Present for wife on Valentine’s Day: If you intend to give your partner an opulent apartment this year, ensure your gift deed is registered. 

A whole new apartment for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day? Although the suggestion might seem a little over the top to some, the gift idea might be perfect for wealthy husbands. However, there are a few things wealthy husbands should be aware of before they get too carried away. 

Is the apartment completed or still under construction?

Choose a finished project over one that is still in progress. You can avoid paying 5% in Goods and Services Tax (GST) if you buy an apartment after the occupation certificate is issued.  

Who is going to have to pay taxes?

The wife is exempt from paying taxes on the property that her husband gifts her. When The wife takes control of the replacement of both the cost and the holding period, However, according to Sonu Iyer, partner of People Advisory Services (tax), EY India, any income from the property, such as rental income, can be combined with the husband’s income. 

Gift deeds, stamp duty, and other things you should know 

Giving your wife a piece of real estate is a way to give your spouse financial stability.

“The thing to be kept in mind while making such a transfer is that it has to be effected by way of a written instrument (gift deed) that has been signed by the husband and attested by at least two witnesses,” says Mona Dewan, managing associate at ZEUS Law Associates. 

In addition to registering the gift deed at the subregistrar’s office, there is an upfront stamp duty and registration fee.

A few states have announced stamp duty reductions. For example, if the property passes to the spouse, Haryana offers a stamp duty exemption, according to her. 

If a husband gives his wife a residential or agricultural property in Maharashtra, there is an applicable stamp duty of Rs 200 (Rupees two hundred only). 

The Uttar Pradesh government recently set a maximum stamp duty of Rs 5000 for stamp duty on gifts of residential or agricultural property between husband and wife. 

In Uttar Pradesh, there was a 7% stamp duty on real estate transfers between blood relatives or family members before the reduction took effect. The stamp duty was either 7% of the property’s value or 7% of the circle rate for such immovable property, whichever was higher. 

However, there is a catch if the property is bought with a gift deed and given as a gift by the recipient before the five-year registration period ends. Accordingly, the reduced stamp duty benefit will not be available if the property received through a gift deed is later by the recipient within five years of the registration date, according to Dewan. 

Nevertheless, she notes that there is no such exemption in Delhi and that stamp duty on a gift deed from a husband to wife is equal to 2% of the property’s circle rate value plus any applicable transfer duty assessed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and registration fees.  

How would a wife feel about giving her husband an apartment?

It is important to note that if a wife chooses to give her husband immovable property, she can also receive similar exemptions in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

It’s important to remember that stamp duty in Delhi is due on a gift deed from a wife to her husband and is equal to 3% of the property’s circle rate value plus any applicable transfer duty and registration fees. 

Recall that the gift deed is final. 

It is vital to be aware that once a husband gives his wife property through a gift deed that was duly executed and registered, the gift is final, enforceable, and cannot be modified. 

According to Dewan, this implies that the done, or wife, becomes the owner of the gifted immovable property and that the donor, or husband, typically lacks the right to revoke or cancel such a gift once it has occurred.