ABIL Group

Understanding the 1% Stamp Duty Benefit for Women

This year, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Maharashtra State Government declared a 1 percent reduction on the rates of stamp duty for women.

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, announced the concession in stamp duty for women on March 8th, while presenting the state budget. The cut in stamp duty over the prevailing rate is accessible exclusively to women. This is provided that the transfer of the house or registration of sale deed is done in the name of one or more women only. 

Real estate developers, including the ABIL Group, believe this move will offer an increased boost to luxury housing sales in Maharashtra. With the demand for lavish flats in Pune already rising, this news comes as a boon to house hunters and developers alike.  

Tax Benefits of Buying Your Home in Wife’s Name

Along with the concession in stamp duty for women homebuyers, other tax benefits are offered when buying a house in a woman’s name. This includes the added deduction in interest up to Rs 1.5 lakh each financial year, but this is only applicable if the house is self-occupied. 

In the cases where a husband and wife are named co-owners of a home and if the wife holds a separate source of income, then both of them can claim the tax deductions individually.

To avail tax benefits in a joint home loan, both the spouses should be co-borrowers as well as co-owners. Along with the rebate in charges for house registration and stamp duty, tax benefit will also depend on the ownership share of the joint owners. If no percentage is specified, the interest on the EMI is split equally amongst them and each owner can claim upto Rs 2 lakh in their tax returns.

Other state governments in India, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc., also offer varying percentages of discount on stamp duty charges for women. With women buyers taking advantage of these benefits, ABIL’s luxury offerings from flats in Ashok Nagar, Pune to apartments in Sadashiv Peth are all in high demand as reliable investment options.

Discount on Home Loan Interest Rates for Women

Many banks as well as housing finance companies (HFCs), such as the State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC, etc., offer a reduction considering five basis points where women are named as the first applicants. A basis point is one-hundredth of the percentage point and women as a category receive differentiated pricing in the cases where they have co-ownership of the housing property. 

The tax benefit for women on registration and stamp duty in Maharashtra has made housing property an ideal investment option for many households. 

Things to keep in mind when buying a home in the wife’s name

Experts maintain that while it is a good idea to buy a home in the name of one’s wife, we should note that the wife has to have an independent source of income to be able to avail of these tax benefits. 

And, it should also be noted that if both the spouses have jointly invested the funds when buying the property, the rental income earned on the said property might attract the taxes for both the joint owners separately.

ABIL’s Founder, Mr. Avinash Bhosale believes, this announcement of a 1 percent rebate in stamp duty for women homebuyers will give an added boost to the housing property sales in the state of Maharashtra and will help empower women. 

A fitting gift for women homebuyers, that will benefit them long past International Women’s Day. As we have already seen the impact of a cut on stamp duty in 2020, this announcement is expected to continue the momentum for the real estate sector.

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