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How much is the transfer tax on this purchase?
The state transfer taxes on a residential purchase in each of the fifty states, Washington, D.C. and New York City, split the way the law splits them: the buyer's, the ones either party may pay, the seller's, and the tax on the buyer's loan. Each line names the statute behind it and the date its rules are read on. Estimates, not advice.
Rules reviewed November 2026. Estimates, not advice.
Taxes the buyer may pay
$17,400
$1,200,000 in Washington, D.C.: $0 the law puts on the buyer, $17,400 the law lets either party pay. The seller's taxes by law come to $17,400.
Line by line
- Buyer's taxes by law$0
Nothing on this side under the rules held for this state.
Charges a statute (or the state's own ruling on it) puts on the buyer.
- Taxes the law lets either party pay$17,400
Recordation tax, D.C. Code section 42-1103: 1.1%, or 1.45% of the whole price at $400,000 or more. Buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable; by custom the purchaser pays.
The law lets either party pay these, or names no payer. The contract sets the split, so the whole amount is counted on the buyer's side above and may be lower if the seller agrees to pay some of it.
- Seller's taxes by law$17,400
Transfer tax, D.C. Code section 47-903: 1.1%, or 1.45% of the whole price at $400,000 or more, the transferor's.
Charges the law puts on the seller, shown as the law allocates them. They are not part of the buyer's figure, and this page prices a purchase, not a sale.
- Taxes on the buyer's loan$0
None: the purchase money deed of trust is exempt from recordation tax (D.C. Code section 42-1102).
Taxes on the mortgage that records with the purchase, priced on the borrower.
Rules in force on 2 November 2026.
Notes on these figures
- The law lets either party pay this transfer tax, and the contract sets the split. It is shown on its own line and counted in full on the buyer's side, so the buyer's figure may be lower if the seller pays some of it.
- DC has a reduced recordation rate for qualifying first time buyers, subject to income and price limits. It is not applied here.
- DC's recordation tax is owed by buyer and seller jointly by statute, and by custom the purchaser pays it.
- This state's transfer tax is the seller's by statute, so the buyer owes none of it.
Your purchase
Estimates for planning, not tax or legal advice. State transfer taxes on a residential purchase by an individual, at arm's length, on the price, under the statutes and revenue department statements read in the research pass of November 2026. County and city taxes, recording fees, title costs, exemptions and transfers between family members are not priced unless a line says so.
Worked examples
Each figure below is computed by the same engine as the calculator, on the rules in force on 2 November 2026, without a loan.
| Purchase | Price | Buyer by law | Either party | Seller by law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A home in New York City | $1,200,000 | $12,000 | $0 | $21,900 |
| A home in New York State, outside the city | $750,000 | $0 | $0 | $3,000 |
| A home in California | $900,000 | $0 | $990 | $0 |
| A home in Washington, D.C. | $700,000 | $0 | $10,150 | $10,150 |
| A home in Delaware | $450,000 | $6,750 | $0 | $6,750 |
| A home in Pennsylvania | $400,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $0 |
| A home in Washington State | $900,000 | $0 | $0 | $10,575 |
| A home in Texas | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| A home in Idaho | $400,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
Who pays what, state by state
The same $500,000 home purchase in every state, Washington, D.C. and New York City, without a loan, on the rules in force on 2 November 2026. Not priced means no official statement of the state's tax was found; it is not a zero.
