Gift Deed

A father wants to give his flat to his daughter while he is still alive. A husband wants the house to be in his wife's name. A grandmother wants her grandson to have her plot without waiting for a will to be read. In each of these cases, the document that does the job is a Gift Deed.

A gift deed is one of the most common ways property changes hands within Indian families, yet most people only hear about it when a lawyer mentions it. This guide explains what a gift deed means, who can make one, what it costs in Rajasthan, how to register it, and what can go wrong if it is done carelessly.

A gift deed is a legal paper that transfers property from one person to another without any money changing hands. The person giving is called the donor. The person receiving is called the donee. The transfer happens out of love and affection, not as a sale.

That last part matters. In a sale deed, the buyer pays and the seller hands over ownership. In a gift deed, nothing is paid. The donor simply gives.

In Hindi, a gift deed is called daan patra. If someone asks "gift deed kya hota hai," the short answer is: property ka daan, kagaz par likha hua aur register kiya hua.

The law that governs it is Section 122 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. That section says a gift is a voluntary transfer, made without consideration, and accepted by the receiver while the giver is still alive. Those three words, voluntary, without consideration, accepted, are the heart of every valid gift deed.

Both movable and immovable property can be gifted. Immovable property means land, a plot, a house, a flat, a shop. Movable property means things like jewellery, shares, a vehicle or money in a bank account. The rules in this guide focus on immovable property, since that is where registration and stamp duty come in.

A few things cannot be gifted:

If you are unsure whether something counts as movable or immovable, the page on movable and immovable property explains the difference.

The donor must be:

A minor cannot be a donor. A minor can be a donee, but a parent or guardian must accept the gift on the child's behalf.

The donee can be anyone: a family member, a friend, a trust, even a stranger. But who the donee is changes two things a great deal. It changes the stamp duty, and it changes the income tax. We will get to both.

Gift deed rules under Indian law are short but strict. A gift of immovable property is valid only when all of these are true:

Miss any one of these and the gift can fail. The most common mistake is skipping registration. People sometimes write a gift deed on stamp paper, get it notarised, and think the job is done. It is not. A gift deed without registration is not valid for immovable property. The property stays with the donor, and after the donor's death it goes to the legal heirs as if the gift never happened.

Acceptance is the second thing people forget. The donee must accept the gift while the donor is alive. Signing the deed as donee, taking possession, or paying property tax in the new name all count as acceptance.

There is no fixed government form. A gift deed format in India is prepared by a lawyer or a deed writer, but every proper draft carries the same parts:

If you are gifting a flat in Jaipur, the description should match the mother deed and earlier chain of documents exactly. A mismatch in the flat number, floor or area is the easiest way to invite a challenge later.

Registration in Rajasthan runs through the epanjiyan portal and the Sub-Registrar office. Here is how it goes.

Step 1: Get the draft ready. A lawyer or licensed deed writer prepares the gift deed on the correct stamp paper.

Step 2: Collect documents. You will need:

Step 3: Pay stamp duty and fees online. Rajasthan calculates duty on the DLC rate of the property, not on any figure you write in the deed. Payment is made through the epanjiyan portal.

Step 4: Book an appointment. Choose the Sub-Registrar office for the area where the property is located. For property registration in Rajasthan, the office is decided by property location, not where the parties live.

Step 5: Appear in person. Donor, donee and both witnesses must be present. Photographs and thumb impressions are taken. The Sub-Registrar checks identity and documents.

Step 6: Collect the registered deed. Once registered, the deed carries a registration number and the office seal. This is the document the donee keeps for life.

Step 7: Apply for mutation. Registration transfers ownership. Mutation of property puts the donee's name in the municipal and JDA records. Do this within a few weeks. Without mutation, tax bills and utility records stay in the donor's name.

The whole process, from draft to registered deed, usually takes one to two weeks if documents are in order.

This is where a gift deed differs most from a sale, and where Rajasthan is kinder than many states.

For a sale deed, the state charges 6 percent stamp duty for a male buyer and 5 percent for a female buyer, plus a 20 percent labour cess on the duty, plus 1 percent registration fee. A gift deed between close family members attracts far less.

As the rules stood at the time of writing:

Registration fee of 1 percent applies in most cases.

