Parents who want a flat or house to reach a child choose among four instruments, and the choice moves three costs that are easy to confuse: the stamp duty and registration fee you pay on the paper, the income tax the recipient may or may not owe, and the capital gains tax the recipient pays when they eventually sell. A gift, a will, a release (relinquishment) deed and a partition deed look interchangeable in conversation. In law they do different things, to different owners, at different times. This post compares them, with state stamp duty figures read from each state's own schedule and the central rules that sit over all of them. It is general information, not legal advice; the last section lists the points where an advocate is worth paying for.
The four instruments in plain terms
- Gift deed. The owner transfers a property voluntarily, without consideration, to someone who accepts it during the owner's lifetime. Ownership moves the day the registered deed is executed.
- Will. The owner declares who gets the property after death. Nothing moves while the owner is alive, and the owner can rewrite it at will. The beneficiary inherits only what the testator actually owned at death.
- Release or relinquishment deed. One co-owner gives up their share in joint property in favour of another co-owner (typically a sibling releasing a share in an inherited house). The two terms are used for the same instrument; the releasee must already hold a share, otherwise the document is really a gift or a sale.
- Partition deed. Co-owners divide jointly held property into separate, individually owned portions. It converts joint ownership into several ownership; nobody is buying anything.
The practical split is this. A gift and a will move property from an owner to someone who owns nothing in it yet. A release and a partition rearrange property among people who already own it together. A parent with a self-acquired flat and one child is choosing between a gift and a will. Three siblings who inherited a house from a parent who died without a will are choosing between a partition and one or two release deeds. Getting that framing right matters because registrars price the instruments differently and treat a mislabelled one as the more expensive thing it actually is.
| Gift deed | Will | Release / relinquishment deed | Partition deed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who moves property to whom | Owner to a new owner | Owner to beneficiaries, at death | One co-owner to another co-owner | Among co-owners, into separate shares |
| When ownership changes | On registration, during the donor's life | On the testator's death | On registration | On registration (or on a prior oral division later recorded) |
| Registration | Compulsory for immovable property, any value | Optional (Registration Act s.18) | Compulsory where it extinguishes a right in immovable property of ₹100 or more | Compulsory for immovable property |
| Revocable? | No, apart from the narrow grounds in TPA s.126 | Yes, any time before death | No | No |
| Stamp duty | State-specific; from ₹200 flat to full sale rate | No ad valorem stamp duty | State-specific, often a family concession | State-specific, on the separated share or per share |
| Tax on the recipient (s.56(2)(x) / s.92) | Nil if the donor is a relative as defined; taxable above ₹50,000 if not | Nil; inheritance is exempt | Generally none if no consideration is paid | Generally none among co-owners |
| Cost and holding period on later sale | Donor's cost and donor's holding period carry over | Testator's cost and holding period carry over | Carries over for the share received | Carries over for the share received |
| Court step | None | Probate optional since December 2025; mutation still needed | None | None, unless parties contest |
Stamp duty rows are state-specific; see the state table below. The tax rows state the general rule; the exceptions are in the tax sections. Compiled 2026-10-05.
What a valid gift of property needs: Transfer of Property Act sections 122 and 123
Section 122 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 defines a gift as the transfer of existing movable or immovable property, made voluntarily and without consideration, by one person (the donor) to another (the donee), and accepted by or on behalf of the donee. Acceptance must happen while the donor is alive and still capable of giving. Two practical consequences follow. First, a gift is of existing property; section 124 makes a gift of future property void. Second, there must be no consideration. If the donee pays the donor, or if the deed is a disguised sale, it is not a gift, and the stamp duty authority is entitled to treat it as a conveyance.
Section 123 sets the formality for immovable property. The transfer must be effected by a registered instrument, signed by or on behalf of the donor, and attested by at least two witnesses. Delivery of possession does not substitute for registration for immovable property, though it does for movable gifts. An unregistered gift deed of a flat does not pass title however long the donee has lived in it. The Registration Act, 1908 backs this up: section 17 lists the instruments of gift of immovable property as compulsorily registrable, whatever the value.
Section 127 deals with onerous gifts, where the property comes with burdens such as a home loan or an obligation to maintain the donor. A donee who accepts the benefit must accept the burden. Section 128 covers a gift of the donor's entire property, where the donee takes the liabilities as well. If the flat has an outstanding home loan, the lender's consent or no-objection letter is a practical requirement long before the registrar becomes involved, because the property is mortgaged to the bank. Section 129 provides that the chapter does not affect any rule of Muslim law, so a hiba follows its own requirements and an advocate should confirm which regime applies.
