- Every co-owner must consent. One holdout stops the sale, whatever their share size.
- TDS is calculated and deposited separately for each seller, against each seller's PAN.
- A resident co-owner and an NRI co-owner are taxed under completely different rules in the same sale.
- Each NRI co-owner needs their own lower TDS certificate. One certificate does not cover the others.
- Sale proceeds must reach each owner in proportion to their share, or you create a gift-tax problem.
Consent is not optional, and share size does not change that
A co-owner holding five per cent has the same power to block a sale as one holding ninety-five. A sale deed transfers the whole property, so every person whose name is on the title must execute it. There is no majority rule and no mechanism to force a sale through agreement alone.
Where a co-owner genuinely will not cooperate, the remaining owners have two routes. They can sell only their own undivided share, which is legally valid but almost impossible to find a buyer for at a fair price. Or they can file a partition suit and ask the court to divide the property or order its sale. Partition is the realistic route, and it is slow, so it is worth exhausting negotiation first.
Being named in a Will, being an heir, or having paid for part of the property does not make you a registered co-owner. Only the sale deed and the mutated revenue record decide that. Pull both before you plan anything around your share.
TDS is per seller, not per property
This is the single biggest cause of blocked joint sales. The buyer does not deduct one lump of TDS on the sale price. They must deduct separately from each seller's share, at the rate that applies to that seller, and deposit it against that seller's PAN.
The rate depends entirely on residential status. A resident seller attracts a small percentage of the sale consideration. An NRI seller attracts TDS at capital gains rates under Section 393(2), formerly Section 195, which is a different mechanism altogether and a far larger sum.
- TDS deducted as a small percentage of their share of the sale price
- Buyer files the resident TDS challan
- No TAN required from the buyer for this leg
- Refund claimed through the normal ITR
- TDS at capital gains rates on their share of the consideration
- Buyer must obtain a TAN before depositing
- Lower or nil deduction certificate available in advance
- Proceeds credited to an NRO account, repatriation documented separately
Buyers routinely deduct resident-rate TDS on the whole sale because one of the sellers lives in India. When the department later reconciles this, the shortfall plus interest is recovered from the buyer, and the sale can be held up while it is corrected. Establish every seller's residential status in writing before the agreement to sell is drafted.
Each NRI co-owner needs their own lower TDS certificate
Because TDS is computed seller by seller, the relief from it is also granted seller by seller. Form 128, formerly Form 13, is filed by an individual seller for their own share. Two NRI siblings selling a flat together file two applications and receive two certificates, each specifying a rate for that person's portion.
This matters for the calendar. The applications can be filed in parallel, but they are assessed individually, and one being queried does not pause the other. If one certificate lands and the other does not, the buyer must deduct at full rate from the seller who has no certificate. Plan the application well ahead of the agreed completion date rather than alongside it.
Skip the third step and the buyer must deduct at the full rate, locking up cash for a year or more.
The money must follow the shares
It is tempting to have the buyer pay the whole amount to one co-owner, usually the one living in India, and settle up privately afterwards. Do not do this. Each owner should receive their share directly from the buyer, into their own account, in the proportion recorded on the title.
Routing everything through one owner creates two problems. The receiving owner appears to have received income that is not theirs, and the later transfer to the others can be treated as a gift rather than a settlement, with its own tax consequences. For NRI owners the proceeds should reach an NRO account, from which repatriation is documented in the normal way.
Adding a spouse's name to a bank account, or funding a purchase from a joint account, does not create co-ownership. Equally, a spouse named on the title is a full co-owner even if they contributed nothing. The title is what governs.
Capital gains are computed individually too
Each co-owner computes gains on their own share, using their own share of the original cost and their own holding period. This is usually good news. Exemptions are claimed individually, which means each owner can reinvest their own portion under the route that suits them. One might buy a replacement house, another might use capital gains bonds, a third might simply pay the tax.
Where the property was inherited, each heir's holding period generally includes the period for which the original owner held it, which is what usually makes an inherited sale long term even when the heirs received it recently.
When one co-owner cannot travel
Joint sales fail more often on logistics than on law. Getting three people in a sub-registrar's office on the same morning, when they live in three countries, is the hard part. A Power of Attorney solves it, but each non-attending owner needs their own, executed before the Indian consulate where they live, apostilled or attested as required, and adjudicated in India before it will be accepted.
Start these early. A POA that is drafted correctly but not adjudicated is refused at the counter, and that discovery on registration day costs weeks.
Can one co-owner sell a jointly owned property in India?
Not the whole property. Every registered co-owner must consent and execute the sale deed, regardless of the size of their share. A single owner may sell only their own undivided share, which is legally valid but very difficult to sell at a fair price. Where a co-owner refuses, the remaining owners can file a partition suit to have the property divided or sold.
Is TDS deducted separately for each owner in a joint property sale?
Yes. The buyer must deduct from each seller's share at the rate applicable to that seller and deposit it against that seller's PAN. A resident co-owner and an NRI co-owner in the same sale are deducted under different provisions at very different rates, so the buyer files separate challans for each.
Do both NRI co-owners need a separate lower TDS certificate?
Yes. Form 128, formerly Form 13, is granted to an individual seller for their own share of the transaction. Two NRI co-owners must file two applications and will receive two certificates. One owner's certificate gives the other no relief.
Can the buyer pay everything to one co-owner?
They should not. Each owner should be paid their share directly, in proportion to their holding on the title. Routing the full amount through one owner makes it look like income belonging to that person, and the later settlement to the others can be treated as a gift with its own tax consequences.
How is capital gains tax calculated when a property is jointly owned?
Each co-owner computes gains on their own share, using their proportionate share of the original cost and their own holding period, and claims exemptions individually. That means each owner can choose a different reinvestment route, or none at all.
What if one co-owner cannot come to India for registration?
They can appoint an attorney through a Power of Attorney executed before the Indian consulate in their country of residence, apostilled or attested as required, and adjudicated in India. Each absent owner needs their own POA; one document cannot cover several sellers.
This article is for general information only and reflects rules current as of 2026. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice — rules, rates and procedures can change, so please confirm the current position with a qualified professional before acting.