Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
What a lower TDS certificate actually does
By default, the buyer must deduct TDS on your whole sale value under Section 195, even if your taxable gain is small. A certificate under Section 197 tells the buyer to deduct only on your actual capital gain — so far less of your money is blocked. On a high-value flat with a modest gain, this can unlock several lakh rupees you would otherwise wait months to recover as a refund.
How to apply — Form 13 on TRACES
The application is Form 13, filed online through the income-tax TRACES portal under a faceless process:
- Register on TRACES with your PAN.
- File Form 13 with the buyer’s PAN and TAN, the sale value, your cost, and a computation of the expected gain.
- The jurisdictional TDS Assessing Officer reviews it and issues a certificate specifying the lower rate.
The certificate is transaction-specific and buyer-specific — if your buyer changes, you must file a fresh Form 13. Allow a few weeks for processing and apply well before you register the sale — timelines vary by office, so confirm the current position.
When it helps the most
A lower certificate makes the biggest difference when the sale value is high but the real gain is small, or when you are reinvesting the gain. If you are buying another house or capital-gains bonds, you may even qualify for a nil certificate using Section 54/54EC. Model the numbers with our NRI property TDS calculator, and our NRI property sale & repatriation service handles the Form 13 filing end to end.