Property Registration Fee to DOUBLE in Karnataka, Effective August 31
Planning to buy or register property in Karnataka? According to a recent report, the State government has decided to double the registration fee of properties in Karnataka; the change is scheduled to come into effect from this Saturday (August 31, 2025). Buying and registering property in Karnataka will become more expensive with the implementation of this update. This increment in the registration fee has also taken place in the past. Earlier, it was 1% of the property value; now it will be 2%.
This move is aimed towards meeting the revenue target of the Department of Stamps and Registrations, which has struggled for two consecutive years. Merely Rs. 22,500 crore revenue was collected by the department in the financial year 2024-25, in opposition to the target of Rs. 26,000 crore. This downfall continued till the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26; the collections were 35% less than the target of Rs. 28,000 crore. However, the Karnataka government uses this revenue to improve public services and infrastructure, ultimately developing the economy of the state.
As of now, the Karnataka property transactions were charged with a total of 6.6% tax, including 5% stamp duty, 1% registration fee, 0.5% cess, and 0.1% surcharge. With revisions introduced to the property registration fee, this tax rate will be hiked to 7.6% which will adversely affect both buyers and sellers in Karnataka from August 31, 2025.
The Inspector-General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, Mullai Muhilan M.P., said, Karnataka still has some of the lowest transaction charges compared to nearby states. For example, in Tamil Nadu, the rate is 11%.
The recent announcement has also increased the registration fee for the Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) and General Power of Attorney (GPAs) aligned to JDAs, doubling the registration fee to 2% from 1%. Experts have said this will adversely affect the JDAs, as it generally engages large tracts of land and will ultimately impact the real estate sector.
The government has published this announcement in various daily newspapers, including Prajavani, Udayavani, Vijay Karnataka, The Times of India, Deccan Herald, and The Hindu.
