Real estate transfer tax and deed recording fees by state

At a glance

• 42 of 51 jurisdictions have a confirmed state-level rate.
• 7 are confirmed to have no state-level transfer tax: Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas. California counties may impose their own tax.
• The state tax on a $300,000 sale is shown for 37 jurisdictions. The highest is Delaware: $7,500 at 2.5% where the full 1.5% local tax applies (the usual case); $9,000 at 3% where it does not. The lowest above $0 is Colorado at $30, and 7 of the 37 are at $0. The median across all 37 is $990.
• Cells that read Not confirmed: the rate in 9 jurisdictions (Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming), who pays in 15, the $300,000 example in 14, and the recording fee in 15. Who pays reads Not applicable in the 7 jurisdictions with no state tax.
• Download the table as a CSV file.

Tax and recording fee by state

The rate reads Not confirmed for Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. We found no statute, constitutional provision or official agency page that says any of them has no state transfer tax, so the table does not say so. That does not mean a tax exists.

Notes on the table

Note 1, California. California imposes no state transfer tax, so the state-level figure is $0. Counties and city-and-counties may impose a documentary transfer tax under Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911, and a city in such a county may add half that rate with a credit against the county tax. Which counties and cities charge it was not checked, so ask the recorder in your county.

Note 2, Delaware. Delaware's state tax is 3% of the value, or 2.5% where the municipality or county has enacted the full 1.5% local transfer tax, which is the usual case. Places without the full local tax pay 3%. Examples are Hartly, Kenton and Woodside in Kent County and Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft in New Castle County. Both $300,000 figures are the state share only. The local share and the first-time buyer credit are not included. HB 416 and HB 286 would lower the state tax. Both bills are pending and neither is law, and neither could take effect before January 1, 2027. Recheck both bills before you rely on this row.

Note 3, Delaware. Delaware has no single recording fee. Each county sets its own. New Castle County, the most populous, changed its schedule in September 2026 and the new schedule could not be confirmed, so no typical figure is shown. The Kent County Recorder charges $51 for a one-page deed with one parcel and $10 for each added page. The Sussex County Recorder charges $40 and $9 for each added page.

Note 4, Hawaii. Hawaii has two schedules. The higher one applies to a condominium or single-family residence when the buyer is not eligible for a county homeowner's exemption. A $300,000 example depends on the buyer, so none is shown.

Note 5, Maryland. Maryland law presumes the buyer and seller share the cost of the transfer tax equally unless the contract or the law says otherwise (Real Property section 14-104(b)). For an improved residential property sold to a first-time Maryland home buyer who will live in it, the seller pays the entire state tax (section 14-104(c)(2)).

Note 6, Nebraska. Nebraska raised the rate to $3.32 per $1,000 on July 18, 2026. It falls back to $2.32 per $1,000 for transfers on or after January 1, 2032.

Note 7, Nevada. Nevada's rate here is the state portion only. A county tax set by state law (NRS 375.020) is added on top, and a county may add up to 5 cents more per $500 (NRS 375.026). The combined tax depends on the county, so no $300,000 figure is shown.

Note 8, New Hampshire. New Hampshire charges the rate to the buyer and the seller separately. The example is the combined tax on the deed.

Note 9, Ohio. Ohio's charge is a state-mandated county conveyance fee, credited to the county general fund. A county may also levy a permissive transfer tax of up to 30 cents per $100, paid by the grantor. That tax is not included.

Note 10, Vermont. Vermont's rate depends on how the buyer will use the property, so the rate column shows all three cases. A $300,000 example would depend on that use, so none is shown.

Note 11, Virginia. Virginia has two statewide taxes on a deed of sale, and both use the greater of the price or the actual value, so a $300,000 example depends on that value and none is shown. Who is liable differs by tax, so one label does not fit. Regional fees and the local recordation tax are not included.

Note 12, West Virginia. West Virginia's $1.10 per $500 is set by state law, but since July 1, 2025 counties keep the whole amount. Every county also charges a second tax of at least 55 cents per $500, and a $20 Affordable Housing Fund fee applies to transfers for consideration. The state-law tier alone would understate the total, so no $300,000 figure is shown.

How we built the table

Every figure comes from a statute, a regulation, or an official page of a state revenue department or of the office that records deeds. Title company blogs, tax rate aggregators and summaries written by third parties are not used as proof of a number.

Each state was checked twice. A first researcher found the rate, who is liable and the recording fee, and wrote down the source. A second reviewer then worked alone. They reopened every source, recomputed every example, looked for a second source, and checked for recent changes. A cell appears in the table only when the second reviewer cleared it. The table shows the law in force on October 19, 2026. A bill that has not become law is not used.

After that review, ten states still had no confirmed rate: Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. They went through the same two steps a second time, aimed at the gap. A cell that the second round cleared replaces the first round's cell, and a cell it did not clear still reads Not confirmed.

The "Who usually pays" column names who the statute or the state tax agency makes liable to the state. What a buyer and seller agree between themselves in a contract can differ. "Either party" means the law does not assign the tax to one side or lets the parties decide. "Split equally" means the law divides it.

The $300,000 column is the state-level tax on a sale of a home at the full price with no exemption. It is worked out from the rate in the same row. Where the rate depends on where the property sits, the row shows each case as its own labelled number. The summary counts such a row once, names its higher number as the highest example, and uses its usual-case number in the median. The recording fee column is the fee to record a short deed. Where a statute or one state office sets it for every office, the cell says so. Where counties set their own fees, the cell gives the figure from a named office and says the fee varies. Charges for a cover sheet, a tax affidavit or a nonstandard document are not included unless the cell names them.

What the table leaves out

• City and county transfer taxes, such as the New York City real property transfer tax, Washington's local real estate excise taxes and Pennsylvania's local transfer taxes.
• Santa Fe's High-End Excise Tax in New Mexico: 3% of the consideration above $1,029,000, paid by the buyer. The threshold is adjusted each May 1.
• New Orleans's own documentary transaction tax on transfers of immovable property in Orleans Parish.
• Mansion taxes and other extra taxes on high-value sales.
• Mortgage recording taxes.
• Surcharges that a row says are extra.

Local taxes can add to the state figure, so check your county before you rely on a total.

What Not confirmed means

Not confirmed means we could not find a primary source that settles the cell. It does not mean the answer is zero. A state shows no tax only where a statute, a constitution or an official agency page says so. In a few rows the figure depends on facts the table cannot fix, such as the buyer's use or an assessed value, and the notes say which.

How to cite this page

Deedly, "Real estate transfer tax and deed recording fees by state," https://getdeedly.com/guides/transfer-tax-and-recording-fees-by-state, verified October 19, 2026.

To point to one state, add its name to the link, for example https://getdeedly.com/guides/transfer-tax-and-recording-fees-by-state#virginia. Every row has an anchor in that form, and the state name in each row links to it.

You may copy, quote, and reuse this table and its CSV file, with credit to Deedly and a link to this page. Section 5 of the terms says so.

Download the data

Download the table as a CSV file. The columns match the table, with the source links added. A cell that reads Not confirmed is empty in the file.

Corrections

If a figure is wrong or out of date, tell us on the support page and include the state and the source you used.