Revocability: the biggest difference between a gift and a will
A will can be revoked or rewritten as often as the testator likes until death, provided the testator is of sound mind. That flexibility is what a gift cannot give you. Under section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act, a gift once accepted is generally irrevocable. The Act allows only two routes out. The first is a clause in the deed itself, agreed by donor and donee, that the gift will be revoked on a specified event that does not depend on the donor's will. The second is any case, other than want or failure of consideration, in which the gift could be rescinded if it were a contract, such as coercion, undue influence or fraud. The same section adds that a gift which is to be revocable wholly or in part at the mere will of the donor is void to that extent. So the common instinct, that parents can give the flat now and take it back if the child turns out badly, does not survive contact with the section.
That is why advocates often draft protective features into a gift deed instead of relying on a change of mind: a life interest or right of residence for the donor, a condition on the donee's conduct that is defined by an event, or, where the family is uncertain, a will instead. It is also why a gift made while the donor is elderly and dependent on the donee is a classic ground for later litigation. Courts are alert to undue influence where the donee looked after the donor. None of this is a reason not to gift; it is a reason to decide on a gift only when the donor accepts that the property is gone, and to have independent advice on record.
Release and partition deeds are as final as gifts. Once registered they cannot be undone by the person who gave up the share, absent fraud or another vitiating ground. This is the point most often missed by a sibling who signs a release for goodwill in a family settlement and later wants to reopen it.
Stamp duty and registration for a family gift, state by state
Stamp duty is a state subject, and each state defines both the rate and who counts as family. The table below uses the figures behind our deed-type stamp duty calculator, which reads each rate from the state's own Stamp Act schedule or registration department document. We list the date each was checked. On 2026-10-05 we tried to re-read the Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other state registration portals and the India Code and Registration Act PDFs for this post; most did not respond from our connection. The two that did, the Kerala Department of Registration's rate schedule and the Uttar Pradesh department's model gift deed (Form 106), were re-read on 2026-10-05 and match the figures below; the others have not been re-verified at primary source today. Treat the dates as the dates of the last successful reading and confirm at the sub-registrar's office before you sign.
| State | Stamp duty, family gift | Registration fee | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | ₹200 flat for residential or agricultural property gifted to a husband, wife, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter or the wife of a deceased son. 3% where the gift is to a brother, sister or lineal ascendant, or for other property types. Beyond those lists, the full conveyance rate. | 1% of market value, capped at ₹30,000 (some practitioners report a lower flat fee; confirm locally) | 2026-08-24 |
| Karnataka | Flat ₹5,000 inside BBMP, BMRDA or a city corporation; ₹3,000 in a town municipal council; ₹1,000 elsewhere, plus 10% cess and a 2% to 3% surcharge on that duty | Not stated: sources split between ₹500 and ₹1,000, so we do not pick one | 2026-08-24 |
| Delhi | No family concession found in the schedule text we read; a gift is charged like a conveyance (6% for a male transferee, 4% for a female, 5% joint). Our calculator applies 6%, because the women's concession is worded for purchases | 1% plus ₹100 for pasting | 2026-08-24 |
| West Bengal | 0.5% of market value for a gift to a family member | 1% of market value (secondary sources; ceiling unestablished) | 2026-08-24 |
| Kerala | ₹2 for every ₹1,000 or part thereof (about 0.2%), minimum ₹1,000, no ceiling | 1% for family, no cap | 2026-09-29 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Flat ₹5,000 under the Government order of 3 August 2023, for gifts to the qualifying relatives named in it | Not read at source: confirm with the sub-registrar | 2026-09-29 |
Maharashtra Stamp Act Schedule I Article 34 (igrmaharashtra.gov.in); Karnataka Stamp Act Article 28(b) (kaveri.karnataka.gov.in); Delhi Article 33 (revenue.delhi.gov.in); West Bengal Article 33 (wbregistration.gov.in, as read in the Stamp Act schedule text); Kerala Articles 31(a)/(b) as substituted by the Kerala Finance Act, 2018 (keralaregistration.gov.in rate schedule); Uttar Pradesh from the registration department's model gift deed, Form 106 (igrsup.gov.in), which cites the order of 3 August 2023 and excludes commercial, industrial and institutional property. The Government order itself could not be retrieved. Tamil Nadu and Telangana are not in this table because we cannot honestly state them; see below. Each state defines family differently and more narrowly than ordinary usage.
