largest cities, Karnataka adds a 10% cess plus a surcharge computed on the duty itself, and Telangana splits its charge into duty, transfer duty and a registration fee. The all-in cost, not the headline rate, is what matters — Tamil Nadu's 7% duty plus 4% registration fee makes it one of the most expensive states at 11% total.
Leases follow a different logic. Most states charge a percentage of the rent — sometimes the whole-term rent, sometimes the average annual rent, often with the security deposit or premium added to the base — and the percentage climbs with tenure until very long leases are simply taxed as conveyances on the property's market value. The popular belief that an 11-month agreement is "exempt" confuses registration (compulsory only at 12 months or more) with stamping, which is due from the first day.
Companies meet stamp duty at incorporation: the Memorandum and Articles of Association are stamped electronically through the MCA's SPICe+ system at the rates of the registered-office state, and LLP agreements are stamped on the capital contribution. The spread is dramatic — Articles for a company with large authorised capital cost a flat ₹500 in Uttar Pradesh but 0.3% of capital (capped at ₹1 crore) in Maharashtra. The one island of uniformity is securities: since 1 July 2020, share and debenture issues and transfers carry identical rates nationwide, collected centrally through exchanges and depositories.
Getting it wrong is expensive. An under-stamped document is inadmissible as evidence, can be impounded, and attracts penalties of up to ten times the deficit — and a sub-registrar will simply refuse to register it. Duty is paid through e-stamping (SHCIL), franking, physical stamp paper or the state e-payment portals, generally before or at execution. For foreign companies entering India, stamp duty surfaces at three predictable moments: incorporating the entity, signing the office lease, and issuing or transferring shares — which is exactly what this calculator covers.
At a Glance
Stamp Duty Rates by State (2026)
| State | Property sale duty | Registration fee | AoA (company) | LLP agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 3–5% + cess | 1% (cap ₹30,000) | 0.3% (max ₹1 crore) | ₹500 → 1% (max ₹50,000) |
| Karnataka | 5% + cess | 2% | ₹5,000 per ₹10 lakh (max ₹1 crore) | ₹5,000 + ₹1,000 per ₹5 lakh above ₹10 lakh (max ₹25 lakh) |
| Delhi | 3–7% | 1% | 0.15% (max ₹25 lakh) | 1% (max ₹5,000) |
| Gujarat | 4.9% | 1% | 0.5% (max ₹15 lakh) | 1% (max ₹10,000) |
| Tamil Nadu | 7% | 4% | ₹500 per ₹10 lakh (max ₹5 lakh) | ₹1,000 |
| Telangana | 5.5% + cess | 0.5% / 2% | 0.15% (max ₹5 lakh) | ₹100 → ₹500 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 6–7% | 1% | ₹500 | ₹750 |
| West Bengal | 5–7% | 1% | ₹300 | ₹20 → ₹50 → ₹100 → ₹150 |
| Haryana | 3–7% | Slabs ₹100–₹50,000 | ₹1,000 → ₹2,000 | ₹1,000 |
| Rajasthan | 5–6% + cess | 1% | 0.15% (max ₹25 lakh) | ₹2,000 per ₹50,000 (max ₹10,000) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5% + cess | 1% | 0.15% (max ₹5 lakh) | ₹100 → ₹500 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 7.5% | 3% | 0.15% (max ₹25 lakh) | ₹2,000 → 2% (max ₹10,000) |
| Punjab | 5–7% | 1% (cap ₹2 lakh) | ₹5,000 → ₹10,000 | ₹1,000 |
| Kerala | 8% | 2% | ₹2,000 → ₹5,000 → 0.5% | ₹5,000 |
| Goa | 3–6% | 2–3.5% | ₹1,000 per ₹5 lakh | ₹500 per ₹50,000 (max ₹5,000) |
Property duty is shown as the range across areas, buyer profiles and value slabs within each state; "+ cess" marks states that levy additional cesses or surcharges on top. Gender concessions, area differentials, tenure slabs and every cess are applied precisely inside the calculator above — this table and the calculator read the same verified dataset, so they cannot disagree.
Securities: Uniform Across India Since 1 July 2020
| Transaction | Rate |
|---|---|
| Issue of securities (incl. demat & physical share certificates) | 0.005% |
| Transfer of securities — delivery basis (incl. SH-4 / off-market) | 0.015% |
| Transfer of securities — non-delivery basis | 0.003% |
| Issue of debentures | 0.005% |
| Transfer / re-issue of debentures | 0.0001% |
Stamp duty on securities is uniform across all Indian states since 1 July 2020 (Indian Stamp Act 1899 as amended by the Finance Act 2019). It is collected centrally via the stock exchange, clearing corporation or depository (NSDL/CDSL) and remitted to the buyer's state — states cannot vary these rates. Off-market physical issues are stamped via state e-stamping within 30 days of allotment at the same rates. Pre-2020 state rates (e.g. 0.25% on SH-4 transfers) are obsolete.