Take an example. A father gifts a 3 BHK flat in Jaipur with a DLC value of 60 lakh to his son. Stamp duty is 2.5 percent, which is 1.5 lakh, plus 20 percent cess on that, which is 30,000, plus 1 percent registration, which is 60,000. Total: about 2.4 lakh. The same flat sold to the son would cost close to 5 lakh in duty and fees. Gifted to his daughter, the stamp duty could be nil.

These concessions change by notification. Confirm the current rate at the Sub-Registrar office or on the epanjiyan portal before you pay. The page on stamp duty and registration charges in Rajasthan covers the base rates in more detail.

Stamp duty is one cost. Income tax is the other, and it depends entirely on who the donee is.

Fully exempt in the donee's hands, whatever the value. The Income Tax Act defines "relative" to include spouse, parents, children, siblings, siblings of spouse, siblings of parents, and the spouse of any of these. Gifts between such people carry no tax.

If the stamp duty value of the property exceeds 50,000 rupees, the entire value is taxed as income of the donee under Section 56(2)(x). A friend gifting you a flat worth 40 lakh means 40 lakh added to your taxable income that year.

Capital gains apply. The cost of acquisition is what the original donor paid, not the value on the date of gift. The holding period also carries over from the donor. So if your father bought the flat in 2005 for 20 lakh and gifted it to you in 2024, and you sell it in 2026 for 90 lakh, your gain is calculated from 20 lakh and treated as long-term.

The 1 percent TDS that applies on property purchases above 50 lakh does not apply to gifts, since there is no payment. The page on TDS on purchase of property explains when it does apply.

Families often pick the wrong instrument because all four sound similar. A short comparison:

Gift deed vs will is the question most parents ask. A gift deed transfers now and cannot be easily undone, so the parent loses control. A will transfers only after death and can be changed as often as the parent wishes, but it can be contested by other heirs and takes time to act on. Many families use both: a gift deed for one property they are sure about, and a will for the rest.

A relinquishment deed is different again. It is used when one co-owner gives up their share in favour of another co-owner, usually in inherited property. You cannot use it to transfer property to someone who is not already a co-owner. For that, a gift deed is the right tool. The page on types of property deeds walks through all of these, including the deed of conveyance used by builders.

Once registered, a gift deed is final. The donor cannot change their mind next year and take the property back. Courts allow cancellation only on narrow grounds:

That last point is worth knowing. A conditional gift deed is allowed. A parent can gift a house to a child on the condition that the parent lives there for life. If the child throws the parent out, the deed can be revoked. Senior citizens have specific protection under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act for exactly this situation.

Write conditions into the deed itself. A verbal promise made at the time of signing has no value in court.

An NRI can gift property in India to a resident relative. An NRI can also receive property in India as a gift from a resident relative. In both cases, the same registration and stamp duty rules apply, and the NRI usually signs through a power of attorney for NRIs if they cannot travel.

One restriction: agricultural land, farmhouses and plantation property cannot be gifted to an NRI. Residential and commercial property can. If you are an NRI planning to hold apartments in Jaipur through a gift from family, the page on NRI buying property in Jaipur covers the other rules you will meet.

Buyers of ready to move flats in Jaipur sometimes find that the seller got the flat through a gift deed rather than a purchase. This is not a red flag by itself, but it calls for three checks:

Ask for the full chain: the mother deed, the gift deed, the mutation record and a fresh encumbrance certificate. The page on legal issues before buying property lists the other checks that apply to every purchase, whether from a builder or an individual.

Rajasthan gives a full or near-full stamp duty exemption here, and income tax treats spouses as relatives. This makes a gift deed the cheapest way to put a home on wife's name. One caution: rental income from that property will still be taxed in the husband's hands under clubbing rules.

If the flat sits on leasehold land, such as some JDA allotments, the lease terms may require the lessor's permission before any transfer, gift included. Check the allotment letter first. The difference is explained on the freehold vs leasehold page.

A gift deed moves property from one person to another for free, with immediate effect, and cannot be easily reversed. It must be written, signed by the donor and two witnesses, accepted by the donee, and registered. In Rajasthan, gifts to close family attract little or no stamp duty, and gifts from relatives carry no income tax. It is the cleanest way to hand over a flat to a child or spouse during your lifetime, as long as you are certain you will not want it back. For terms used in this guide, see the real estate terms page.