As a woman homebuyer, you have a few financial advantages. Firstly, financial institutions tend to offer a lower interest rate on home loans for women. The interest rate for women on home loans tends to be about 0.5% lower than the usual interest rate. While this seems marginal, in the long term, it can amount to a significant amount of savings. Another advantage you can get is a concession on the stamp duty applicable. This, however, is only true if you are buying your house in a specific state in the country. Let’s understand how this works.
What is stamp duty and how is it charged?
When you buy a house, there is a transfer of property. The state government levies a type of tax on the legal documents when such a transfer happens, and this is called stamp duty. The stamp duty rate is levied on the property value or on the circle rate, whichever is higher. The rate of stamp duty is determined by a few factors. These include:
- The location of the property, whether it is in an urban area or rural area
- The intended use of the property, whether it is commercial or residential
- The sex of the buyer of the property, whether it is female or male
- The status or condition of the property, whether it is old or new
Since stamp duty is levied by the state government, the rate differs from state to state as does the criteria for the concession provided. For instance, in Sikkim, for homebuyers of Sikkimese origin, the rate of stamp duty is 5%, while for others it is 10%. Similarly, a concession on stamp duty for female homebuyers is provided by some states in the country while it’s the same for both male and female buyers in other states.
Which states offer a concession to female homebuyers?
Here is a list of the all the states in India that offer a concession on stamp duty to female homebuyers:
| State | Stamp duty rate for female homebuyers | Stamp duty rate for male homebuyers |
| Bihar | 5.7% | 6.3% |
| Haryana | Urban areas – 5% Rural areas – 3% | Urban areas – 7% Rural areas – 5% |
| Maharashtra | 4% | 5% |
| Odisha | 4% | 5% |
| Punjab | 5% | 7% |
| Rajasthan | 4% | 5% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 7% (Rebate up to Rs 10,000) | 7% |
| Uttarakhand | 3.75% | 5% |
Things to keep in mind
When a woman and man are co-buying the house, some states may provide a part of the concession while others may not provide the concession at all. For instance, in Bihar, for joint ownership, the stamp duty rate is 6%, which is a concession of 0.3%. But in Maharashtra, for joint ownership, no concession at all is applicable on the stamp duty rate. Also, the stamp duty rate may differ across different areas within the state itself. For instance, the stamp duty rate for Mumbai is different from other cities in Maharashtra such as Pune and Nagpur.
Another thing to note is that this concession or rebate on stamp duty to female homebuyers may come along with some conditions depending on the state. For instance, for the concession in Maharashtra, the female homebuyer cannot sell the property to any male buyer for 15 years from the date of purchase.
Final words
Along with stamp duty, registration charges also need to be paid when buying a house. Registration charges are usually 1%. Stamp duty and registration charges are not included in the home loan value and need to be arranged by you. This is why it’s important to know how much this will add up to so that you can plan accordingly. You can use a stamp duty calculator to calculate stamp duty online. Make sure to do this before you apply for a home loan so that you have a clear idea of what your overall homebuying cost is going to be. But if you want to know about “Sell my mobile home” Then, you can visit familyhomeinvestor as they offer quick and easy solutions, as a local company they are able to help you sell even if the property needs repairs or isn’t liveable. Get a free quote today!