The taxes that you pay when you buy a property - Imperia Structures Pvt. Ltd.

Buying property is no cakewalk as it involves huge money transactions. In our country, we need to pay a number of taxes along with the amount paid to the seller which include taxes paid to the government authority of your city. Besides the common taxes like property tax and service tax, there are many other taxations which we don’t know much about. We at Imperia Structures Ltd believe in a transparent system and so here’s an insight into the taxes which you as buyers have to pay:

Registration costs: This is the final documentation stage between the buyer and the seller and involves a registration of documents with the registering officer or land Cadastre. This stage names the buyer as the owner and provides protection against fraud. According to the section 17 of Indian Registration Act, 1908, this registration of documents is compulsory. The registration fees vary in each state.

Stamp Duty: This is the tax payable on legal instrument/document specified by edict or liability in full and on time under the Stamp Act of the state where the property is situated. Without this, the property purchase does not get a legal status. It is usually paid before or on registration and any delay in payment attains penalty. The rate varies with each state and each property.

Service Tax: Service tax is charged by the Central Government and is only applicable to under-construction property. If you are purchasing a property which is ready to move in, service tax is no more payable. A 12.36 percent service tax is charged on 25 percent of the total cost of the under construction property. Service tax is applicable to all states as it is charged by the Central Government.

Value Added Tax (VAT): VAT is an indirect tax which is liable to be paid only on under construction property. It is payable at the time of registration and is applicable only in a few states. When a property is bought from another person, transfer duty is payable while when a property is bought from a builder, VAT is payable.

Tax Deduction at Source (TDS): This provision is similar to “pay as you earn”. It is mentioned in a new section 194 (A) which has been included in the Income Tax Act, 1961 by the Finance Act, 2013. Under this act, it has been stated that anyone buying a property is responsible to pay the seller by way of consideration for transfer of an immovable property, excluding agricultural land, shall at the time of credit of such sum to the account of the transferor or at the time of payment of such sum in cash or by issue of cheque or draft or any other mode, whichever is earlier, required to deduct an amount equal to 1 percent of such sum as income-tax thereon specially when the value of the immovable property surpasses or equivalent to Rs 50 Lakh. The TDS must be submitted in the name of seller of the property.