There is no single property tax rate in India. Property tax is a local tax: each city corporation or municipality sets its own rates under its state’s municipal law, applies them to an assessed value of your property, and adjusts for location, age and use. In Delhi, for example, MCD’s schedule for 2025-26 taxed residential property in category A and B colonies at 12% of annual value.
The power comes from the Constitution. Entry 49 of the State List covers “taxes on lands and buildings”, so states pass the laws and city bodies levy and collect the tax. Two same-sized flats in two cities can pay very different bills. So can two flats in one city, if one faces a main road.
How is property tax worked out in India?
Nearly every city uses one of three systems. Find yours and the bill stops looking random.
| System | How the notional value is set | What pushes your bill up | The common misreading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Rental Value (ARV) | The rent the property could reasonably fetch in a year, as assessed by the corporation | Locality rental bands, built-up area, whether the property is let out | Assuming your actual rent is the basis. It is not. The corporation uses its own assessed rent. |
| Capital Value System (CVS) | A percentage of the market value, usually tied to the state’s ready reckoner or circle rate | Any revision of the ready reckoner rate, even if you did nothing | Assuming the bill only changes when rates change. It changes when the reckoner changes. |
| Unit Area System (UAS or UAV) | A prescribed rupee value per square unit for your zone, multiplied by area and by factors for age, use and structure | Zone reclassification, converting residential use to commercial, covered parking | Assuming the per-unit rate is the tax. It is an input, not the bill. |
Self-assessment sits on top of all three. In many cities you work out your own tax and file it. The city checks it later. A wrong figure is your liability, with interest. It is not a clerical slip the city will absorb.
Where do you find your city rate and due date?
Only your city’s own portal is official. Rate tables get revised by resolution. That can happen mid-year. Other sites lag badly. We opened each of these portals on 17 September 2026. For a city-by-city payment walkthrough, see property tax online payment by city.
| City | Municipal body | Official portal | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | Municipal Corporation of Delhi | mcdonline.nic.in | Your colony category, the unit area value for it, and the lump-sum rebate window |
| Hyderabad | Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation | ghmc.gov.in | Your PTIN, the half-yearly demand, and the early payment rebate |
| Bengaluru | Greater Bengaluru Authority’s five city corporations (Central, East, North, South, West), on the former BBMP tax system | bbmptax.karnataka.gov.in | The Self Assessment Scheme handbook, the rebate window, and the two interest start dates |
| Mumbai | Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai | portal.mcgm.gov.in | The capital value working and the small-flat concession, if any applies to you |
| Chennai | Greater Chennai Corporation | chennaicorporation.gov.in | Half-yearly demand and the property tax assessment number |
| Kolkata | Kolkata Municipal Corporation | kmcgov.in | Your assessee number and the quarterly demand |
| Pune | Pune Municipal Corporation | propertytax.punecorporation.org | The property ID and the early-payment discount deadline |
We print only what we could open on an official page. MCD publishes a yearly schedule of tax rates on its citizen portal; the 2025-26 schedule sets 12% of annual value for residential property in category A and B colonies, with lower rates in lower categories. Check the current year’s schedule there before you pay. Bengaluru’s portal lists the 2026-27 rebate window as 1 to 30 April 2026, with interest on the first half from 1 June 2026 and on the second half from 1 December 2026. The rate itself was not shown. For the other cities, the portals are payment front-ends that showed no rate schedule we could quote.
Why do two same-sized flats pay different tax?
The multipliers do the work. The base rate does not. Age of the building feeds in. So does the type of build. So does whether you live in the flat or let it out. So does the zone your locality sits in. Use is often the biggest swing. A let-out flat is usually taxed higher than the same flat you live in.
Covered parking and terrace area get counted too. So does anything you built after the plan was passed. This is why a bill jumps after a survey. The flat did not change. The city’s record of it did.
What happens if you do not pay property tax?
Interest runs from the due date. Cities compound the arrears. Unpaid tax also attaches to the property, not to you. It shows up at the worst moment. That is when you sell and the buyer’s lawyer asks for a no-dues letter.
City bodies can also attach and auction under state law. Those powers are rarely used on small home arrears. But rarely is not never. The interest alone makes delay a bad trade. Pay inside the rebate window if your city offers one. A full-year discount is one of the few risk-free returns on a household bill.
Can you deduct property tax from income tax?
Only on a let-out property. If you rent instead of own, the relief you want is the HRA exemption, not this one. Municipal tax that you, the owner, actually paid in the year comes off the annual value before the 30% standard deduction. For tax year 2026-27 onward, that rule is in section 21(3) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. For FY 2025-26 and earlier, it is the proviso to section 23(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The word that matters is paid. Tax that is due but unpaid gives you nothing this year. A self-occupied home has an annual value of nil, so there is nothing to set the tax against.
Keep the paid receipt with your return papers. City records also matter later when you sell. That feeds into capital gains on property. People often mix this levy up with the state charge at purchase. That one is stamp duty by state. A buyer also has to deduct tax on a big purchase, under the TDS rates. The house-property head sits alongside the other income tax deductions you can claim.
Frequently asked questions
How much is property tax in India?
There is no national figure. Your city multiplies an assessed value of your property by its own rate and factors. In Delhi, MCD’s 2025-26 schedule charged 12% of annual value for homes in category A and B colonies. Your city’s portal or tax calculator gives your exact bill.
When is property tax applicable?
It applies to every building and, in many cities, vacant land within municipal limits, once the property is entered in the city’s assessment records. The owner is liable, whether the property is lived in, let out or vacant, unless a local exemption applies.
Municipal tax is deducted from what for income tax?
From the annual value of a let-out house, in the year you pay it. The 30% standard deduction is then worked out on the reduced figure.
Can I pay property tax online?
In every large city, yes. Use your city’s own portal. Property tax is a common phishing target. The amounts look right and the due date creates a rush. Type the address in yourself. Do not follow a link in a message.
Why did my property tax go up when nothing changed?
There are three usual causes. Your city revised its rate schedule. The state revised the ready reckoner or circle rate, which moves every capital-value bill. Or a survey updated your record. A survey can add area or change the use on file.
Do I pay property tax on an under-construction flat?
The bill usually starts when you take the flat. It can also start on the date your city puts the flat on its rolls. That is normally tied to the completion or occupancy certificate. Until then the builder pays. Confirm the start date with your city body, in writing.
Does paying property tax prove I own the property?
No. A tax receipt only shows who the city bills. It supports a claim of possession. It is not a title paper. Title comes from the registered sale deed and the encumbrance record.
Sources
- Citizen portal — Municipal Corporation of Delhi (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Property tax — Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Property tax system for the five Bengaluru city corporations — Government of Karnataka (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Schedule of levy of municipal taxes, rates and cesses, 2025-26 — Municipal Corporation of Delhi (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Section 21, Income-tax Act, 2025: determination of annual value — Income Tax Department (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Section 23, Income-tax Act, 1961: annual value — Income Tax Department (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- Seventh Schedule, Constitution of India (List II, entry 49) — Ministry of External Affairs (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- MCGM citizen portal — Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (checked 17 Sep 2026)
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