| State | Price | Buyer by law | Either party | Seller by law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $500,000 | $0 | $500 | $0 |
| Alaska | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Arizona | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Arkansas | $500,000 | $825 | $0 | $825 |
| California | $500,000 | $0 | $550 | $0 |
| Colorado | $500,000 | $50 | $0 | $0 |
| Connecticut | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Delaware | $500,000 | $7,500 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Florida | $500,000 | $0 | $3,500 | $0 |
| Georgia | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Hawaii | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Idaho | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Illinois | $500,000 | $0 | $500 | $0 |
| Indiana | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Iowa | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $799.20 |
| Kansas | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Kentucky | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Louisiana | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Maine | $500,000 | $1,100 | $0 | $1,100 |
| Maryland | $500,000 | $0 | $2,500 | $0 |
| Massachusetts | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $2,280 |
| Michigan | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $3,750 |
| Minnesota | $500,000 | $0 | $1,650 | $0 |
| Mississippi | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Missouri | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Montana | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Nebraska | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $1,660 |
| Nevada | $500,000 | $0 | $1,950 | $0 |
| New Hampshire | $500,000 | $3,750 | $0 | $3,750 |
| New Jersey | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $4,175 |
| New Mexico | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| New York City | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $7,000 |
| New York State (outside NYC) | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $2,000 |
| North Carolina | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $1,000 |
| North Dakota | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Ohio | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Oklahoma | $500,000 | $0 | $750 | $0 |
| Oregon | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Pennsylvania | $500,000 | $0 | $5,000 | $0 |
| Rhode Island | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $3,750 |
| South Carolina | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $1,850 |
| South Dakota | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Tennessee | $500,000 | $1,850 | $0 | $0 |
| Texas | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Utah | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
| Vermont | $500,000 | $5,410 | $0 | $0 |
| Virginia | $500,000 | $1,250 | $0 | $500 |
| Washington | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $5,500 |
| Washington, D.C. | $500,000 | $0 | $7,250 | $7,250 |
| West Virginia | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $1,650 |
| Wisconsin | $500,000 | $0 | $0 | $1,500 |
| Wyoming | $500,000 | Not priced | Not priced | Not priced |
Estimates for planning, not tax or legal advice. State transfer taxes on a residential purchase by an individual, at arm's length, on the price, under the statutes and revenue department statements read in the research pass of November 2026. County and city taxes, recording fees, title costs, exemptions and transfers between family members are not priced unless a line says so.
Who pays the transfer tax on a US home purchase?
It depends on the state, and the law and local custom often differ. Most states put the tax on the seller by statute. A few put all or part of it on the buyer: New York's mansion tax, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia's recordation tax, and half each in Delaware, Maine and Arkansas, with New Hampshire charging both sides in full. Several name no payer or make both parties liable, and there the contract sets the split. The calculator shows each of these on its own line. Estimates, not advice.
Is there a federal transfer tax?
No. Transfer taxes on real estate in the United States are state, county and city taxes. This calculator prices the state level and New York City; county and city taxes elsewhere are named in the notes and not priced.
Which states charge no transfer tax?
Texas, Montana, Oregon and Arizona have constitutions that bar one, and North Dakota has barred transfer and mortgage taxes since the November 2014 election. Louisiana and Missouri bar new ones, but no official statement was found that none existed before. For those two, and for Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, the calculator prices nothing and says so, rather than showing a zero as the law.
Why does the loan amount matter?
Some states tax the mortgage that records with the purchase: New York, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Minnesota, Tennessee and Virginia among them. Without the loan amount the calculator names that tax and does not price it. Where a statute names the borrower it is the borrower's by law; where it names nobody it is priced on the borrower, as is the custom, and the notes say which.
Which date do the rates depend on?
The rules in force on the date given, read back to 1 January 2010: Washington's graduated excise from 2020, New York City's 2019 taxes, Delaware's 2017 rise, New Jersey's 2025 change and others. Where a state's history since 2010 could not be verified, today's rate is used and a note says so. Estimates, not advice.
Does this estimate the seller's tax on a sale?
It shows the transfer taxes the law puts on the seller, because they are part of how a state splits the charge. It does not estimate a sale: capital gains, the main home exclusion and withholding on a foreign seller belong to the sale itself. For a decision that depends on them, ask a licensed professional.
Where the rules come from
Each state's statute or revenue department, as cited on its line. The federal government charges no transfer tax on real estate.
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: real estate transfer tax
- New York City Department of Finance: Real Property Transfer Tax
- Washington Department of Revenue: real estate excise tax
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: realty transfer tax
- New Jersey Division of Taxation: realty transfer fee
This prices one purchase. The full model prices every property, loan and account in the country that taxes it: see how Freeholt works.
More on how US property is taxed, from the state of residence to estate tax: the United States page.