The Pennsylvania transfer tax is a 1% state tax on the value of real estate conveyed by deed, with local municipalities and school districts adding their own tax on top. In most of the state the combined rate lands at 2%, but in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh it climbs to roughly 4.5% to 5%. Both buyer and seller are legally responsible for the full amount, regardless of what their contract says about splitting it.
What You’ll Actually Pay
The state’s 1% is set by statute and applies the same way in all 67 counties.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. General On top of that, your municipality and school district each add their own rate, and the Recorder of Deeds collects everything in one payment at closing.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax
In most suburban and rural counties the local piece comes to 1%, so the full tax is 2% of the price. That’s what buyers outside the two big cities will usually see.3Bucks County. Transfer Tax The outliers are substantial:
- Philadelphia adds a city tax of 3.578%, bringing the total to 4.578%. On a $300,000 home, that works out to about $13,734.4City of Philadelphia. Realty Transfer Tax
- Pittsburgh charges 3% at the city level, and the Pittsburgh School District adds another 1%. Combined with the state’s 1%, the total is 5%, or $15,000 on that same $300,000 home.5Allegheny County. Local Realty Transfer Tax Rates
Before you budget, confirm the exact combined rate with your county Recorder of Deeds or municipality. Local rates can shift, and the city/school district breakdowns don’t always track county lines.
How the Tax Is Calculated
For an ordinary sale between unrelated parties, the math is simple: multiply the sale price by the combined rate. “Value” for tax purposes also includes any existing liens, mortgages, or ground rents that stay with the property after the transfer, whether or not the buyer formally takes on the debt.6Oil City, PA. Oil City Code Chapter 285 Taxation Article V Realty Transfer Tax – Section: 285-62 Definitions
Things change when no money changes hands or the stated price looks too low. In those cases the Department of Revenue falls back on the common level ratio: take the county’s assessed value of the property, multiply it by the common level ratio factor the State Tax Equalization Board publishes for that county, and compare the result to the stated price. The tax is based on whichever number is higher.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Common Level Ratio Real Estate Valuation Factors The current factor table covers documents recorded from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
Who Owes the Tax
By statute, buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for the whole tax. If one side doesn’t pay, the state can collect the full amount from the other.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Private agreements about who writes the check don’t change that.
In most residential deals the custom is a 50/50 split, but that’s convention, not law. In commercial transactions, new construction, or distressed sales, one party often absorbs the full amount as part of the negotiation. Whatever you agree to, put it in the agreement of sale. The Recorder of Deeds collects at recording and looks only at whether the tax was paid, not at who was supposed to pay it.
Transfers That Are Exempt
Several categories of transfer are excluded from the tax entirely. You still file the paperwork claiming the exemption (the deed won’t record without it), but no money is owed.
Family Transfers
Transfers between close family members are exempt. The statute covers spouses (including former spouses for property acquired before the divorce), parents and children and their in-law equivalents, stepparents and stepchildren, siblings and their spouses, and grandparents and grandchildren and their spouses.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 8102-C.3
Watch the one-year clawback. If the family member who received the property turns around and sells it to a non-family buyer within a year, the transfer tax becomes due as if the original owner had sold it directly to that outside buyer. The rule exists to stop families from using exempt transfers as a tax-avoidance step.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 8102-C.3
Estates, Trusts, and Government
Property passing through a will or by intestate succession from a personal representative to an heir or beneficiary is exempt. Transfers into an ordinary or living trust are also excluded, as long as the beneficiaries entitled to receive the property are the same family members who would qualify for a direct exemption.9Legal Information Institute. 61 Pa Code 91.193 – Excluded Transactions
Conveyances to the Commonwealth, municipalities, school districts, and their agencies by gift, dedication, or in lieu of condemnation are exempt. Deeds that correct or confirm an earlier recorded transfer are also excluded, provided the correction doesn’t expand or limit the existing title.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 8102-C.3
When Selling an Entity Triggers the Tax
A common assumption is that transferring the LLC or corporation that owns a property avoids transfer tax because no deed is recorded. Pennsylvania closes that door for “real estate companies”: entities whose real estate holdings make up 90% or more of their asset value and that earn at least 60% of their gross receipts from owning or selling real estate.10Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. PA Code Chapter 91 Realty Transfer Tax
When 90% or more of the ownership interest in such a company changes hands within any rolling three-year period, the 1% state tax comes due on the value of the Pennsylvania real estate the company holds. Granting an option to acquire an interest counts as a transfer on the date granted, whether or not it’s ever exercised. The company must file a declaration of acquisition with the Recorder of Deeds within 30 days, with the tax, or face penalties.10Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. PA Code Chapter 91 Realty Transfer Tax
Paperwork and Payment
You pay the tax at the Recorder of Deeds office in the county where the property sits. The Recorder collects state and local amounts together and distributes them.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax
In three situations you also have to submit Form REV-183, the Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value: when the deed doesn’t state the full price, when nothing is paid (such as a gift), or when you’re claiming an exemption. The form asks for the tax parcel number, the recording county, and, for family exemptions, the relationship between the parties. It also walks you through the computed value calculation (assessed value times the common level ratio factor) so the Recorder can compare it against the stated consideration.11Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Instructions for REV-183 Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value Fill it out before you show up to record.
Refunds and Deadlines
If you overpay or later realize you qualified for an exemption, Form REV-1651 is the refund application. You have three years from the date the tax was paid to file. If the overpayment came from a Department of Revenue assessment, the window shrinks to six months from the date you paid, and the petition goes to the Board of Appeals.12Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Application for Refund Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax REV-1651 Miss either deadline and the money is gone, so file as soon as you suspect an error and sort out the details afterward.