Lake County Transfer Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Filing

Real estate transfers in Lake County, Illinois carry a combined state and county transfer tax of $0.75 for every $500 of the sale price. On a $300,000 home, that’s $450 due before the deed can be recorded. Six municipalities add their own tax on top, so the full bill depends on where the property sits.

How the State and County Rate Is Calculated

The $0.75 per $500 figure is actually two taxes stacked together. Illinois charges $0.50 per $500 under the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, and Lake County adds $0.25 per $500 under 55 ILCS 5/5-1031.¹ Both are collected at the same time, when the deed goes in for recording.²

The tax applies to every $500 increment or any fraction of one. Divide the sale price by 500, round up if there’s any remainder, then multiply by $0.75. A $300,000 sale produces exactly 600 increments and a $450 tax. A $302,100 sale rounds up to 605 increments because the last $100 still counts as a fraction, so the tax is $453.75.

By longstanding custom in Illinois, the seller pays the transfer tax at closing. The purchase contract can shift that cost to the buyer or split it, but the default sits with the seller.

Which Towns Add Their Own Transfer Tax

Six municipalities in Lake County impose a transfer tax on top of the state and county charges: Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Mettawa, and North Chicago.² If the property sits in one of these jurisdictions, the municipal tax stamp (or an exemption letter) has to be in hand before the county will record the deed.

Buffalo Grove: $3.00 per $1,000 of the sale price
Highland Park: $5.00 per $1,000
Lake Forest: $4.00 per $1,000
Lincolnshire: $3.00 per $1,000³
North Chicago: $5.00 per $1,000⁴
Mettawa: imposes a transfer tax; contact the village for the current rate

The practical difference is large. Selling a $300,000 home in Highland Park means the $450 state-and-county tax plus $1,500 in municipal tax, for $1,950 total. The same sale in an unincorporated part of the county, or in a municipality without its own tax, owes just $450.

Transfers That Don’t Owe the Tax

Illinois law exempts specific categories of transfers under 35 ILCS 200/31-45.⁵ The ones most likely to apply to a Lake County homeowner:

Transfers for less than $100 in consideration. This covers most gifts within a family, like a parent quitclaiming a home to an adult child for no payment. The exemption turns on the dollar amount, not the family relationship.
Deeds where a governmental body is the buyer or seller, or transfers between governmental entities.
Property acquired by or from organizations formed exclusively for charitable, religious, or educational purposes.
Deeds issued to a mortgage holder through foreclosure, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Corrective or confirmatory deeds that fix or clarify a prior recording without new payment.
Mortgages and similar instruments that pledge the property as collateral rather than transfer it.
Partition deeds where co-owners divide their existing interests without a sale.
Deeds issued through the tax sale process.

Exempt doesn’t mean paperwork-free. You still have to file the PTAX-203 noting the exemption, or put an exemption notation on the deed itself when it’s submitted to the Lake County Recorder.⁶ Showing up at the counter without that documentation will get the deed rejected.

Filing the PTAX-203 Declaration

Every taxable transfer requires a completed PTAX-203 Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration.⁷ The form calculates the tax and captures what the county needs to process the recording. You’ll provide:

Full names and addresses for both the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer).
The property index number (PIN) from the real estate tax bill or assessment notice.
The legal description from the deed, not just the street address.
The full actual consideration, meaning the total purchase price.
Any personal property deduction. If the sale includes items like appliances or furniture, subtract their value so the tax is calculated only on the real estate. A $250,000 sale that includes $5,000 in personal property gets taxed on $245,000.

Lake County participates in MyDec, the Illinois Department of Revenue’s free online system for preparing and submitting the PTAX-203.⁸ MyDec also generates the electronic tax stamp once the declaration is processed.⁹ Title companies and closing attorneys use it routinely. If you’re handling a transfer without professional help, MyDec is the most direct route.

Recording Fees to Expect

Once the PTAX-203 is filed and the transfer tax paid, the deed goes to the Lake County Clerk’s Recording Division. A standard document costs $70 to record. If the deed qualifies as non-standard (it creates a new tax parcel, fails formatting requirements, or references more than five parcel numbers), the fee rises to $82.¹⁰ Most residential deeds are standard. Once recorded, the deed enters the public record and the original goes back to the buyer or their representative.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay or Underreport

The basic enforcement mechanism is simple. The county will not record a deed without the transfer tax stamp. No stamp, no recording, no legally recognized transfer. That alone drives compliance on most transactions.

Falsification is treated more seriously. Deliberately understating the sale price on the PTAX-203, leaving out required information, or falsely claiming an exemption is a Class B misdemeanor under Illinois law. A second or later conviction becomes a Class A misdemeanor. Falsifying the identity of the buyer is a Class C misdemeanor. In every case, a conviction leaves you owing the full tax plus any fines the court sets.

Municipal transfer taxes have their own penalties. Buffalo Grove, for instance, charges 1% monthly interest on unpaid tax plus a penalty of 10% of the tax and accrued interest. And in any of the six taxing municipalities, missing the local stamp will stop the county from recording the deed until it’s resolved.²

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 55 ILCS 5/5-1031 – County Real Estate Transfer Tax
2
Lake County, Illinois. Understanding Real Estate Transfer Taxes in Lake County
3
Village of Lincolnshire. Taxes and User Fees
4
City of North Chicago. Real Estate Tax Information Form
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 35 ILCS 200/31-45 – Exemptions
6
Illinois Department of Revenue. Instructions for Form PTAX-203, Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration
7
Illinois Department of Revenue. PTAX-203 Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration
8
Lake County, Illinois. PTAX-203 Forms
9
Illinois Department of Revenue. MyDec – Online Real Property Transfer Tax Declarations
10
Lake County, Illinois. Recording and Copy Fees