Methodology & Sources
Every rate in this calculator was verified on 2026-07-03 against primary sources wherever they exist: state gazettes and amendment acts, official registration-department schedules and ready reckoners, the MCA e-stamp rate table, and government press releases. Aggregator websites were used only to cross-check, never as the source of a figure — several widely-circulated numbers (the 0.25% share-transfer rate, Gujarat's "3.9% for women", Telangana's "4% for women") are simply stale or wrong, and the dataset documents why.
Where a sub-rate could not be traced to a primary source, it is marked medium-confidence or excluded — the calculator tells you a combination is unverified rather than approximating it. The full citation list for each state, including gazette links, is displayed with every calculation result. Union-level references for the uniform securities regime:
- PIB — Uniform stamp duty on securities from 1 July 2020 (primary)
- DEA FAQ — Implementation of amendments in the Indian Stamp Act 1899 from 1 July 2020 (primary)
This tool is for estimation and planning. Stamp schedules change frequently and concessions carry conditions (sole-ownership requirements, residential-only limits, anti-splitting rules), so confirm the final figure on the relevant state portal or with a professional before executing a document.
Common Questions
Stamp Duty FAQs
Who pays stamp duty in India — the buyer or the seller?
In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, Section 29 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 places the liability on the buyer for a conveyance, the lessee for a lease and the transferee for most other instruments. Parties can contractually shift the burden, but in practice the buyer or tenant almost always pays.
Is stamp duty the same in every Indian state?
No. Stamp duty on property, leases and company documents is a state levy, which is why Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi all charge different rates and amend them on different schedules. The one exception is securities: stamp duty on the issue and transfer of shares and debentures has been uniform across all of India since 1 July 2020 under the Finance Act, 2019 amendments to the Indian Stamp Act.
Is stamp duty calculated on the sale price or the government value?
On the higher of the two. Every state publishes a government benchmark value — the circle rate in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, guideline value in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, ready reckoner value in Maharashtra, jantri value in Gujarat. Duty is charged on your agreement consideration or that benchmark, whichever is greater, so declaring a lower price does not reduce the duty.
What is the stamp duty on a share transfer (Form SH-4)?
0.015% of the consideration for delivery-basis transfers, uniform across India since 1 July 2020. Issuing new shares attracts 0.005%. The old state-level rate of 0.25% on share transfer forms is obsolete, although it still circulates on many websites.
Do women get a stamp duty concession?
Only in some states. Delhi charges women roughly 2% less, Haryana 2% less, Uttar Pradesh 1% less on property up to ₹1 crore, and Maharashtra 1% less on residential property where all buyers are women. Karnataka, Telangana and West Bengal give no concession at all, while Gujarat and Tamil Nadu restrict the women's benefit to registration fees rather than stamp duty.
Is an 11-month rent agreement exempt from stamp duty?
No. An 11-month term avoids compulsory registration, which applies to leases of 12 months or more under the Registration Act, 1908 — it does not avoid stamp duty. Several states charge specific rates on sub-one-year terms: Tamil Nadu charges 1% of rent plus deposit, and Telangana 0.4% of total rent, for example. An unstamped agreement is inadmissible as evidence if a dispute reaches court.
How is stamp duty paid on the MoA and AoA when incorporating a company?
It is collected electronically by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs during the SPICe+ incorporation filing, at the rates of the state where the registered office is located. That is why authorising the same share capital can cost a few hundred rupees in Uttar Pradesh but lakhs in Maharashtra or Karnataka, and it is a real factor when choosing a registered-office state.
What happens if I underpay stamp duty?
An under-stamped instrument is inadmissible as evidence in court, can be impounded by any authority that receives it, and attracts a penalty that can run up to ten times the deficient duty in most states. Sub-registrars will also refuse to register an under-stamped document, which blocks property and lease registrations entirely.
Can stamp duty be claimed as a tax deduction?
Individuals and HUFs can claim stamp duty and registration fees paid on the purchase of a residential house under Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, within the overall ₹1.5 lakh cap and only under the old tax regime. For companies, stamp duty paid on incorporation documents is commonly amortised as preliminary expenditure under Section 35D. Duty on business asset purchases generally forms part of the asset's cost.
How current are the rates in this calculator?
Every rate was verified against primary sources — state gazettes, official registration department schedules and the MCA e-stamp table — on 3 July 2026. States amend stamp schedules frequently (Maharashtra raised its AoA cap in October 2024, Gujarat rewrote its lease slabs in April 2025, Karnataka doubled its registration fee in August 2025), so the calculator flags any figure that could not be traced to a primary source as medium-confidence rather than guessing.
Need the Documents Done, Not Just the Math?
We handle incorporation, lease stamping and share-transfer paperwork for foreign companies entering India — with the duty computed and paid correctly the first time.