State guides
What changes where you live
The steps to sell or buy without an agent are national, but the closing practice, the disclosure rules, and the transfer taxes are local. These guides cover the part that depends on your state.
AL Alabama Alabama charges a state deed recordation tax of $0.50 per $500 of value (equal to $1.00 per $1,000, or about 0.1% of the sale price), collected by the county probate judge when the deed is recorded; who pays is set by negotiation and is customarily the seller as grantor, per the Alabama Department of Revenue. AK Alaska Alaska has no real estate transfer tax, deed tax, or documentary stamp tax. AS 43.98.035 bars the state from levying a sales or use tax on the transfer of real property, and AS 29.45.650(l) and AS 29.45.700(h) bar boroughs and cities from doing the same. What you actually pay is the State Recorder's Office fee: $20 for the first page of a document and $5 for each page after that. AZ Arizona Arizona has no real estate transfer tax, and its constitution bars new ones, leaving only a flat $2 affidavit-of-value fee at recording. AR Arkansas Arkansas levies a state real property transfer tax of $3.30 for each $1,000 of consideration (about 0.33 percent) on transfers of more than $100, collected by buying documentary stamps for the deed. The code is split on who pays: Arkansas Code 26-60-105 puts the additional $2.20 portion on the purchaser, while Arkansas Code 26-60-106 says the chapter's tax is paid one half by the grantor and one half by the grantee unless the parties agree otherwise, so allocate it expressly in your contract. CA California No statewide transfer tax, but counties charge a documentary transfer tax and some cities add a steep one of their own. CO Colorado Colorado has no percentage transfer tax; instead the county clerk and recorder collects a documentary fee of one cent per $100 of consideration (about $0.10 per $1,000 of sale price) on recorded deeds when consideration is more than $500, under C.R.S. Section 39-13-102, and it is customarily paid by the seller. CT Connecticut Connecticut levies a real estate conveyance tax in two parts, both collected by the town clerk when the deed is recorded: a state tax of 0.75 percent on residential property, rising to 1.25 percent on the portion of a residential sale above $800,000 and 2.25 percent on the portion above $2.5 million, plus a municipal tax of 0.25 percent that certain designated municipalities may raise to 0.5 percent. Under C.G.S. Section 12-495 the tax is payable by the person conveying the property, so the seller pays it. DE Delaware Delaware levies a realty transfer tax under Title 30, Chapter 54 of the Delaware Code, and it is among the highest in the country: the state rate is 3 percent, reduced to 2.5 percent wherever the county or municipality has enacted the full 1.5 percent local tax, so nearly every sale carries a combined 4 percent. Section 5402 apportions the tax equally between grantor and grantee, meaning 2 percent each, though Section 5412 places the burden on the grantor absent an agreement to the contrary, so the contract controls. DC District of Columbia The District taxes a home sale twice at recording: a deed transfer tax (D.C. Code section 47-903) and a deed recordation tax (D.C. Code section 42-1103). For residential property each is 1.1 percent of the consideration when the price is under $400,000, and 1.45 percent of the entire amount once the price reaches $400,000. By local custom the seller pays the transfer tax and the buyer pays the recordation tax, but that split is custom and the contract can move it. FL Florida A documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of price applies on the deed, except in Miami-Dade, which has its own rate. GA Georgia The state charges a real estate transfer tax of $1 for the first $1,000 of price plus 10 cents for each additional $100, collected on the deed at recording. HI Hawaii Hawaii levies a state conveyance tax under HRS Chapter 247, and the Department of Taxation treats the party conveying the property, normally the seller, as the person subject to it. Rates run from 10 cents per $100 of consideration on properties worth less than $600,000 up to $1.00 per $100 at $10,000,000 and above, and from 15 cents to $1.25 per $100 on the sale of a condominium or single family residence whose buyer is ineligible for a county homeowner's exemption. Hawaii counties do not add a transfer tax of their own. ID Idaho Idaho levies no real estate transfer tax, deed tax, documentary stamp, or excise tax on a home sale, and Idaho cities and counties have no statutory authority to impose one. The only charge attached to the deed is the county recorder's flat fee set by Idaho Code 31-3205, which is $15 for a deed of thirty pages or less, and the contract decides who pays it. IL Illinois Illinois charges a state transfer tax on the deed and every county adds $0.25 per $500 of value, while home rule cities like Chicago layer on a much steeper tax of their own. IN Indiana Indiana imposes no state or local real estate transfer tax on residential sales; the seller instead files a Sales Disclosure Form and pays a twenty dollar filing fee to the county auditor under IC 6-1.1-5.5-4. IA Iowa Iowa levies a real estate transfer tax under Iowa Code chapter 428A. It is computed at 80 cents for each $500 of consideration with the first $500 exempt, which county recorders publish as $1.60 per $1,000 of price. The county recorder collects it when the deed is recorded, and by local custom the seller pays it at closing, though the purchase contract controls who actually writes the check. KS Kansas Kansas levies no real estate