Tamil Nadu and Telangana: why there is no figure
Most consumer websites, including a 2026 Godrej Capital explainer we read on 2026-10-05, say a family gift in Tamil Nadu costs 1% stamp duty and 1% registration, with caps. Our reading of the Indian Stamp Act as applied to Tamil Nadu is different: the 2023 amendment (Act 13 of 2024) widened the family definition for partition and release but did not extend it to the gift article, which suggests a gift is charged at the conveyance rate, with the concession sitting in the settlement deed instead. Because the two readings differ by six percentage points on the same instrument and we could not read the primary schedule, we do not publish a Tamil Nadu gift figure. In practice, intra-family transfers in Tamil Nadu are usually drafted as a settlement deed. Ask the sub-registrar which instrument and which rate apply, and get it in writing. Telangana's family gift rate is likewise left out because published sources conflict.
What the numbers mean on a real flat
- Mumbai flat worth ₹1,50,00,000 (₹1.5 crore) to a daughter. Stamp duty ₹200. Registration at 1% would be ₹1,50,000 but is capped at ₹30,000, so the paper costs about ₹30,200. The same flat gifted to a mother or a brother falls in the 3% band, which is ₹4,50,000 of duty plus the ₹30,000 fee.
- Kolkata flat worth ₹60,00,000 (₹60 lakh) to a daughter. Stamp duty 0.5% is ₹30,000 and registration 1% is ₹60,000, so ₹90,000 or 1.5% of value. Sold instead, the duty and fee run to 7%, which is ₹4,20,000.
- Bengaluru flat worth ₹2,00,00,000 (₹2 crore), inside BBMP. Flat duty ₹5,000, cess ₹500, surcharge ₹100: ₹5,600 before any registration fee. Sold, the same flat attracts 5% duty plus cess, surcharge and 2% registration, which is ₹15,20,000.
- Kochi house worth ₹50,00,000 (₹50 lakh) to a daughter. ₹50,00,000 is 5,000 blocks of ₹1,000, so duty is 5,000 × ₹2 = ₹10,000, and the 1% registration fee is ₹50,000. A gift to a nephew or niece is charged as a sale.
- Lucknow home to a child. ₹5,000 duty if the donee is a qualifying relative and the property is within the order; the registration fee has to be confirmed locally.
The spread between these is the reason people ask whether a gift is a way of avoiding sale-deed duty. A genuine gift is a legitimate, state-sanctioned concession. A sale dressed as a gift is not: if consideration actually passes, the deed is misdeclared, and the registrar can refer it for adjudication, with a deficit, penalty and interest if the duty was underpaid. Another trap is the donee's relationship. Maharashtra's ₹200 does not extend to a gift to a parent or a sibling, and a gift to a nephew falls outside both Maharashtra lists. Check the relationship against the state's definition, not against how your family describes itself. For sale-deed rates across states, use our stamp duty calculator; for the registration fee alone, use the property registration charges calculator.
Partition deed stamp duty: charged on the separated share, not the whole
Partition rates are on a different basis from gift rates, which is why a state with a cheap gift can have an expensive partition and the reverse. Most states charge on the value of the share or shares that separate out, with the largest remaining share ignored. Maharashtra's Article 46 charges 2% of the market value of the separated share or shares, with no monetary ceiling; West Bengal charges 0.5%; Karnataka's Article 39 charges a fixed ₹1,000 per share for non-agricultural property inside a corporation or council, ₹500 per share elsewhere and ₹250 per share for agricultural land, regardless of value. Kerala charges about 0.15% on the separated share, rounded up to the next ₹10,000, with a ₹1,000 minimum. Our calculator models these on that basis, and its Tamil Nadu and Telangana family partition rows are left out because the per-share ceilings differ across sources (for Tamil Nadu, ₹10,000, ₹25,000 and ₹40,000 all appear as the stamp duty cap).
A worked Pune example makes the "separated share" idea concrete. A father dividing a ₹1,00,00,000 (₹1 crore) property into a ₹60,00,000 share he keeps and two ₹20,00,000 shares for his sons is charged 2% on the ₹40,00,000 that separates out: ₹80,000. The ₹60 lakh retained share is not charged. The registration fee is 1% with a ₹30,000 ceiling, so it cannot exceed ₹30,000. Dividing a ₹5,00,00,000 (₹5 crore) Bengaluru property three ways costs ₹3,000 at the ₹1,000 per share rate, because the value never enters the calculation. Karnataka's partition duty carries no cess or surcharge on the statutory text, unlike its gift duty. Run your own split in the deed-type stamp duty calculator.
