Prince George's County Real Estate Transfer Tax Calculator

Real estate conveyances in Prince George's County are subject to three main statutory tax components assessed on taxable consideration: the Maryland State Transfer Tax at 0.50% (0.5%), the Prince George's County Transfer Tax at 1.40% (1.4%), and the State Recordation Tax (collected locally) at $5.50 per $1,000 (assessed at $2.75 per $500 or fraction of $500) of consideration. Combined, the nominal transfer and recordation tax rate equals 2.45% of the taxable consideration, although the effective total rate can vary slightly due to recordation tax rounding up on non-divisible $500 consideration increments.

To calculate total taxes prior to evaluating exemptions, compute the three tax components on the taxable consideration. For example, on a $400,000 residential property purchase: State Transfer Tax (0.50%) equals $2,000; County Transfer Tax (1.40%) equals $5,600; and Recordation Tax ($5.50 per $1,000) equals $2,200 ($2.75 × 800 increments of $500). Combined, these baseline taxes total $9,800. For consideration amounts not evenly divisible by $500, recordation-tax units are rounded up to the next $500 increment.

Under standard Maryland Real Property Code § 14-104(b), transfer and recordation taxes are customarily split 50/50 between buyer and seller unless agreed otherwise in the contract. However, when an eligible first-time Maryland homebuyer purchases improved residential property as a principal residence, Maryland Tax-Property Code § 13-203(b) reduces the state transfer tax rate from 0.50% to 0.25% and mandates that the seller pay the entire state transfer tax. Furthermore, under statutory defaults (Maryland Real Property Code § 14-104(c)), the seller must also pay the entire county transfer tax and recordation tax unless the purchase contract explicitly provides otherwise.

Prince George's County utilizes a sequential two-stage processing procedure. First, the deed and tax payments must clear the Prince George's County Office of Finance (located at 1301 McCormick Drive, Suite 1100, Largo, MD 20774) to pay local transfer and recordation taxes and verify that real property taxes, municipal liens, and municipal tax obligations are satisfied. Once stamped by the county finance office, the deed is submitted to the Land Records Division of the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County (located at the Judiciary Administrative Services Building, 14701 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Room J1108, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772) to pay state transfer taxes and court recording fees upon final recordation.

Submitting a deed for paper recordation in Prince George's County requires a fully executed original instrument (and one full copy), a completed State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet, a copy of the instrument (and any applicable survey) for submission to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), clearance of applicable property tax obligations, and payment of applicable state and county taxes and recording fees. Properties located within municipalities requiring separate tax clearance must first obtain required municipal stamps before county presentation. Standard court recording fees are $20 for an instrument involving solely a principal residence, regardless of page count; $20 for other instruments of nine pages or fewer; and $75 for other instruments of ten pages or more. Releases of nine pages or fewer are $10. A $40 state recording surcharge generally applies to recorded documents, except for powers of attorney, plats, and chattel documents, as specified in the county's published Land Records fee schedule. Electronic submissions follow established county e-recording procedures.