Stamp Duty and Registration Fees in Punjab: Current Rates

What Stamp Duty and Registration Actually Cost

Stamp duty and registration fees are unavoidable costs in any Punjab property transfer — but they’re also two of the most commonly misquoted numbers in casual conversation. Here’s what the Punjab Board of Revenue actually specifies.

Stamp Duty

Per the Punjab Board of Revenue, stamp duty on a property transfer deed is charged at 5% of the property’s value. This is calculated on the DC (Deputy Commissioner) rate or FBR-notified value for the area — not necessarily the price you actually agreed with the seller, which is often higher than official valuation rates.

Registration Fee

Registration fees are a flat amount rather than a percentage: PKR 500 for properties valued up to 5 lac, and PKR 1,000 for properties above that. This is separate from stamp duty and paid at the time of registering the deed.

Withholding Tax (236C / 236K)

Beyond stamp duty, buyers and sellers both face withholding tax deducted at the time of transfer. Filers on the Active Taxpayer List generally pay significantly less than non-filers — the gap is large enough that being a registered filer is worth doing well before you plan to buy or sell.

Tax rates and valuation tables are periodically revised by the Punjab government and FBR. Confirm current figures with the Board of Revenue or a tax consultant before budgeting a specific transaction — this article gives you the framework, not a substitute for checking the live rate.

Want to know what you’d actually owe on a specific purchase? Our income tax calculator gives a quick estimate.

FAQs

1. Is stamp duty calculated on the sale price or a government valuation? On the DC/FBR-notified valuation for that area, which is often lower than actual market price — meaning your stamp duty bill can be less than 5% of what you actually paid.
2. Who pays stamp duty, the buyer or seller? Convention in Punjab is that the buyer pays stamp duty and registration fees, though this can be negotiated as part of the deal.
3. Does being a tax filer actually make a difference? Yes, substantially — non-filers pay meaningfully higher withholding tax rates under both 236C and 236K.