Release or relinquishment deeds
A release deed is the cheaper-looking route when one heir simply drops out. A sibling who inherited a one-third share of a house with two others signs a release in favour of one co-owner, and that co-owner ends up with a larger share. Section 17(1)(b) of the Registration Act makes a document that extinguishes a right in immovable property of ₹100 or more compulsorily registrable, and the release must be presented at the sub-registrar's office. The stamp duty depends entirely on the state, and consumer sources contradict each other on it; one 2026 guide we read gives ₹500 in Maharashtra for ancestral property between listed relatives and no payment, but with different figures for Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana than the other guides. We do not model release deeds in the calculator and do not give a number for them. Two rules of substance are better established. The releasee must already own a share in the property; if not, the registrar will treat the instrument as a gift or sale. And if the releasor takes money for the share, it is not a gratuitous release but a sale of a share, with sale-style duty and a capital gain for the releasor.
A will: no stamp duty, no registration needed, and no immediate transfer
No stamp duty is payable on a will, under the Indian Stamp Act or the state stamp laws, according to TaxGuru's stamp duty FAQ, which we read on 2026-10-05. That is the cost advantage that appeals to families. Under section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908, registering a will is optional: an unregistered will is valid if it is properly executed by a testator of sound mind and attested by two witnesses. Registration (or depositing a sealed will with the Registrar) adds evidentiary weight, because the signature is proved by the registrar's record, and it makes the will harder to challenge as forged. It is cheap relative to the property and worth doing for anything contested-looking.
The costs of a will arrive later and in other forms. Nothing passes during life. The beneficiary must apply for mutation of the property in the municipal and revenue records after the testator's death, transfer the share certificate in the cooperative housing society, and, where the property carries a loan, deal with the lender. A will also only governs what the testator owns: a share in ancestral or coparcenary property, or property over which another person has a legal claim, may not be fully within the testator's power, and personal law may limit what can be left by will. These are advocate questions, not drafting-template questions.
The trade-off is the reverse of the gift. A will is fully revocable and costs next to nothing in stamp duty, but it leaves a window in which the property is still the testator's: exposed to their creditors, to a later will, to a dispute, and to the testator's own needs. A gift removes those risks and the flexibility together. Many families do both: gift the flat to the child who lives in it and leave the rest by will.
Income tax for the recipient: section 56(2)(x) and its 2025 successor
Under section 56(2)(x) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, immovable property received without consideration is taxed as income from other sources in the recipient's hands, at the stamp duty value, if that value exceeds ₹50,000. The rule has big carve-outs. Property received from a relative is not taxed, and neither is property received under a will or by inheritance. The Income-tax Act, 2025 re-enacts the gift rule as section 92, according to Taxscan's explainer, which we read on 2026-10-05. Which Act governs a gift depends on the year it is made in, so check the section that applies to your date. The substance described here has been the same under both.
The relatives that matter for this exemption, as listed in the TaxGarden guide we read on 2026-10-05, are the spouse, parents, grandparents and lineal descendants, siblings and their spouses, parents' siblings and their spouses, and the spouse's equivalent relatives. Cousins, nephews, nieces and friends are not on the list. A gift of a house from an uncle is tax-free; a gift from a cousin is taxable at the stamp duty value if above ₹50,000. This definition is different from the stamp duty definition. A donee can be a relative for income tax and outside the family concession for stamp duty, which is the Maharashtra nephew case: no income tax on receipt, but conveyance-rate duty on the deed.
Two more tax points matter for family gifts. First, where one spouse gifts property to the other, income that the property later earns, such as rent, is clubbed with the donor's income under section 64, even though the gift itself is tax-free. Second, the capital gains exemption for the donor's act of giving, in section 47(iii), was narrowed from 1 April 2025 to transfers by an individual or a Hindu undivided family. A gift by a company or a firm no longer qualifies for that exemption. For family transfers by an individual, the donor still has no capital gain when gifting.
Capital gains on a later sale: you inherit the previous owner's cost
Receiving a gifted or willed property is not a taxable event, but it does not reset the clock or the cost. Section 49(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deems the cost of acquisition of a property received by gift, will, succession or inheritance to be the cost to the previous owner, increased by the cost of any improvement made by the previous owner or by you. The previous owner here means the last previous owner who acquired the property by a mode outside those listed. If your father bought the flat in 2004 for ₹18,00,000 and gifted it to you, your cost is ₹18,00,000 plus improvements, not the market value on the day you received it. A buyer who purchases directly would have a higher cost base; you do not, so a gift of a long-held appreciated property puts the tax on you at the time of sale.
