Stamp duty is the biggest cost of buying a flat after the price itself, and in Maharashtra it is not one flat rate. What you pay depends on where the flat is, who is buying, and whether the ready reckoner value is higher than your price. This guide sets out the rates, the women's concession, the registration fee, the stamp duty on your home loan and how the money is actually paid. It uses the same rates as our stamp duty calculator.
How stamp duty on a flat is built up
There are two layers.
1. Basic duty under the Maharashtra Stamp Act. Article 25(b) charges duty on the market value of immovable property:
- 5% within a municipal corporation or cantonment
- 5% within a municipal council, nagar panchayat or a rural area inside MMRDA limits
- 4% in a gram panchayat area outside those limits
When you buy a flat from a developer, Article 5(g-a)(ii) makes the agreement for sale carry the same duty as a conveyance. So you pay the full duty when you register the agreement, not years later at possession.
2. Local surcharges on top.
- LBT surcharge (1%) in municipal corporations. IGR Maharashtra's circulars list it for corporations including Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur. Mumbai is not on that list.
- Metro cess (1%) in notified areas, which cover the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur corporations. It has applied since 1 April 2022.
- Municipal council surcharge (1%) under section 147A of the Municipal Councils Act, on sales of property inside a council area such as Kulgaon-Badlapur or Ambernath.
Stamp duty rates by area
| Where the flat is | Basic | Surcharges | Total | Woman buyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai (BMC) | 5% | 1% metro cess | 6% | 5% |
| Thane and other MMR corporations; Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur | 5% | 1% LBT + 1% metro cess | 7% | 6% |
| Other municipal corporations | 5% | 1% LBT | 6% | 5% |
| Municipal council, e.g. Badlapur, Ambernath | 5% | 1% council surcharge | 6% | 5% |
| Rural area within MMRDA limits | 5% | 1% Zilla Parishad | 6% | 5% |
| Other gram panchayat areas | 4% | 1% Zilla Parishad | 5% | 4% |
The council and rural rows are our best reading of the Stamp Act and local-body laws. Notifications change, and the exact rate depends on where the property sits, so confirm the figure on the e-challan or with the Sub-Registrar before you pay. If your Sub-Registrar quotes a different rate, enter it in the calculator's override box.
Ready reckoner value vs agreement value
Duty is charged on market value, which in practice means the higher of your agreement value and the ready reckoner (RR) value from the Annual Statement of Rates. A discount on the price does not reduce your stamp duty below the RR figure.
Maharashtra raised RR rates for 2025-26 (by 3.36% in rural areas and 5.95% in municipal corporation areas) and then kept them unchanged for 2026-27 from 1 April 2026. You can look up the rate for your location on the IGR Maharashtra website.
The 1% concession for women buyers
Since 1 April 2021, stamp duty under Article 25(b) is 1% lower on a residential unit (flat, bungalow, row house or tenement) bought by a woman or women. The conditions:
- The woman must be the only buyer, or all buyers must be women. A husband or father as co-buyer means no concession.
- It applies to residential property only.
- The seller can be anyone.
- The original order barred resale to a man for 15 years. An order of 26 May 2023 removed that condition, so she can now sell to anyone without paying the concession back.
Think before choosing sole ownership just for the saving. If you need a co-applicant's income to get the loan, the lender may want that person on the title too, and the loan you lose may matter more than the 1%.
Registration fee
Under Maharashtra's table of fees, registration of a sale document costs ₹100 for the first ₹10,000 and ₹10 for every further ₹1,000, capped at ₹30,000. In practice every flat above about ₹30 lakh pays ₹30,000. Like stamp duty, it is worked out on the market value. Small scanning and document-handling charges are extra.
Stamp duty on your home loan
Your loan document also attracts duty. Most home loans in Maharashtra are secured by a deposit of title deeds (an equitable mortgage), charged under Article 6(1):
- 0.1% of the loan, minimum ₹100, if the loan is up to ₹5 lakh
- 0.3% of the loan in any other case, capped at ₹20 lakh
A registered simple mortgage without possession attracts the same rates under Article 40(b). On a ₹40 lakh home loan, that is 0.3% = ₹12,000. Lenders usually collect it at disbursement.
The bank will not lend you the stamp duty itself. RBI tells banks not to include stamp duty, registration and documentation charges in the property cost used for the loan-to-value cap, except for homes costing up to ₹10 lakh. Plan to pay these from your own funds.
Worked examples (illustrative)
Assume the agreement value is at or above the RR value unless stated.
| Price | Rate | Stamp duty | Registration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thane flat, man buying | ₹60 lakh | 7% | ₹4,20,000 | ₹30,000 |
| Same flat, woman buying alone | ₹60 lakh | 6% | ₹3,60,000 | ₹30,000 |
| Mumbai flat, joint (man and woman) | ₹1.2 crore | 6% | ₹7,20,000 | ₹30,000 |
| Badlapur resale flat, price ₹48 lakh, RR value ₹52 lakh | ₹52 lakh (RR) | 6% | ₹3,12,000 | ₹30,000 |
In the Badlapur case the buyer pays duty on ₹52 lakh, not ₹48 lakh, because the RR value is higher. For GST, TDS and how much a bank will lend on top of this, see the real cost of buying a home in Thane and Badlapur.
Resale flats
A resale flat is a conveyance under Article 25, so the same rates, RR rule and women's concession apply. If the seller bought from the developer and transfers the flat within three years of that agreement, the Stamp Act allows the duty paid on the earlier agreement to be adjusted, leaving a minimum of ₹100. Ask the Sub-Registrar whether it applies to your case.
How to pay stamp duty and registration fee
Maharashtra accepts stamp duty in these main ways:
- GRAS e-challan on gras.mahakosh.gov.in. You pay online into the government treasury and get a GRN that serves as proof of payment. Registration fee can be paid the same way.
- e-SBTR (electronic Secured Bank and Treasury Receipt) from an authorised bank, which carries a CIN as proof of payment.
- Franking or stamp paper for small amounts and some documents. These are rarely used for a flat purchase.
Check the property details, amount and Sub-Registrar office on the challan before you pay. Correcting a wrong challan takes time.
A short checklist
- Find the RR value for the flat and use the higher of RR and price.
- Confirm the total rate for your area (6% or 7% in most of MMR) on the challan.
- Decide ownership before drafting the agreement if the women's concession matters.
- Budget registration (₹30,000 for most flats) and mortgage duty on the loan.
- Keep the GRN or CIN and the registered document. Your lender will want copies.
How Biz Corp Solutions helps
We help home buyers across Thane, Badlapur and Mumbai work out the full cost of a purchase, including stamp duty and the cash they need on top of the loan, and then arrange a home loan through banks and housing finance companies. The lender decides the final amount and rate.
This article is based on the Maharashtra Stamp Act as modified up to 22 July 2026, IGR Maharashtra notifications and the other sources listed, up to 21 October 2026. Surcharges and ready reckoner rates can change. Confirm the amount on the e-challan or with the Sub-Registrar before you pay.