DC transfer tax and recordation tax: rates, who pays and examples

At a glance

Estimate DC transfer and recordation tax

DC Code § 47-903 and § 42-1103: 1.1% each on a residential price under $400,000, otherwise 1.45% of the entire price; first-time DC homebuyers within the income limit pay 0.725% recordation tax up to $777,000 (tax year 2026). A purchase-money deed of trust is not taxed; confirm with your title company. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.

How much are transfer taxes in DC?

On any DC home sold for $400,000 or more, two taxes apply at settlement: a 1.45% deed transfer tax and a 1.45% deed recordation tax, 2.9% in all. On a $3 million Georgetown house that's $87,000, more than three years of property tax on the same house and the largest government cost in the sale.

DC law fixes who pays only half of it. The transfer tax is the seller's by statute. The recordation tax is a joint liability of buyer and seller, so who pays the other $43,500 is a term in your sales contract. Read that paragraph before you sign, whichever side you're on.

Who pays DC transfer tax?

The seller. DC Code § 47-903 imposes the deed transfer tax on the transferor when the deed is submitted for recording. If the seller doesn't pay, the buyer becomes jointly and severally liable, so a buyer has a stake in seeing it paid at closing.

Deed transfer tax: 1.45% at $400,000 and up

The rate is 1.1% for a residential transfer under $400,000 and 1.45% for anything at $400,000 or more. The 1.45% is a base 1.1% plus an extra 0.35% added in 2006, and 15% of that extra slice goes to the Housing Production Trust Fund.

The $400,000 line applies to the whole price

The higher rate isn't marginal. A $400,000 sale pays 1.45% on the entire $400,000, which is $5,800, while a $399,999 sale pays $4,399.99. At Georgetown prices every sale is on the 1.45% side, so the practical rule is simple: take 1.45% off your price when you work out net proceeds. The guide to selling a Georgetown home walks through the rest of a seller's costs.

Who pays recordation tax in DC?

The statute doesn't say. DC Code § 42-1103 makes the parties to a deed jointly and severally liable for the recordation tax, which leaves the split to the contract. No DC statute or OTR rule assigns it to the buyer, so it's a term you can negotiate, and a seller who wants a quick sale can offer to share it.

Deed recordation tax: also 1.45%

Recordation tax mirrors the transfer tax: 1.1% under $400,000 for residential property, 1.45% of the entire price at $400,000 or more. It's charged when the deed is recorded with the Recorder of Deeds.

The first-time DC homebuyer rate

First-time DC buyers can record at 0.725%, half the normal rate, with the whole benefit going to the buyer. The catch for this market: the purchase price is capped at $777,000 for tax year 2026, household income can't exceed 180% of the area median, and the buyer has to be a DC resident who files for the homestead deduction. Under that price cap, a Georgetown house won't qualify.

Is a mortgage taxed when you record it in DC?

Purchase loans: not taxed if recorded on time

A deed of trust is normally taxed at 1.1% of the debt it secures. A purchase-money deed of trust isn't, as long as it's signed within 30 days of the deed, recorded within 30 days after the deed is recorded, and says on its face that it secures purchase money. On a $2.4 million jumbo loan, that timing is the difference between $0 and a five-figure bill, so confirm the recital with your title company.

Refinances: taxed on new money

When you refinance, only principal above the existing balance is taxed, if the earlier loan was taxed or exempt. A cash-out refinance on a Georgetown house is taxed on the cash. The statute's cross-references on the exact refinance rate are tangled, so get the figure from your title company before you close.

What other transfers are taxed?

Gifts and nominal-price transfers: fair market value

When a deed passes for no price or a nominal one, both taxes apply to fair market value as set by the Mayor. That answers the common question about what fair market value means here: it's DC's valuation, not the figure on the deed. You can appeal that determination to OTR within 45 days after the tax is imposed.

Entities that own DC property

Selling a controlling interest in a company that owns DC real estate doesn't avoid the tax. It's charged as recordation tax at 2.9% of the price allocable to the property.

Co-ops

Co-op interests are taxed through the same economic-interest rule: 2.2% under $400,000 and 2.9% at $400,000 or more.

Commercial property: the 2.5% rate expired

From 2019 commercial transfers of $2 million or more paid 2.5% each, 5% combined. That rate expired September 30, 2023, and commercial transfers are back at 1.45% plus 1.45%. Several law-firm alerts that still rank for this search describe the old rate.

DC transfer and recordation tax at $1.5M, $3M and $6M

The math is your price times 1.45%, twice. Here it is at three Georgetown prices.

To redo it with your own number, multiply your price by 0.0145 for each tax. The DC closing cost calculator does it with your down payment, your first year of DC property tax and a choice of who pays recordation.

Are transfer taxes higher in DC, Maryland or Virginia?

Maryland's are higher, Virginia's far lower. Here is one $2 million sale in each place, using each state's and county's published rates.

Two assumptions sit behind the suburban rows. Montgomery County's recordation tiers are read here as charged on the slice of the price inside each band, and any principal-residence exemption is left out. For Virginia, the table assumes Arlington and Fairfax levy the local recordation tax that state law lets them charge. Confirm both with your settlement agent. In Virginia the grantor tax and WMATA fee fall on the seller unless the parties agree otherwise.

The DC buyer comparing a Georgetown row house with a house across the river should count this once and move on: it's a one-time cost, while the yearly gap in income tax, covered on moving to Washington DC, repeats every year.

How and when are DC transfer taxes paid?

At settlement, when the deed is recorded

Both taxes are due when the deed is submitted to the Recorder of Deeds. In practice they're paid through settlement, and you'll see them as two lines on the settlement statement: transfer on the seller's side, recordation wherever the contract put it.

Late or unpaid tax follows the deed

Because the buyer is jointly liable for transfer tax and both parties are liable for recordation tax, an unpaid bill doesn't stay with the person who should have paid it. Expect the settlement agent to want both taxes covered before the deed goes to record.

Mistakes that cost money

Quoting a flat percentage from an old article

Older articles quote 2.5% commercial rates or rates from before 2006. The current figure for a home is 1.45% each.

Assuming custom is law

No statute says the buyer pays recordation. It's whatever the contract says, and if the contract is silent, both parties are liable.

Letting the purchase loan record late

Miss the 30-day windows or the purchase-money recital and the loan can be taxed at 1.1%.

Confirm with a DC settlement attorney

This page explains how DC's deed taxes work from the DC Code and OTR. It isn't legal or tax advice. Ask your settlement attorney or title company to confirm the rate, the payer and the deed-of-trust treatment for your transaction, and check the suburban figures with a local settlement agent. Selling a rented home adds a notice duty first, explained on the TOPA rules for DC sellers page. For homes for sale at these prices, see Georgetown homes for sale.

Common questions

Sources

• DC Code § 47-903 (deed transfer tax)
• DC Code § 42-1103 (deed recordation tax)
• DC Code § 47-825.01a (assessment appeals)
• DC CFO: Tax Rates and Revenues, Property Taxes
• OTR: Notice of Oct. 1, 2025 Tax Changes
• Montgomery County Finance: Bill 17-23 Recordation Tax Changes effective October 1, 2023
• Maryland Department of Legislative Services: 2025 County Local Tax Rates
• Maryland Code, Tax-Property § 13-203 (state transfer tax)
• Code of Virginia § 58.1-801 (state recordation tax)
• Code of Virginia § 58.1-802 (grantor tax)
• Code of Virginia § 58.1-802.3 (regional WMATA capital fee)
• Code of Virginia § 58.1-3800 (local recordation tax)