The holding period behaves the same way. Immovable property is a long-term asset once held for more than 24 months, a threshold that applies from the 2017 Finance Bill's change from 36 months, as a TaxGuru note we read on 2026-10-05 confirms. Under section 2(42A) the period for which the previous owner held the property is included in your holding period where your cost is determined under section 49(1). A property your mother held for 15 years and gifted you last month is already long-term when you sell it. The wording of that explanation is quoted in an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (Cochin bench) order we read on 2026-10-05: for an asset received in the circumstances listed in section 49(1), the previous owner's period of holding is included. For the current rate and the indexation options on a sale, use the property capital gains tax calculator instead of working from older articles that predate the 2024 changes.
Partition and release deeds are treated differently depending on the structure. A division of joint property among co-owners, each receiving property equal to their share, is generally not treated as a transfer, but if one co-owner receives more than their share and pays for it, that excess may be a transfer. Where an HUF is being partitioned, the rules are separate. These are exactly the cases where a chartered accountant should look at the draft deed before it is signed.
Probate and succession certificates: what changed in December 2025
Until recently, probate of a will was mandatory to establish rights as executor or legatee only in a narrow set of cases connected with Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, through section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and section 370 tied succession certificates to the same rule. Bar and Bench reports that the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 omitted section 213 and removed the linkage in section 370, with effect from 20 December 2025. Probate is now optional anywhere in India. The Finnovate explainer we read on 2026-10-05 puts it as still available and advisable for disputed wills, complex estates, high-value property in major cities or an estate that crosses borders.
Probate and a succession certificate do different jobs. Probate is a court's confirmation that a will is genuine and grants the executor authority over the estate. A succession certificate authorises collection of debts and securities such as bank deposits, shares and bonds. Neither transfers immovable property by itself: the executor or heir still applies for mutation in the land or municipal records and for transfer in the housing society. Court fees are ad valorem on the estate under each state's Court Fees Act, so they differ by state. The only example Finnovate gives is Maharashtra, at 4% on the slice between ₹50,000 and ₹2,00,000 and 7.5% above ₹2,00,000, capped at ₹75,000. We have not read the Maharashtra Court Fees Act, so treat that as a reported figure and check the schedule for your state.
The difference to the gift route is worth stating plainly. A gift deed needs no court and no probate. The family that gifts avoids the delay and court-fee risk of the will route, and a contested will can take years. The family that relies on a will keeps flexibility and avoids stamp duty, but may need probate if anyone is likely to challenge it. If the will is uncontested and the beneficiaries are the natural heirs, many families proceed with mutation on the strength of the will and the death certificate alone, depending on what the local revenue office and housing society ask for.
Choosing between them
- One owner, one intended recipient, wants it settled now. A gift deed. Budget the state's family-gift stamp duty and fee; confirm the donee is within the state's definition of family; accept that it cannot be reversed.
- One owner, wants control until death. A will, ideally registered. No stamp duty, but expect mutation work and possible probate if a dispute is likely.
- Several co-owners from an inheritance, who want separate ownership. A partition deed, priced on the separated share or per share depending on the state.
- One co-owner leaving a joint property to another co-owner. A release or relinquishment deed, registered, with no consideration paid. If money changes hands, expect it to be treated as a sale.
- The property has a loan. Talk to the lender first. A gift or release of a mortgaged property needs the lender's consent in practice.
- Long-held property that will eventually be sold. Estimate the capital gain using the previous owner's cost, since it will carry over to the recipient under any of these routes.
When to see an advocate or a chartered accountant
Nothing in this post is legal or tax advice, and the stamp duty figures are the ones in the state schedules on the dates shown. Get an advocate when: the property is ancestral or part of an HUF; the donor is elderly, ill or dependent on the donee; the donee is not clearly within the state's list of relatives; the property is mortgaged or in a cooperative society with its own transfer rules; the family is not unanimous; the donor or donee is an NRI, whose repatriation and tax position adds separate rules; or personal law other than Hindu law applies. Get a chartered accountant when the property has a low historical cost and will be sold, when a partition is unequal, or when any payment is being made between co-owners.
Finally, check the stamp duty at the sub-registrar's office on the day, not from this page or any other. Rates, relationship lists and the valuation used (the ready reckoner or circle rate) are revised by notification, and a deed stamped at last year's figure is a deficit that carries penalty and interest. The valuation basis is the one input a family cannot choose, so ask for the market value the office will apply before you buy stamp paper.