Real Estate Transfer Taxes Explained: Who Pays in Each State

Transfer taxes are one of the closing costs that surprise people most — and one of the topics that shows up on the real estate exam in the form of closing-statement and proration questions. The basic idea is simple: when real property changes hands, many states (and some counties and cities) charge a tax based on the sale price. The details — the rate, who pays it, and what it's called — vary enormously.

This guide explains how transfer taxes work, what you need to know for the exam, and how each state plus DC handles them, using our licensing data verified October 23, 2026.

Key takeaways

A transfer tax is charged when ownership of real property is transferred, usually as a rate per $500 or $1,000 of the sale price, or as a percentage.

In our data, 15 states have no state-level transfer tax (in a few, a single locality still charges one).

The seller pays in most states that tax transfers, but the buyer pays in some (Tennessee, Vermont, Colorado's small fee), the cost is split in others, and in many places who pays is negotiable in the purchase contract.

Local add-ons — county, city, and special district taxes — can be bigger than the state tax. Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and many Washington and Colorado towns are examples.

Rates change. Several states changed theirs in 2025–2026. Always confirm the current rate before closing.

What a transfer tax is (and what it isn't)

A transfer tax goes by many names: realty transfer fee, deed tax, documentary stamp tax, conveyance tax, excise tax on conveyances, or real estate excise tax (REET). They all do roughly the same thing: tax the transfer of title, usually at recording.

What it isn't:

Not property tax. Property tax is charged every year on ownership. Transfer tax is charged once, when the property is transferred.
Not a recording fee. Recording fees are flat charges for recording a document. Some states with no transfer tax still charge recording fees.
Not always the same as a mortgage or recordation tax. Some states — Virginia, DC, and Tennessee, for example — also charge a separate tax on recording the deed or mortgage, often paid by the buyer.

How to calculate a transfer tax

Most states quote the rate per $500 or per $1,000 of consideration (the sale price). The math is a classic exam setup:

Divide the sale price by the rate unit ($500 or $1,000).
Round up if the state taxes each "fraction thereof" (common wording — check the question).
Multiply by the rate.

Example: A home sells for $400,000 in a state with a rate of $1.00 per $500.

$400,000 ÷ $500 = 800 units
800 × $1.00 = $800 in transfer tax

The same sale in Georgia, at $1.00 per $1,000 (Georgia DOR), would be $400. In Michigan, the combined state and county rate of $8.60 per $1,000 (Alger County Register of Deeds) would make it $3,440.

Tiered and graduated rates

Several states use rates that rise with the price:

Marginal tiers apply each rate only to the portion of the price within that bracket, like income tax. Washington's REET (1.10% up to $525,000, then 1.28%, 2.75%, and 3.00% on higher portions, per the Washington DOR) and Connecticut's conveyance tax (CT DRS) work this way.
Whole-price tiers apply a single rate to the entire price once it crosses a threshold. Hawaii's conveyance tax applies the rate to the whole price, and DC applies 1.45% to the entire amount once a residential sale reaches $400,000 (DC OTR).

New Jersey combines both ideas: a tiered Realty Transfer Fee plus a graduated percent fee on sales over $1 million, which as of July 10, 2025 is legally imposed on the seller rather than the buyer (NJ Division of Taxation). Our data estimates the base fee on a $500,000 New Jersey sale at about $4,175.

Who pays: statute vs. custom vs. contract

There are three layers to "who pays":

By statute. Some laws name the payer. North Carolina's statute says the transferor must pay (G.S. 105-228.30); Tennessee makes the grantee liable (TN DOR manual); Maine splits it equally between grantor and grantee (36 MRSA 4641-A); New Hampshire charges each party half (NH DRA).
By custom. In many states the statute is silent or makes both parties liable, and local custom fills the gap. Pennsylvania and Delaware are customarily split 50/50; in Florida and Oklahoma the seller customarily pays.
By contract. Even where custom is strong, the buyer and seller can often agree to something else in the purchase agreement. Where a statute names the payer, the government will still look to that party if the tax goes unpaid.

For the exam, remember that transfer tax is typically a debit to the seller on a closing statement unless the question says otherwise — but read every question for the state and the contract terms it gives you.

Transfer taxes by state

The table below summarizes our licensing data, verified October 23, 2026. "Approx. rate per $1,000" is the base state rate (plus required county portions where noted); it does not include optional or city-level taxes. Click a state for its exam guide.

