Property Tax in India

Property owner pays tax to the government for a certain property/ land which are known as property tax. This tax could be paid either to Municipal Corporation or the state government depending on government policies. The word "property" here means any type of tangible real estate owned by an individual including office buildings, rented premises to third parties and houses

Types of property

In order to estimate/ calculate tax based on specific criteria by the government of India, property has been classified in following four categories:

• Land- to be considered in basic form without construction
• Improved land- includes human creations like buildings
• Personal property- includes manmade objects likes buses and cars
• Intangible property- can't be touched or seen physically, like goodwill

Present state of property tax:

In India, one needs to pay tax only for first two categories mentioned above, i.e. Land and Improvements on land. On the behalf of the government, municipality assesses/ appraises the monetary value of the property and collects tax monthly, quarterly, semi annually or annually. The tax amount hence collected can be utilized in various development projects. The rate of such tax varies from location to location.

How to pay property tax online:

• One just needs to log on to the official website of concerned municipality and choose 'property tax' and proceed for payment of tax.
• Then you need to choose either from 4 or form 5, depending upon the category under which the property falls. After that, choose the assessment year for which you need to pay tax. Corporations also give option to clear backlogs of property tax, if any.
• After this you need to provide specific details about the property like identification number, title of the property, type, zone, etc.
• Now all you need to do is paying the tax online via net banking or debit/ credit card and keep the challan/acknowledgement for own reference.