Why Are Mumbai Residents Seeing a Spike in Property Taxes Despite No Rate Hike?

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) indicated that there has been no increase in property tax rates for the 2025–2026 fiscal year. BMC stated that rather than a change in tax rates, the increased tax bills that many people have received are the result of updated ready reckoner rates. The minimal values that the state government assigns to properties in various regions are known as ready reckoner rates, or guideline values. The tax and registration fee calculations are based on this. Each year, the rates undergo a review and change. As per the new ready reckoner rates for 2025–2026, BMC clarified that while property tax rates have not changed, rising land prices have resulted in increased bills. For many property owners in Mumbai, the tax burden has grown as a result of this change in base property prices.

According to officials, the Maharashtra government set the updated ready reckoner rates, which are applied consistently for stamp duty and tax purposes. Residents are encouraged to review the updated valuation figures or contact the local ward office for clarification if they have observed a significant increase in their property tax demands.

After Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde noted that the revised property tax would place an additional burden on residents of cities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also announced in a release that it was stopping the implementation of solid waste management fees. It noted that apartments under 500 square feet are already free from property taxes.

The BMC explained, according to section 154(1)(c) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the capital value of properties must be updated every five years, which is why the most recent property tax bills increased by an average of 15.89 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 2020 update, even though the most recent revision was completed in 2015. The ready reckoner rates were revised by the Maharashtra Government on March 31, 2025.

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The release stated that ten years have passed since the last modification. According to a legal stipulation, these payments will be automatically updated in light of the ready reckoner's modifications for the fiscal year 2025–2026.

BMC collects property tax from more than nine lakh property owners in Mumbai and its suburbs annually.

Leaders of political parties have voiced their disapproval of the most recent increase in property taxes. "While common Mumbaikars continue to pay diligently, 481 big defaulters owe Rs 11,000 crore with no serious recovery in sight. Why burden sincere citizens?" asks Ravi Raja, a BJP leader and former BMC opposition leader, in a post on X. The burden of inefficiency cannot be passed on to law-abiding citizens, he added.