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Property: Purchase

Buying an under-construction flat as an NRI: the TDS, the GST and the clock

You are booking a flat that is still being built and paying in instalments, and you are unsure what to deduct, what GST you pay, and when your holding period starts.

You are buying a flat from a builder that is still under construction, so you pay in instalments over two or three years rather than one lump at registration. Three things confuse NRI buyers here: whether you must deduct tax on each instalment, the GST the builder adds while the flat is unfinished, and when your ownership clock starts for a future sale. Each has a clear answer, and getting the TDS right on every instalment matters, because the duty and the exposure for a wrong deduction sit on you, the buyer.
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Last reviewed: 26 July 20268 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

When you buy a flat worth ₹50 lakh or more from a resident builder, you deduct 1% TDS on every instalment you pay under Section 194-IA, file a separate Form 26QB for each instalment, and you do not need a TAN. The builder adds GST while the flat is under construction, 5% for a normal flat or 1% for an affordable one, both without input credit, and nil GST once the flat is ready with a completion certificate. Your holding period, which decides long-term versus short-term gain on a later sale, starts from the date of your allotment letter, not possession or registration.

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Related situations

You deduct 1% on every instalment

When the flat is worth ₹50 lakh or more, you as the buyer must deduct 1% TDS on the payment to a resident builder under Section 194-IA, and the amount you deduct on is the price or the stamp-duty value, whichever is higher. You do not need a TAN for this; you use your PAN, file a Form 26QB, the challan-cum-statement, within 30 days of the end of the month of payment, and give the builder a Form 16B.

With an under-construction flat paid in instalments, this is not a one-time deduction. Once the total agreement value is ₹50 lakh or more, the 1% is deducted on each instalment you pay, including the booking amount, and a separate Form 26QB is filed for each one. The common slip is to confuse the total value with the instalment value in the form's fields, which triggers a notice, so the total consideration goes in the total-value field and the instalment in the amount-paid field. Under the Income-tax Act 2025 the withholding provisions are consolidated, but the buyer's 1% duty on the payment is unchanged.

The GST while it is under construction

A flat that is still being built carries GST, and a completed one does not. While the flat is under construction, the builder charges GST at 5% for a normal flat, or 1% for an affordable one, in both cases without input tax credit, so it is a straight cost added to your instalments. Affordable here means a flat up to ₹45 lakh and within a set carpet area.

Once the building is complete and has its completion or occupation certificate, a sale is treated as a ready property and carries no GST at all. So the same flat bought a few months later, after completion, would have no GST on it. You do not file any GST yourself; the builder is the one who collects and pays it. The practical point is that on an under-construction booking, GST is a real 1% to 5% on top of the price that a ready-flat buyer does not pay, worth factoring into which you buy.

When your holding period starts

This one saves real tax on a later sale. For an under-construction flat, your holding period, which decides whether a future sale is a long-term gain, taxed at the lower 12.5% rate after two years, or a short-term gain taxed at slab rates, is counted from the date of your allotment letter, not from possession or registration.

The position is settled: the Bombay High Court in PCIT v Vembu Vaidyanathan held that the allottee gets a right to the flat on the allotment letter, the instalments are only a follow-up, and possession is a formality, and the Supreme Court declined to interfere. It rests on old CBDT circulars treating an allotment as acquisition. The catch is that the allotment must be genuine and not later cancelled, so keep the allotment letter and the full payment trail. For an NRI who books early and sells a few years later, counting from allotment can be the difference between the 12.5% long-term rate and a much higher short-term one.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

  1. 1

    We set up the instalment TDS

    We work the 1% on each instalment once the flat crosses ₹50 lakh, file a Form 26QB per payment on time, and fill the total-value and instalment fields correctly so you avoid a notice.

  2. 2

    We check the GST you are charged

    We confirm the builder is charging the right GST for an under-construction flat, and that a completed one carries none, so you are not overpaying.

  3. 3

    We fix your holding-period date

    We date your acquisition from the allotment letter and keep the paper trail, so a future sale gets the long-term rate wherever it is due.

  4. 4

    We keep the records for the future sale

    We hold the allotment, instalment and TDS records together, so the cost base and holding period are clean when you eventually sell.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

  • The allotment letter and the builder agreement
  • The instalment payment schedule and receipts
  • The builder's PAN and GST invoices
  • Your PAN and residency details

Your destination country can change the details

Requirements differ from one consulate, university and visa route to the next, how recent the figures must be, how long funds must have been held, and which certificates are mandatory. We assemble the documents around the exact checklist you're applying under. To see how India's tax treaty with your country of residence affects related filings, set your country below or compare all 46 countries.

