Stamp duty in Tamil Nadu (2026)

How stamp duty works in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu charges stamp duty of 7% and a registration fee of 2% on a standard sale deed, so resale flats, independent houses and plots cost 9% in government charges. The value used is the higher of the price or the guideline value, which the Registration Department publishes street by street on TNREGINET.

New flats are treated differently. Since 1 December 2023 a flat bought from a developer can be registered as one document covering the undivided share of land and the building, valued at a composite rate per sq ft of super built-up area. Stamp duty on these composite-value deeds is 4% up to ₹50 lakh, 5% from ₹50 lakh to ₹3 crore and 7% above that, with the 2% registration fee on top. Before this, buyers registered the land share and signed a separate construction agreement.

Take a ₹60 lakh flat in Chennai. As a resale purchase it attracts ₹4,20,000 in stamp duty and ₹1,20,000 as registration fee, a total of ₹5,40,000. Bought new from the developer under composite value registration, the duty drops to ₹3,00,000 and the fee stays at ₹1,20,000, for ₹4,20,000. The difference of ₹1,20,000 is a real consideration when comparing a ready resale flat with a new one. Banks do not lend against these charges, so either figure has to be paid from savings.

Duty and fees are paid online on TNREGINET when the document is prepared and a token is booked for the sub-registrar office. The women's concession introduced from April 2025 is narrow: it cuts the registration fee by 1 point, and only for property worth up to ₹10 lakh, so it rarely applies to city flats. A practical tip: check the guideline value for the exact survey number on TNREGINET before you negotiate. In parts of Chennai it has moved close to market prices, and duty is charged on whichever is higher.