Kochi follows the Kerala schedule without any local variation. A buyer pays 8 per cent stamp duty and 2 per cent registration, both worked out on fair value. In rupees, a ₹50 lakh purchase carries ₹4,00,000 and ₹1,00,000 respectively, adding up to ₹5,00,000. A ₹1 crore purchase comes to ₹10,00,000. The total is not a minimum. The schedule has run from 1 April 2023.
Within the city, property tax and civic records fall to the Kochi Municipal Corporation, Kerala. Title and deed work is done through the Registration Department, Kerala, and the state's land records are on Ente Bhoomi. Any project being sold can be checked with the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (E-RERA). The state registration portal and the land-records system are the same ones used for every Kerala city.
Kochi belongs to the city list of the RBI House Price Index, though the city figure is only available in the RBI DBIE database, so none is quoted here.
The housing scheme numbers belong to the state rather than the city. Kerala's PMAY-Urban tally on 28 September 2026 was 1,58,780 sanctioned, 1,44,264 completed and 5,065 in progress. Thiruvananthapuram is the other Kerala city in this section, and it uses the same stamp and registration rates.
In short
On a ₹50 lakh home in Kochi (Kerala), stamp duty and registration come to ₹5,00,000, charged on the higher of the price and the fair value. Across the RBI's 18 cities, house prices rose +3.6% over a year (Q1:2026-27 (April-June 2026)). A bank lends at most 80% of a ₹50 lakh home (RBI); the average rate on new housing loans was 7.61% in August 2026.
Calculate for Kochi
Kochi against the rest of India
The NHB press release gives no RESIDEX figure for Kochi. The city is one of the 18 in the RBI House Price Index, whose combined change over a year is +3.6%; its own number sits in the RBI database, not in the release. The nine cities with a RESIDEX figure range from -1.7% to +24.4%.
Kerala charges stamp duty of 8% of the fair value. On a ₹50 lakh home that is ₹4,00,000, 2nd of the seven whose rates Payotte reads.
Kochi lies at 9.9°N, 76.3°E. The nearest of the other 43 cities is Coimbatore, 140 km to the north-east, then Thiruvananthapuram (180 km, south-east) and Bengaluru (365 km, north-east), as the crow flies. The farthest is Guwahati, 2,435 km away. The closest city with a RESIDEX figure is Bengaluru, 365 km away, at +21.5%: a neighbour's number, not Kochi's own.
Kerala has one other city on Payotte: Thiruvananthapuram. None of them has a RESIDEX figure either.
| City | Distance | Direction | Prices over a year (RESIDEX) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coimbatore | 140 km | north-east | no figure |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 180 km | south-east | no figure |
| Bengaluru | 365 km | north-east | +21.5% |
| Chennai | 560 km | north-east | +10.8% |
| Hyderabad | 860 km | north | +5.2% |
| Vijayawada | 870 km | north-east | no figure |
| Pune | 990 km | north | +3.7% |
| Pimpri-Chinchwad | 1,000 km | north | no figure |
| Panvel | 1,060 km | north | no figure |
| Navi Mumbai | 1,070 km | north | no figure |
| Mumbai | 1,080 km | north | +6.2% |
| Kalyan-Dombivli | 1,090 km | north | -1.7% |
Where to check in Kerala
The official sites to use before buying in Kochi, Kerala: the register of projects and agents, the portal that registers the sale deed, the land records and the municipal body that levies property tax. Each link goes to a government site.
- Real estate regulator (RERA): Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (E-RERA), Kerala (did not open from outside India).
- Deed registration and stamp duty: Registration Department, Kerala (did not open from outside India).
- Land records: Ente Bhoomi - Digital Land Records System, Kerala.
- Municipal body of Kochi: Kochi Municipal Corporation, Kerala.
Sites listed by the Integrated Government Online Directory of the National Informatics Centre and the list of State and UT registration websites of the National Generic Document Registration System, read between 18 October 2026 and 2 November 2026; 2 sites did not open from outside India that day, the address is the one the official list gives. Search a registration number, a deed or a land record yourself on these sites: Payotte copies nothing from the registers.
The questions, answered
How much stamp duty and registration on a ₹50 lakh home in Kochi?
On a ₹50 lakh home in Kochi (Kerala), the charges are stamp duty (8%) ₹4,00,000, registration fee (2%) ₹1,00,000: ₹5,00,000 in all, and ₹10,00,000 on ₹1 crore, above the fair value, at the rates read on 14 October 2026.
What EMI on a ₹50 lakh home in Kochi?
On the largest loan an Indian bank may grant (80% of the price, RBI), ₹40 lakh over 20 years at the 7.61% average rate costs ₹32,493 a month.
How much tax when you sell a home in Kochi?
The Income-tax Act applies across India: a gain on a home held more than 24 months is taxed at 12.5% without indexation, ₹2,50,000 on a ₹20 lakh gain, before surcharge and cess
Are house prices rising in Kochi?
Kochi is one of the 18 cities of the RBI House Price Index, which rose +3.6% over a year in Q1:2026-27 (April-June 2026) for all 18 cities together; the city figure is published only in the RBI's DBIE database.
More on the tax when you sell: capital gains tax on property. On the loan: eligibility and EMI.
The figures
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty (8%) on ₹50 lakh | ₹4,00,000 | Registration Department, Government of Kerala |
| Registration fee (2%) on ₹50 lakh | ₹1,00,000 | Registration Department, Government of Kerala |
The RBI and the NHB publish price indices, not prices in rupees. National figures: RBI House Price Index +3.6% over a year (Q1:2026-27 (April-June 2026)); average rate on new housing loans 7.61% (August 2026).
Elsewhere in Kerala
Sources
- Duty: Existing rates of stamp duty and registration fees for ready reference (as on 01.04.2023) (rates in force since 1 April 2023); the calculator.
- Housing scheme: States/UTs wise Progress under PMAY-U & PMAY-U 2.0 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) (as of 28 September 2026).
- Prices and loans: NHB RESIDEX (source acknowledged); RBI House Price Index; RBI lending rates; RBI Credit Facilities Directions 2025, paragraph 111.