transfer, deed, or documentary stamp tax at the state, county, or city level, and the old mortgage registration tax was phased out and repealed beginning in 2019. What remains are register of deeds recording fees under K.S.A. 28-115: $17 for the first page and $13 for each additional page, plus $3 per page for county technology funds and $1 per page for the state heritage trust fund, with the split set by your contract. KY Kentucky Kentucky levies a state real estate transfer tax of $0.50 for each $500 of value, or fraction thereof, on the grantor (the seller), collected by the county clerk when the deed is recorded (KRS 142.050). LA Louisiana Louisiana imposes no statewide real estate transfer tax because a 2011 constitutional amendment (La. Const. art. VII, sec. 2.3) prohibits it; the only exception is the grandfathered Orleans Parish (New Orleans) Documentary Transaction Tax, a flat $325 recording charge paid by the seller. ME Maine Maine levies a state real estate transfer tax of $2.20 for each $500 or fractional part of $500 of value (about 0.44 percent), imposed half on the grantor and half on the grantee under 36 M.R.S. Section 4641-A, and collected by the register of deeds when the deed is recorded; for transfers on or after November 1, 2025 an additional $3.80 for each $500 applies to the portion of value above $1,000,000. MD Maryland Maryland levies a state transfer tax of 0.5 percent of the sale price under Md. Code, Tax-Property Section 13-203, customarily split evenly between buyer and seller, with most counties adding a separate county transfer tax on top. MA Massachusetts Massachusetts levies a deeds excise, its transfer tax, of $4.56 per $1,000 of the sale price statewide, with Barnstable County charging a higher rate. MI Michigan Michigan charges a state transfer tax and a county transfer tax on the sale price, and the seller is the one who pays them. MN Minnesota Minnesota charges a state deed tax of 0.33 percent of the price (0.0033, or $1.65 per $500 of consideration), customarily paid by the seller, plus a 0.01 percent Environmental Response Fund tax on deeds recorded in Hennepin and Ramsey counties (Minnesota Department of Revenue). MS Mississippi Mississippi levies no state, county, or municipal real estate transfer tax, deed tax, or documentary stamp tax, so nothing is owed on the sale price itself. Recording the deed costs a flat chancery clerk fee set by Miss. Code Section 25-7-9. Harrison County's published schedule is representative: $25.00 for a deed, or $26.00 in counties that add the archive fee, covering indexing for the first five pages, plus $1.00 for each page beyond five. The contract decides which party pays it. MO Missouri Missouri imposes no state or local real estate transfer tax, and the Missouri Constitution (Article X, Section 25) bars the state, counties, and other subdivisions from creating a new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate. MT Montana Montana levies no real estate transfer tax, no deed tax, and no documentary stamp tax, and no Montana county or city imposes one either. The only charge attached to the deed is the county clerk and recorder's fee, which House Bill 192 of the 2025 session set at $20 for the first page and $10 for each additional page effective October 1, 2025, plus $10 per document that misses Montana's formatting standards; who pays it is a contract term. NE Nebraska Nebraska levies a documentary stamp tax on recorded deeds, imposed on the grantor (the seller) and collected by each county's register of deeds. The rate rose to $3.32 for each $1,000 of value, or fraction of $1,000, on July 18, 2026, up from $2.32; on a $300,000 sale that is $996. NV Nevada Nevada levies a real property transfer tax, collected by the county recorder before the deed is recorded. The base rate is $1.95 per $500 of value or fraction thereof, plus 60 cents in Clark County (a total of $2.55 per $500) and 10 cents in Washoe and Churchill counties (a total of $2.05 per $500). NRS 375.030 makes buyer and seller jointly and severally liable, but the contract allocates it and Nevada custom generally puts it on the seller. NH New Hampshire New Hampshire levies a real estate transfer tax under RSA 78-B:1 at $.75 per $100 of the price, imposed separately on the buyer and on the seller, so the combined rate is $1.50 per $100 and the seller's own half is 0.75 percent of the sale price. Where the price is $4,000 or less, the minimum is $20 from each party. Each side buys stamps from the county register of deeds, which affixes them to the deed at recording. NJ New Jersey The seller pays a graduated Realty Transfer Fee at closing, plus a supplemental fee that starts at 1 percent on residential sales over $1 million and climbs for higher-priced homes. NM New Mexico New Mexico levies no real estate transfer, deed, documentary, or excise tax at the state or county level; Section 14-8-15 NMSA 1978 sets the county clerk recording fee at $25 per document. The one local exception is the City of Santa Fe, which collects a 3 percent high-end excise tax on the portion of a residential sale price above an adjusting threshold ($1,029,000 as of May 1, 2026), paid by the buyer. NY New York New York charges a statewide transfer tax of $2 per $500 of price, with a separate buyer-paid mansion tax on homes at $1 million or more and extra layers inside New York City. NC North Carolina The state charges a deed excise tax of $1 per $500 of the sale price, and seven northeastern counties add a local land transfer tax of up to 1 percent. ND North Dakota North Dakota levies no real estate transfer tax, deed tax, or documentary stamp tax, and no county or