How stamp duty works on a rent agreement in India

Stamp duty trips up more rent agreements than anything else — wrong value, wrong state, wrong assumptions. Here’s how it actually works.

What is stamp duty on a rent agreement?

Stamp duty is a state tax payable on certain documents, including rent and lease agreements. Paying it — by executing the agreement on stamp paper (today, e-stamp paper) of the correct value — is what makes the document properly ‘stamped’ and admissible as evidence.

What decides the amount?

For a rent agreement, the duty usually depends on a combination of the monthly rent, the security deposit, the lease term, and the State or Union Territory where the property is located. Each state sets its own rates under its Stamp Act, so the same agreement can attract different duty in different states.

There is no single all-India stamp-duty figure for rent agreements — the correct value depends on your state and the terms of the tenancy.

Judicial vs non-judicial stamp paper

Rent agreements use non-judicial stamp paper (used for agreements and transactions), not judicial stamp paper (used for court fees). e-Stamp paper is the modern, digitally-issued equivalent of non-judicial stamp paper.

Getting it right, automatically

Rather than guess, IOUX calculates the applicable duty from the agreement’s terms and your state, procures e-stamp paper of the right value online, and affixes it to your document — or lets you set a custom value if you prefer.

This article is general information about Indian law and practice, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and change over time — confirm the current position for your situation before relying on it.