The Allegheny County transfer tax on a real estate sale runs between 2% and 5% of the price, combining Pennsylvania’s 1% state tax with local municipal and school district rates that vary by address. The City of Pittsburgh sits at the top of the range at 5% total. Most other municipalities in the county land between 2% and 3%. The tax is due when the deed is recorded, and both buyer and seller are legally responsible for the full amount.
What Makes Up the Rate
Every real property transfer in Pennsylvania carries a 1% state realty transfer tax on the value of the property being conveyed.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Is the Rate and Basis of the PA Realty Transfer Tax? On top of that, the municipality and the school district where the property sits each add their own local rate. Those local layers are where Allegheny County’s 130 municipalities diverge.
In Pittsburgh, the local portion is 4%: a 3% municipal tax and a 1% Pittsburgh School District tax.2Allegheny County. Local Realty Transfer Tax Rates Add the 1% state tax and a property sale within city limits is taxed at a full 5%. On a $300,000 home, that is $15,000.
Rates by Municipality
Outside Pittsburgh, combined rates drop substantially. Most Allegheny County municipalities add local municipal and school district taxes totaling 1% to 2%, which puts the all-in rate between 2% and 3%.2Allegheny County. Local Realty Transfer Tax Rates A few examples:
- Mt. Lebanon: 1% municipal, 0.5% school district, 1% state — 2.5% total
- Bethel Park: 1% municipal, 0.5% school district, 1% state — 2.5% total
- McKeesport: 1.5% municipal, 0.5% school district, 1% state — 3% total
- Aleppo Township: 0.5% municipal, 0.5% school district, 1% state — 2% total
- Trafford Borough: 1% municipal, no school district tax, 1% state — 2% total
Location matters more than people expect. A $300,000 sale costs $15,000 in Pittsburgh but $6,000 in Aleppo Township. If you are shopping near a municipal boundary, confirming the local rate before you sign can change the math by thousands.
Who Pays at Closing
Pennsylvania law makes buyer and seller jointly and severally liable for the entire transfer tax.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax If one side fails to pay, the Commonwealth can collect the full amount from the other.
The customary practice throughout Allegheny County is a 50/50 split between buyer and seller, written into the sales agreement. That split is a negotiated term, not a legal requirement. In a tight market sellers sometimes push the full cost onto the buyer, and buyers with leverage sometimes negotiate the reverse. Whatever the agreement says, the deed will not be recorded until the full tax is paid, so settlement agents collect both halves at the closing table.
How the Tax Is Calculated When There’s No Sale Price
For an ordinary arm’s-length sale, the tax is calculated on the actual price paid.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Is the Rate and Basis of the PA Realty Transfer Tax? When no price is stated, or only a token amount like $1, the tax is based on fair market value. Market value is computed by taking the county’s assessed value and adjusting it with the Common Level Ratio.
The Common Level Ratio for Allegheny County in 2026 is 50.14%.4Allegheny County. Frequently Asked Questions That ratio reflects how far assessed values currently sit below actual market values. To get a computed market value, divide the assessed value by 0.5014. A property assessed at $150,000 works out to roughly $299,160, and the transfer tax applies to that figure.
This formula is what controls on gifts, inheritance buyouts, and transfers into a business entity. In a normal sale, the actual purchase price controls even if it differs from the computed value.
Exemptions Most Buyers and Sellers Ask About
Transfers between close family members are exempt. The statute covers a wider circle than most people assume:5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 8102-C.3
- Spouses, in either direction
- Former spouses, as long as the property was acquired before the final divorce decree
- Parents and children, including transfers to or from a child’s spouse
- Stepparents and stepchildren, including a stepchild’s spouse
- Siblings, including a sibling’s spouse
- Grandparents and grandchildren, including a grandchild’s spouse
There is a catch. If the person who receives the property through a family exemption sells it to an outsider within one year, the tax is owed as though the family transfer had been taxable from the start.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 8102-C.3 The one-year rule prevents using a family member as a pass-through.
Transfers to government entities are also excluded, along with certain transfers involving nonprofits, burial sites, and property passing through a will or intestate succession.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax
Transfers to Your Own LLC Are Not Automatically Exempt
Moving property into an LLC, corporation, or partnership is a point of confusion. Pennsylvania treats entities as separate from their owners, so a transfer of real estate between you and your own LLC is fully taxable unless a specific exclusion applies.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PA Code Chapter 91 – Realty Transfer Tax Small business owners who assume this is a formality often learn otherwise at closing.
Living trusts work differently. Transferring property into a living trust for estate planning is generally excluded, and transfers back out to the settlor are excluded as well.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PA Code Chapter 91 – Realty Transfer Tax Transfers from a testamentary trust to the named beneficiary after the settlor’s death are also excluded. For an ordinary trust, a transfer in is only excluded if the same transfer would have been excluded going directly from the grantor to each beneficiary.
How to Claim an Exemption
Any exemption requires Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Form REV-183, the Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value, filed in duplicate with the Recorder of Deeds. You need it whenever the deed does not state the full consideration, the transfer involves no consideration or is a gift, or an exemption is being claimed.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Instructions for REV-183 Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value
The form has pre-printed ovals for common exemptions, including transfers by will, between family members, and to government entities. If none fit, there is space for a written explanation. For family transfers, be specific about the relationship. Write “parent to child” rather than relying on a generic box. If the parties have different last names, you may need a birth certificate or marriage certificate to document the qualifying relationship. The form also calls for the tax parcel number, the county assessed value, and the total consideration even when that is zero. Incomplete forms are returned, which delays recording.
Recording the Deed
The Allegheny County Department of Real Estate at 542 Forbes Avenue, Room 101, in Pittsburgh handles deed recording and transfer tax collection.8Allegheny County. Allegheny County Division of Real Estate Fee Schedule The transfer tax payment is submitted separately from the recording fee, with a separate check for each.
The recording fee itself is a flat $200 for a standard deed. Additional charges apply only when the document lists more than 30 names ($5 per extra name) or more than 30 parcels requiring deed certification ($10 per extra parcel).8Allegheny County. Allegheny County Division of Real Estate Fee Schedule
Allegheny County also accepts electronic recording through approved vendors including Simplifile, CSC, and eRecording Partners Network. Title companies use those portals for most routine transactions. Some documents cannot be e-recorded and must be submitted on paper, including corrective deeds, sheriff’s deeds, deeds transferring property into a trust, and deeds that are taxable in multiple jurisdictions.9Allegheny County. E-Recording If your transaction falls into one of those categories, plan for in-person or mail filing.
What Happens if You Underpay
The tax is due at the time of recording. Underpayment, whether from an error or from undervaluing the property, exposes both parties to interest charges and potential liens. The Commonwealth can determine that additional tax is owed up to three years after a document is recorded, and the window extends further for substantial underpayments. In cases of fraud there is no statute of limitations. The state can also file a lien against the transferred property to secure unpaid tax, which creates a title problem that will surface on any later sale or refinance.
Settling the valuation and any exemption question before the deed is presented is far cheaper than correcting it afterward. If anything about your transaction is unclear, resolve it before recording so the interest clock never starts.