city imposes one. What the deed costs at the courthouse is the county recorder's fee under N.D. Cent. Code 11-18-05, twenty dollars for a document of one to six pages and sixty-five dollars for a document of more than six pages, plus three dollars for each page after the first twenty-five. The purchase agreement decides which side pays it. OH Ohio Ohio charges a real property conveyance fee of $1 per $1,000 of sale price statewide, and nearly every county adds a permissive fee of up to $3 more per $1,000. OK Oklahoma Oklahoma charges a documentary stamp tax on deeds under 68 O.S. Section 3201, prorated at seventy-five cents for each $500 of consideration (about $1.50 per $1,000, so roughly $375 on a $250,000 sale) when the consideration exceeds $100. Stamps must be affixed before the county clerk will record the deed, and both the statute and the state's uniform residential contract put the cost on the seller. No city or county percentage transfer tax stacks on top. OR Oregon Oregon law bars real estate transfer taxes statewide under ORS 306.815, with Washington County the sole grandfathered exception, where a tax of $1 per $1,000 of sale price (0.1 percent) applies and liability is treated as a matter between buyer and seller. PA Pennsylvania Pennsylvania levies a 1 percent state realty transfer tax, and most municipalities and school districts add a local tax on top, commonly bringing the combined rate to about 2 percent. RI Rhode Island Rhode Island levies a state real estate conveyance tax of $3.75 for each $500 of the price, or fractional part of it (about 0.75 percent), which comes due when the deed is executed and presented for recording with the city or town clerk. Under R.I. Gen. Laws Section 44-25-1 the grantor pays it in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, so the seller pays by default. Residential sales carry an additional $3.75 per $500 on the portion of the consideration above $800,000, a threshold the statute adjusts for inflation for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. SC South Carolina South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 for each $500 of the property's value, composed of a $1.30 state fee and a $0.55 county fee, and it is customarily paid by the seller as the party conveying title. SD South Dakota South Dakota levies a real estate transfer fee of fifty cents for each five hundred dollars of value or fraction of it (one dollar per thousand, or 0.1 percent), imposed on the grantor by SDCL 43-4-21 and collected by the county register of deeds when the deed is recorded. The rate is set by state law and is the same in every county. TN Tennessee Tennessee charges a state realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of the property's value or sale price, whichever is greater, under Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 67-4-409, collected when the deed is recorded. The statute places the tax on the buyer as grantee, though who pays is negotiable in the contract. TX Texas Texas charges no real estate transfer tax, one of only a handful of states with none. UT Utah Utah levies no real estate transfer tax, deed tax, documentary stamp tax, or conveyance excise tax at the state, county, or city level, so nothing at closing is calculated off your sale price. The government charge on the conveyance is the county recorder's fee: $40 per instrument under Utah Code Section 17-71-407, with counties below the first class adding $5 to that fee unless the county has a balance in its restricted recording fee account. VT Vermont Vermont charges a property transfer tax under 32 V.S.A. Section 9602: a general rate of 1.25 percent of value, 0.5 percent on the first $200,000 and 1.25 percent above that when the buyer will use the property as a principal residence, and 3.4 percent on residential property that is habitable year round, will not be the buyer's principal residence, and is not a long-term rental. A clean water surcharge (32 V.S.A. Section 9602a), published by the Department of Taxes at 0.22 percent, applies on top and does not reach the first $200,000 of a principal residence. Under 32 V.S.A. Section 9604 the tax is the buyer's liability unless the parties agree otherwise, and the Department's Form PTT-172 instructions say the same. VA Virginia The seller pays Virginia's grantor tax of 50 cents per $500 of the sale price, and localities in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority add a regional fee of another $1 per $1,000. WA Washington Washington charges a graduated state real estate excise tax that climbs with the sale price, and most counties and cities add a local excise tax on top. WV West Virginia West Virginia levies a state excise tax on transferring real property of $1.10 per $500 of value under W. Va. Code 11-22-2, plus a county excise tax of 55 cents per $500 that a county commission may vote to raise to as much as $1.65 per $500, so the combined rate runs from $1.65 to $2.75 per $500 (roughly 0.33 to 0.55 percent of the price). The statute places the tax on the grantor, so the seller normally pays it when the deed is recorded. WI Wisconsin Wisconsin charges a real estate transfer fee of 30 cents per $100 of value (0.3 percent), owed by the seller as grantor and collected by the county Register of Deeds when the deed is recorded. WY Wyoming Wyoming levies no real estate transfer, deed, documentary, or conveyance tax at the state, county, or municipal level. What you pay at recording is the county clerk's statutory fee, $12 for the first page of an instrument and $3 for each additional page under Wyo. Stat. 18-3-402(a)(xvi), and the contract decides which party covers it.