Minnesota deed tax and mortgage registry tax explained

What is the Minnesota deed tax?

The state taxes each deed that transfers real property. The tax applies to the “net consideration,” meaning the price minus any lien or mortgage that stays on the property after the sale. The statute sets three cases:

• Consideration of more than $3,000: 0.33% of the net consideration (.0033).
• Consideration of $3,000 or less, or no consideration: a flat $1.65.
• Certain mergers and “designated transfers”: $1.65.

The tax is due when the deed is presented for recording (§ 287.21). Minnesota calls it a deed tax; most states call the same thing a transfer tax.

What is the mortgage registry tax?

Minnesota also taxes “the privilege of recording a mortgage” at 0.23% of the debt secured by the mortgage. Interest that accrues on the loan is not taxed (§ 287.035). It is a second tax on a typical purchase, because most buyers record a mortgage along with the deed. It applies again when you refinance with a new loan.

Does Hennepin County or Minneapolis add a tax?

Hennepin County does. State law lets the county impose an extra mortgage registry tax and deed tax of 0.01% each (Minn. Stat. §§ 287.223 and 383B.80). The 2026 Legislature moved the end date of that authority from January 1, 2028 to January 1, 2036 (Laws 2026, ch. 128, art. 8, § 9). The county’s recording page shows the combined rates it collects now:

The county page also lists a $5 conservation fee when deed or mortgage tax is paid. The pages I read show no separate City of Minneapolis transfer tax. For other costs, see closing costs in Minnesota and the Minneapolis guide.

Who pays by law?

The statutes name the payer:

• Deed tax: “any person who grants, assigns, transfers, or conveys” the property is liable, so by law the seller owes it (§ 287.24).
• Mortgage registry tax: “the person liable for the tax is the mortgagor,” so the borrower owes it (§ 287.035).

A purchase agreement can shift who pays a cost between the parties. The statute decides who is liable to the state. The deed cannot be recorded without a statement of the tax due or the exemption claimed (§ 287.241).

What is exempt?

Section 287.22 lists transfers that owe no deed tax. Examples for homeowners:

• A decree of marriage dissolution, or a deed between the spouses under it.
• A deed of distribution by a personal representative.
• A transfer on death deed.
• A deed or sheriff’s certificate in a mortgage or lien foreclosure sale, and the certificate of redemption.
• A partition deed between co-owners of the same property.
• An easement, a will, a lease, and an executory contract for the sale of real property, such as a contract for deed.

The mortgage registry tax has its own list (§ 287.04). It does not apply to a mortgage amendment or extension, a mortgage that adds security for a debt already taxed, a contract for deed, or a decree of marriage dissolution. It also exempts certain affordable housing loans made, or assigned, to a federal, state or local government agency.

What does it cost? A worked example in Minneapolis

This is an example, not a quote. Assume a $400,000 sale in Minneapolis with a $320,000 loan, a deed paid off at closing and recorded in Hennepin County.

The recording fee is separate. Hennepin County lists $46 per document, a figure that follows Minn. Stat. § 357.18. The county page also lists a well disclosure certificate at $54 when the seller knows of a well. Otherwise the deed carries a short statement that the seller knows of no wells. Our guide to closing costs explains the other lines.