08 August 2026
Stamp duty and registration in Uttar Pradesh: what a Lucknow buyer actually pays
The headline rate is only part of it. Here is how the circle rate, the women's concession and the registration fee combine into the number you hand over at the sub-registrar.
Almost every buyer budgets for the price of the flat and forgets that the government's share is paid separately, in full, on the day of registration — and that it cannot be financed by most home loans. On a ₹85 lakh flat in Gomti Nagar that is a cash requirement of several lakhs on top of your down payment. It is worth knowing the arithmetic before you sign an agreement to sell.
Duty is charged on the higher of two numbers. Not on what you paid — on whichever is greater of the consideration written in the sale deed and the circle rate (the government's notified minimum value for that locality, revised periodically by the district administration). If you negotiate a price below the circle rate, you still pay duty on the circle rate. Look up the circle rate for the exact locality and property type before you fix a price, not after.
The headline rate. At the time of writing, Uttar Pradesh charges stamp duty on a sale deed at 7% for a male buyer, with a concession for a woman buyer, and a registration fee of 1% of the value. A joint purchase by a man and a woman sits between the two. The concession for women is capped — it is a rebate up to a limit, not a flat lower rate on any value — and that cap has been revised more than once. Confirm the current rate and the current cap on the official IGRSUP portal (igrsup.gov.in) or with the sub-registrar's office for your district before you budget. Do not take a rate from a portal article, including this one, as final.
Registering in a woman's name is not automatically the cheaper answer. It saves on duty, but it also decides who owns the asset, who can sell it, and what happens to it on succession. Make that decision on its merits and take the saving as a side effect.
The other line items. Expect a nominal registry writer or advocate fee for drafting the deed, and the sub-registrar's processing charges. If the property is being bought from a builder, GST applies on under-construction units and does not apply on a completed unit with an occupancy certificate — that difference is often larger than the stamp duty.
The central rule most people miss. If the consideration is ₹50 lakh or more, the buyer must deduct 1% TDS under section 194-IA of the Income-tax Act and deposit it against the seller's PAN using Form 26QB, then hand the seller Form 16B. This is the buyer's obligation, not the seller's, and the penalty for missing it falls on the buyer. On a ₹85 lakh flat that is ₹85,000 to be deducted from the payment and paid to the government, not to the seller.
Timing. A document must be presented for registration within four months of execution under the Registration Act; delays past that need condonation and a penalty. Do not sign a deed and then take your time.
Rules, rates and circle rates change. Confirm the current position on igrsup.gov.in or with your advocate before you act on any of this.