States with no real estate transfer tax: the list

What “no transfer tax” means

A real estate transfer tax is a charge on the deed, usually set as a rate per $500 or $1,000 of the price. It is separate from your income tax, your property tax and the fee to record the deed. In the 15 states above, the sources Payotte read show no such tax at the state level. Recording fees are flat amounts per document or per page. Examples from the table: $20 for the first page plus $5 per extra page in Alaska, $25 for the first five pages in Mississippi, and a flat $40 per document in Utah (Utah Code 17-71-407).

The word “none” carries two different levels of certainty.

States where the ban is written down

• Texas. Article VIII, Section 29 says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction conveying fee simple title to real property. Removing the ban would take a voter-approved amendment.
• Alaska. AS 43.98.035 bars a sales or use tax on the transfer of real property. Boroughs and cities are barred too, including home rule municipalities.
• Arizona. Article 9, Section 24 bars the state, counties, cities and districts from imposing any new tax or fee on buying or selling real property. It does not reach charges that existed on December 31, 2007.
• Missouri. Article X, Section 25 bars any new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate since December 2, 2010. The word “new” matters: a tax already in place on that date would survive, and the table found none.
• Oregon. Article IX, Section 15 bars the state, cities and counties from taxing the transfer of real property, except taxes in effect on December 31, 2009. The table does not name which local governments had one, so outside Multnomah County ask the county assessment office.
• Louisiana. The Constitution bars any new state or local tax on the sale of real estate after November 30, 2011.

The Louisiana exception

Louisiana has no state tax, but New Orleans keeps an older documentary transaction tax of $300 on the sale of a single-family home under its City Code, paid by the seller (Payotte table, citing the City Code). Other parishes were not reviewed. Payotte therefore lists Louisiana as “local only” in its summary and counts it among the 15 states without a state tax.

Things that are not a transfer tax

• Mortgage taxes. Some states tax the loan, not the sale. Kansas used to charge a mortgage registration tax of 0.26% of the loan; the Legislative Research Department records it was phased out and repealed from 2019.
• Recording fees. Flat, small, charged everywhere.
• Price disclosure. Several of these states still require the price to be reported. North Dakota and Wyoming require the buyer to certify or swear to the sale price, and Montana requires a realty transfer certificate stating it. Utah deeds do not state the price.

Where you should still check

Counties and cities can add charges even where the state does not, so a “no tax” state is not a guarantee for your parcel. For Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming the table says local taxes were “none found” and asks you to confirm with the county recorder or clerk. For the opposite case, California has no state tax but lets counties charge $0.55 per $500 of value, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own (Payotte table).

Where to look next

The full 50-state table, with the state rate, local taxes and who pays, is at /usa/by-state/transfer-tax. For a state page, use /usa/{state}/transfer-tax, for example Texas or Missouri. To estimate a bill in a state that does charge, use the transfer tax calculator. For the other fees at the table, read closing costs explained and local transfer taxes.