Minnesota gift deed

What a gift deed does in Minnesota

A gift deed transfers property with no money changing hands, and it says so on its face. Stating the donative intent matters: it can support a transfer-tax exemption in states that tax transfers and it documents that the recipient paid nothing, which is exactly what a recorder, an assessor, and later the IRS will want to see. Mechanically it operates like a quitclaim. Immediate, and without title warranties.

A gift deed operates like a quitclaim deed but states that the transfer is a gift. Where transfer tax is based on the price paid, that usually means little or no tax; this state's exemptions are listed on this page.

The Minnesota law behind this deed

Minnesota has no section written specifically for gift deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.

When Minnesota homeowners use a gift deed

• Give a house or land to a child or grandchild
• Transfer property to a sibling or parent for no payment
• Record that a transfer is a gift, for tax and title records
• Make a charitable gift of real estate

What Minnesota requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Minnesota

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder (or Registrar of Titles for Torrens property) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Minnesota deeds.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
5. 5File an eCRV if the transfer is for more than $3,000An electronic Certificate of Real Estate Value (eCRV), filed online, is required only when the property is sold or transferred for more than $3,000 of consideration, including any mortgage the grantee assumes (Minn. Stat. § 272.115). Gifts and other transfers for $3,000 or less need no eCRV, but the deed should say "This deed transfers Minnesota real property in exchange for $3,000 or less of consideration." Deedly prints that sentence when your answers show it applies.
6. 6Have the county auditor certify itBefore a Minnesota deed can be recorded, the county auditor must certify "no delinquent taxes and transfer entered" on it (Minn. Stat. § 272.12). Any delinquent property taxes must be paid first.
7. 7Record it with the County Recorder (or Registrar of Titles for Torrens property)File in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
8. 8Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.

What it costs in Minnesota

Minnesota charges a deed tax of 0.33% of net consideration (0.34% in Hennepin and Ramsey, which add a 0.01% Environmental Response Fund tax); $1.65 when consideration is $3,000 or less ($1.70 in Hennepin and Ramsey). Customarily paid by the grantor.

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: deeds between former spouses under a marriage dissolution decree (Minn. Stat. § 287.22(14)), transfer on death deeds (§ 287.22(15)), deeds of distribution by a personal representative (§ 287.22(8)), and partition deeds between co-owners (§ 287.22(9)). You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in Minnesota

Minnesota deeds are recorded with the County Recorder (or Registrar of Titles for Torrens property) in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 87 counties in Minnesota.

Many Minnesota recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.

Recording offices we cover in Minnesota: Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka, Washington, St. Louis, Olmsted, Stearns, Scott, Wright. See all Minnesota recording offices.

What a gift deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• The recipient takes your original cost basis, not the current market value. A later sale can produce a large capital-gains bill that inheriting the property would have avoided.
• A gift over the annual exclusion requires you to file IRS Form 709, even if no tax is due.
• It is irrevocable once delivered and recorded. You can't take the property back if the relationship changes.
• Gifting a property within Medicaid's look-back period can create a penalty period for long-term-care eligibility.

Quirks of Minnesota law that catch people out

• Every Minnesota deed must state each grantor's marital status, and recorders check the acknowledgment for it too. If a grantor is married, the spouse must sign to convey homestead property, even when the spouse is not on the title (Minn. Stat. § 507.02).
• The deed must state the deed tax due or the exemption that applies (Minn. Stat. § 287.241), the name and address of whoever drafted it (§ 507.091), and, on a deed that conveys title now, the grantee's legal name and residential or business address for the property tax statements (§ 507.092).
• An electronic Certificate of Real Estate Value (eCRV) must be filed online when the property is sold or transferred for more than $3,000 of consideration, including any mortgage the grantee assumes, and recorders want its number on page one of the deed (Minn. Stat. §§ 272.115, 287.241). A gift, or any other transfer for $3,000 or less, needs none.
• Delinquent property taxes block recording: the county auditor must certify "no delinquent taxes and transfer entered" on the deed before the recorder will take it (Minn. Stat. § 272.12). A transfer on death deed is exempt from this (§ 507.071, subd. 8).
• Minnesota runs both an abstract system (County Recorder) and a Torrens system (Registrar of Titles). Your prior deed or certificate of title tells you which. If the land is partly abstract and partly Torrens, it must be recorded in both systems, each with its own fee.
• Do not cross out, white out or tape over anything on the deed: Hennepin and Anoka recorders do not accept documents altered with strikeouts, white-out or correction tape. The well disclosure statement on the deed has boxes instead; tick the one that applies (Minn. Stat. § 103I.235).
• After a Minnesota TOD deed takes effect, the beneficiary applies to the county's medical assistance (estate recovery) office for a clearance certificate and records it, with an affidavit of identity and survivorship and a certified death record (Minn. Stat. § 507.071, subds. 3, 20, 23).

How to hold title in Minnesota

When two or more people take title in Minnesota and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in Minnesota: joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy in common.