| State | Approx. rate per $1,000 | Who typically pays | Notes | Source | |---|---|---|---|---| | Alabama | $1.00 | Negotiable | Deed tax $0.50 per $500 | source | | Alaska | None | — | No state transfer tax | source | | Arizona | None | — | Barred by state constitution; $2 recorder fee | source | | Arkansas | $3.30 | Negotiable | $3.30 per $1,000; no county add-on | source | | California | $1.10 | Varies by local custom | County rate; many charter cities add their own | source | | Colorado | $0.10 | Buyer | State documentary fee; some towns levy local taxes | source | | Connecticut | $7.50–$22.50 (state, marginal) | Seller | Tiered 0.75%/1.25%/2.25% plus municipal 0.25%–0.5% | source | | Delaware | Up to $40.00 | Customarily split 50/50 | 2.5% state + up to 1.5% local | source | | District of Columbia | $11.00–$14.50 | Seller (transfer); buyer (recordation, by custom) | 1.1% under $400K, 1.45% at $400K+; separate recordation tax | source | | Florida | $7.00 | Seller (by custom) | Doc stamps $0.70 per $100; Miami-Dade differs | source | | Georgia | $1.00 | Seller | $1 per $1,000; no county add-on | source | | Hawaii | $1.00–$10.00+ | Seller | Graduated by price; higher schedule for some buyers | source | | Idaho | None | — | No state or local transfer tax | source | | Illinois | $1.50 | Seller | State + county; home-rule cities add (e.g., Chicago) | source | | Indiana | None | — | Sales disclosure form filed with county | source | | Iowa | $1.60 | Seller (by custom) | First $500 exempt | source | | Kansas | None | — | No state or local transfer tax | source | | Kentucky | $1.00 | Seller | $0.50 per $500 | source | | Louisiana | None statewide | — | Orleans Parish charges a flat fee | source | | Maine | $4.40 | Split equally by statute | Extra $3.80 per $500 above $1M | source | | Maryland | $5.00 (state) | Varies; seller pays all for first-time buyers | State 0.5% plus county transfer and recordation taxes | source | | Massachusetts | $4.56 | Seller | Barnstable County $3.42; island land bank fees extra | source | | Michigan | $8.60 | Seller | State $7.50 + county $1.10 | source | | Minnesota | $3.30 | Seller (by custom) | 0.34% in Hennepin and Ramsey | source | | Mississippi | None | — | Recording fees only | source | | Missouri | None | — | Barred by state constitution | source | | Montana | None | — | Barred by state constitution | source | | Nebraska | $3.32 | Seller | Rate effective 7/18/2026 (was $2.25) | source | | Nevada | $3.90 | Negotiable | Clark County $5.10; Washoe/Churchill $4.10 | source | | New Hampshire | $15.00 total | Buyer and seller each pay half | $0.75 per $100 charged to each party | source | | New Jersey | ~$8.35 on a $500K sale | Seller | Tiered Realty Transfer Fee plus graduated fee over $1M | source | | New Mexico | None | — | No state or local transfer tax | source | | New York | $4.00 | Seller | NYC and some localities add taxes; NYC mansion tax paid by buyer | source | | North Carolina | $2.00 | Seller | A few counties add local taxes | source | | North Dakota | None | — | No state or local transfer tax | source | | Ohio | $1.00–$4.00 | Seller | 1 mill state + up to 3 mills county | source | | Oklahoma | $1.50 | Negotiable (seller by custom) | $0.75 per $500 | source | | Oregon | None | — | Barred statewide; Washington County $1 per $1,000 grandfathered | source | | Pennsylvania | ~$20.00 | Customarily split 50/50 | 1% state + typically 1% local; Philadelphia higher | source | | Rhode Island | $7.50 | Seller | Extra tier above $800K; rate raised 10/1/2025 | source | | South Carolina | $3.70 | Seller | State $1.30 + county $0.55 per $500 | source | | South Dakota | $1.00 | Seller | $0.50 per $500 | source | | Tennessee | $3.70 | Buyer | $0.37 per $100; separate mortgage tax | source | | Texas | None | — | No state or local transfer tax | source | | Utah | None | — | Recording fee only | source | | Vermont | Varies by use | Buyer | 0.5% on first $200K of a principal residence, 1.47% above; higher for other property | source | | Virginia | $1.00 (grantor tax) | Seller (grantor tax); buyer (recordation tax) | Buyer also pays state and local recordation tax | source | | Washington | $11.00–$30.00 (state, marginal) | Seller | Graduated REET plus local 0.25%–0.50% | source | | West Virginia | $3.30+ | Seller | State $2.20 + county $1.10 or more | source | | Wisconsin | $3.00 | Seller | $3 per $1,000 | source | | Wyoming | None | — | Recording fees only | source |

Local add-ons can change the picture

The state rate is only part of the story. A few examples from our data:

Illinois: the state and county charge a combined $1.50 per $1,000, but home-rule cities can add their own. Chicago adds $3.75 per $500 paid by the buyer plus a $1.50 per $500 CTA portion paid by the seller (35 ILCS 200/31-10).
New York: on top of the state's $4 per $1,000, New York City levies its own transfer tax and a buyer-paid mansion tax on residential sales of $1 million or more (NY Tax Department).
Pennsylvania: the 1% state tax is usually matched by about 1% in local taxes, but Philadelphia's local rate is 3.578% as of July 1, 2025, for roughly 4.578% total (PA Department of Revenue).
Colorado: there's no state transfer tax beyond a tiny documentary fee, but some home-rule municipalities, including several ski towns, levy local taxes of roughly 0.5% to 3%.
California: the county rate is $1.10 per $1,000, but many charter cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland, add their own tiered rates (R&T Code 11911).

Exemptions to know about

Most states exempt certain transfers, such as transfers between spouses, transfers to a government entity, gifts with no consideration, and some transfers into trusts. Several states also offer credits or reduced rates: Maryland halves the state rate for first-time Maryland homebuyers (with the seller paying it), Delaware offers a first-time homebuyer credit, and New Jersey has reduced rates for qualifying senior, disabled, and low-income sellers, per our data. Exemption rules are specific and vary by state, so rely on your state's statute or revenue department.

What this means on the exam

Know the vocabulary. "Transfer tax," "documentary stamps," "deed tax," and "conveyance tax" can all describe the same concept.
Practice the per-$500 math. Watch for "or fraction thereof," which means rounding up.
Default to seller debit on closing statements unless the question or your state says otherwise.
Learn your state's rule. Your state portion may ask the exact rate, the payer, or a specific exemption.

Run the numbers

Try a few sale prices in our free transfer tax calculator to see how the rates compare, then sharpen the math with a free practice test. For your state's exam details and state-specific questions, start on your state page — for example, New Jersey or Pennsylvania — and try its state practice test. Review terms like "consideration" and "grantor" in the glossary, and when you're ready to test yourself under real conditions, the exam simulator is included in every REEX Prep plan.