Clark County Transfer Tax: Rates, Who Pays, and Exemptions

The Clark County transfer tax is $2.55 for every $500 of property value, charged when a deed is recorded with the County Recorder. On a $300,000 home that comes to $1,530. The tax applies to any transfer of residential, commercial, or vacant land where the consideration or value is more than $100, and the recorder collects it at the time of recording.¹

The $2.55 figure is actually two statutes stacked: $1.25 per $500 under NRS 375.020 for counties with populations over 700,000, plus $1.30 per $500 under NRS 375.023.¹

How to Calculate What You’ll Owe

Divide the property value by $500, round any fraction up to the next whole number, and multiply by $2.55. The value is the full purchase price in a sale. If no money changes hands, the recorder uses the estimated fair market value.²

$300,000 sale: 600 units × $2.55 = $1,530
$475,000 sale: 950 units × $2.55 = $2,422.50
$512,300 sale: 1,024.6 rounds to 1,025 units × $2.55 = $2,613.75

The rounding rule matters. A single dollar over a $500 increment costs you the full next increment.

Who Pays at Closing

Nevada law makes the buyer and seller jointly and severally liable, so the recorder can collect from either one if the tax goes unpaid, no matter what the purchase agreement says. The parties can agree between themselves about who writes the check, and the statute allows that, but a private arrangement does not stop the recorder from pursuing the other side when tax remains outstanding.³

In most Las Vegas residential deals, the seller covers the transfer tax as part of standard closing costs and the escrow company deducts it from the seller’s proceeds. Spell it out in the purchase agreement anyway so there’s no confusion at the table.

Exemptions That Commonly Apply

NRS 375.090 lists more than a dozen situations where no transfer tax is owed. The ones that come up most often:

Transfers between people related within the first degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity, which covers parent-to-child, child-to-parent, and spouse-to-spouse transfers.
Transfers between former spouses that comply with a divorce decree.
Transfers to or from a trust without consideration, provided a certificate of trust is presented at recording.
Transfers between a business entity and its parent, subsidiary, or affiliated entity with identical common ownership. The exemption does not apply if the entity was created specifically to avoid the tax.
Transfers of property to a corporation or other business organization where the person transferring owns 100% of the entity.
Transfers to the United States, the state, or any political subdivision or agency.
Transfers without consideration from one joint tenant or tenant in common to the remaining joint tenants or tenants in common.
Conveyances by deed that become effective on the grantor’s death under Nevada’s transfer-on-death deed statutes.
Transfers made to carry out a confirmed bankruptcy reorganization plan, if completed within five years of confirmation.

The full list also covers unpatented mining claims and transfers to educational or university foundations.¹

Every exemption requires documentation. A family transfer needs proof of the relationship on the Declaration of Value form. A trust transfer needs the certificate of trust. A business reorganization needs ownership documentation plus a Model 1 Affidavit.

If an Exemption Is Denied or the Tax Is Underpaid

When the recorder disallows an exemption after recording or finds through an audit that additional tax is owed, both buyer and seller receive notice. You have 30 days to pay. Miss that deadline and the recorder adds a 10% penalty on the unpaid amount plus 1% interest per month, calculated back to the date the deed was originally recorded.¹

The retroactive interest is what hurts. If an audit happens a year after recording, you’re already looking at 12% in interest on top of the 10% penalty before the 30-day clock even starts.

How to File

Every recorded transfer needs a Declaration of Value form, available for download from the Clark County Recorder’s website.⁴ You state the total property value, calculate the tax owed, and enter the applicable exemption code if one applies. The recorder uses that declared value to determine the tax due.⁵

You also need the deed itself. NRS 111.240 requires anyone executing a conveyance of real property to acknowledge the execution before a judge, court clerk, or other authorized officer such as a notary public.⁶ In practice, get the grantor’s signature notarized before bringing the deed in.

The Recorder’s Office accepts documents in person and by mail. Accepted payment methods include cash (in person only), credit and debit cards (in person or online), money orders, cashier’s checks, and company checks. Personal checks are not accepted. Card payments carry a processing fee of 2% of the total plus $1.25.⁷

Federal Tax Treatment

You cannot deduct the Clark County transfer tax on your federal income tax return as a real estate tax. The IRS explicitly excludes transfer taxes from homeowner deductions.⁸ If you’re the buyer, though, the transfer tax you pay adds to your cost basis in the property. The IRS lists transfer taxes among the settlement fees and closing costs that increase basis.⁹ A higher basis means less taxable gain when you eventually sell.

Family transfers that avoid the Clark County transfer tax can trigger a different federal obligation. When you transfer property to a child or other relative without receiving fair market value in return, the IRS treats it as a gift. If the value exceeds the $19,000 annual exclusion for 2026, the donor must file Form 709.¹⁰ Filing doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax, because the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption of $15 million for 2026 absorbs most gifts well beyond a single property, but the reporting requirement still applies.¹¹

FIRPTA Withholding for Foreign Sellers

Las Vegas sees significant foreign investment, and sellers who are not U.S. citizens or residents face a separate federal withholding requirement under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. The general rate is 15% of the sale price, collected from the seller’s proceeds at closing. For properties the buyer is acquiring as a residence where the sale price is $1 million or less, the rate drops to 10%. No withholding is required when the buyer is acquiring the property as a residence and the sale price does not exceed $300,000.¹²

FIRPTA withholding is on top of the Clark County transfer tax, not in place of it. Foreign sellers can apply to the IRS for a withholding certificate to reduce or eliminate the withholding when their actual tax liability will be lower, but the application must be filed before or at closing. Escrow companies in Clark County handle FIRPTA routinely, but sellers who qualify for reduced withholding should start the IRS certificate process early. It often takes several months.

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 375 – Taxes on Transfers of Real Property
2
Clark County, NV. Land Documents
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 375.030 – Payment of Taxes, Penalties and Interest
4
Clark County, NV. Clark County Recorder – Forms
5
Recorders Association of Nevada. Property Transfer Tax
6
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 111 – Estates in Property
7
Clark County, NV. Recorder Office Fees
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 530, Tax Information for Homeowners
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551, Basis of Assets
10
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes
11
Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1445 – Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of United States Real Property Interests