References on this page

  • Section 194-IA: 1% TDS by the buyer on property of ₹50 lakh or more, no TAN, Form 26QB
  • The 1% applies to each instalment once the total agreement value crosses ₹50 lakh
  • GST: 5% (or 1% affordable) without input credit while under construction; nil once completed with a certificate
  • Holding period runs from the allotment-letter date (PCIT v Vembu Vaidyanathan, Bombay High Court)

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

On every instalment. Once the flat's total agreement value is ₹50 lakh or more, you deduct 1% under Section 194-IA on each instalment you pay to the resident builder, including the booking amount, and file a separate Form 26QB for each. No TAN is needed.

Yes, while it is under construction: 5% for a normal flat or 1% for an affordable one, both without input credit, added by the builder to your instalments. A completed flat with a completion certificate carries no GST. You do not file the GST yourself, the builder collects it.

From the date of your allotment letter, not possession or registration. The Bombay High Court in Vembu Vaidyanathan settled this, and the Supreme Court declined to interfere. So keep the allotment letter, as it can move a later sale into the lower long-term rate.

Yours, as the buyer. You deduct the 1%, file the Form 26QB and issue the Form 16B. If you fail to deduct or deposit, the exposure is on you, so it is worth setting up correctly on the first instalment.

The exceptions that change the answer

Where the general rule stops applying to you

Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.

TDS rate when buying property from an NRI

Right now: 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on LTCG

Where it works differently

The gain is short-term
TDS is at the applicable slab rate, effectively 30% plus surcharge and cess for most NRI sellers.
s.195 requires deduction at 'rates in force' for the actual character of the income.
No lower-deduction certificate is obtained
TDS applies to the ENTIRE SALE CONSIDERATION, not to the gain.
s.195 operates on the sum paid unless the AO determines otherwise. This is the whole commercial case for Form 13 / Form 128.
There are joint NRI sellers
TDS is deducted separately against each seller's PAN in their ownership proportion.
Rule 37BA. Deducting entirely against one PAN strands the other's credit.
The buyer deducts 1% under s.194-IA
Wrong section. The buyer becomes an assessee-in-default under s.201 for the shortfall plus 1% per month interest and penalty under s.271C.
s.194-IA applies only where the seller is a RESIDENT.

Commonly got wrong

  • TDS on property purchase is 1% over Rs 50 lakh. That is s.194-IA, for RESIDENT sellers only. For a non-resident seller it is s.195 at the full capital-gains rate, with no threshold.1% applies only if the seller is a resident. NRI seller means s.195 at 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on the whole consideration unless a certificate is obtained.
  • The buyer files Form 26QB. 26QB (now Form 141) is for s.194-IA. An NRI-seller purchase needs a TAN and Form 27Q (now Form 144).Buying from an NRI, you need a TAN, you deduct under section 195, and you file Form 27Q (Form 144 from 1 April 2026). Form 26QB is only for resident sellers.

GST on the purchase of an under-construction home

Right now: 1% on affordable housing and 5% on other residential, both WITHOUT input tax credit; a completed property with a completion certificate has no GST at all

Where it works differently

An NRI books an under-construction flat but pays the full price after the completion certificate is issued
No GST applies. GST only bites on amounts paid before completion.
A sale of completed property is not a supply of construction service under Schedule III.
Testing the affordable-housing rate
The flat must be BOTH within Rs 45 lakh in value AND within the carpet-area limit (60 sqm in metros, 90 sqm elsewhere).
Both conditions are cumulative under Notification 3/2019-CTR.

Commonly got wrong

  • The buyer can claim input tax credit against the 1% or 5% GST. The concessional 1% and 5% rates are explicitly ITC-forgone.There is no input tax credit on the 1% or 5% rate; it cannot be set off against anything.

s.194-IA: TDS on property purchase from a RESIDENT

Right now: 1% where consideration or stamp-duty value is Rs 50 lakh or more

Where it works differently

The seller is a non-resident
s.194-IA does not apply at all. Use s.195.
The section is expressly limited to a resident transferor.

Commonly got wrong

  • 1% TDS applies to all property sales over Rs 50 lakh. Resident sellers only.Qualify by the seller's residence every time.

Related

If this matched your situation, these go further

Buying property in India as an NRI, what FEMA allows and which TDS section appliesNRI buyer, resident seller: you deduct 1%, not Section 195Buying an Indian property jointly with a resident, and who really owns itNRI ITR filing (we file for you)Form 13 lower-TDS certificate (property sale)DTAA TDS recoveryCapital gains calculatorRental income TDS calculator

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