Chennai property tax made easy

How to pay property tax online in Chennai

Anybody who owns property, whether it is a commercial building, house or land has to pay a property tax or house tax to the government. This is a local tax and not to be confused with the income tax which is paid to the central or federal government, or service tax which is paid on services or goods.

Property tax is levied by the state government and is delegated to the local bodies such as the city corporations or municipalities to specify the valuation method, the levy band and the procedure for collection. This tax has to be paid annually by the owner of the property. The tax base is calculated on the annual rental value (ARV) or on a rating based on the locality.

Reasonable letting value

The Chennai Corporation uses the concept of reasonable letting value (RLV) to calculate the ARV and the half yearly property tax, under Section 100 of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act 1919. This is relevant to all properties in Chennai. The RLV is also known as the monthly rental value. There are different rates for commercial and residential properties.

The factors in the assessment of property tax

a) Plinth area b) The basic rate of the locality c) Building use- residential or commercial d) Owner occupied or rented e) Building age

Locations and Rates

The Chennai Corporation in 1993-94 divided the city into 172 residential locations and 274 non residential locations. So residential locations and non residential locations have different rates. The basic rate ranges from a minimum of INR 0.60 per sq ft to INR 2.40 per sq ft for residential and INR 4 per sq ft to INR 12 per sq ft for non residential locations.

How to calculate property tax

While calculating property tax, the first thing to do is to arrive at the annual value of the property. This can be done by calculating the monthly rental value. This is the formula according to the Chennai Corporation website: – Plinth Area x Basic Rate per sq ft = Monthly rental value. The second step is to obtain the annual rental value. This can be obtained thus: – Monthly rental value x12 minus 10%.

Documents required

The documents which should be included are the title deed with approved plan copy and a copy of the last paid tax receipt. In the case of leased land, a no objection certificate from the owner of the land for assessment should be enclosed.

Owner Rebate, Exemptions and others

Properties which are not rented and occupied by the owner will be given a rebate. There is also a rebate on the age of the building.

Properties owned by the Central Government are exempt from paying property tax. Buildings occupied by foreign missions also enjoy a tax exemption. There are different assessment slabs for special type of buildings such as (a) nursing home/hospital (b) star hotel/lodges (c) cinema theatre (d) kalyana mandapam

Property tax is also accompanied by some service taxes such as water tax, drainage tax and sanitation or conservancy tax.

How to make an online payment

Chennai makes paying property tax a breeze with its online facility. You can go online and find out important details such as your zone, division, property tax status, and bill number before you pay the final payment. You can also walk into some of the banks which are registered with the Chennai Municipal Corporation and make the payment.

The site you have to log on to is: http://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/online-civic-services/editPropertytaxpayment.do?do=getNewCombo. There are 15 zones in Chennai so you have to select the right zone number and also the division code.

To find your zone and division log on to: http://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/findzone/frm_findzone.jsp. The next step will take you to the bank’s page, where you can select the right bank and make the payment.

The page http://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/online-civic-services/ptbillSearch.do?do=getOldLoad will take you to the new bill number.

Most importantly, don’t forget to get the receipt online too.

Nina Varghese for IndiaProperty.com

Image: By VtTN (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By: indiaproperty.com