Who pays transfer tax: buyer or seller?
It depends on the state — and sometimes on the city. In most states the seller pays by custom; in some the law names the buyer, and in others it's split. Your purchase agreement can always assign it differently.
The short version
- Seller pays in most states that tax transfers (for example Washington, Florida, Ohio, New York).
- Buyer pays some local taxes, such as Chicago's city tax and the Peconic Bay tax on Long Island's East End.
- Split by custom in Pennsylvania, Delaware and parts of Maryland and California.
- Negotiable everywhere: in a buyer's market sellers often agree to pay more; in a seller's market buyers absorb it.
Unpaid transfer tax can become a lien on the property, so the title company or closing attorney collects it at closing and records the deed.
Customary payer by state
| State | Who pays the state tax |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Negotiable |
| Arkansas | Seller / Buyer |
| California | Seller |
| Colorado | Buyer |
| Connecticut | Seller |
| Delaware | Split 50/50 |
| District of Columbia | Buyer / Seller |
| Florida | Seller |
| Georgia | Seller |
| Hawaii | Seller |
| Illinois | Seller |
| Iowa | Seller |
| Kentucky | Seller |
| Maine | Split 50/50 |
| Maryland | Split 50/50 |
| Massachusetts | Seller |
| Michigan | Seller |
| Minnesota | Seller |
| Nebraska | Seller |
| Nevada | Negotiable |
| New Hampshire | Buyer / Seller |
| New Jersey | Seller |
| New York | Seller / Buyer |
| North Carolina | Seller |
| Ohio | Seller |
| Oklahoma | Seller |
| Pennsylvania | Split 50/50 |
| Rhode Island | Seller |
| South Carolina | Seller |
| South Dakota | Seller |
| Tennessee | Buyer |
| Vermont | Buyer |
| Virginia | Buyer / Seller |
| Washington | Seller |
| West Virginia | Seller |
| Wisconsin | Seller |