Nevada real property transfer tax: $2.55 per $500 in Clark County

How much is the tax?

The tax applies to the transfer of title to real property. The county recorder collects it when the deed is recorded, and the amount rests on the value declared on the Declaration of Value form (Nevada Department of Taxation).

The statewide rate is $1.95 for every $500 of value or any fraction thereof, when the value is over $100. Some counties add more:

Nevada has no separate city transfer tax in the sources reviewed. The Clark County Recorder charges the single county-wide rate of $2.55 and says it has applied since October 1, 2003.

“Or any fraction thereof” matters. The tax is figured in $500 steps, so a price of $500,001 is taxed as 1,001 steps, not 1,000. The Recorder publishes a tax table that does this rounding for you.

Where does the $2.55 go?

The Department of Taxation’s quarterly report on the tax lists each piece for Clark County, per $500:

The same report says Clark County is the only Nevada county whose population is large enough (700,000 or more) to carry the school district component.

Who pays the transfer tax?

The pages from the Department of Taxation and the Clark County Recorder explain how the tax is collected, but they do not say which party owes it. The Nevada Revised Statutes pages could not be opened for this article, so this guide does not state the statutory rule.

What an official body does say is about custom. The State Bar of Nevada writes that the parties’ split of escrow costs is “most commonly dictated by the custom of the region or county,” and that “real property transfer tax, recording fees and escrow fees are often split equally.” It adds that a written agreement can divide any of these costs differently. So check the purchase contract and the escrow instructions, which control what you actually pay.

Which transfers are exempt?

Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 375.090 lists 14 exemptions. The Department of Taxation and the Clark County Recorder summarize them. The main ones are:

• Transfers to the United States, a state or one of their agencies or local governments.
• Transfers that only correct or recognize the true status of title, such as re-recording to fix a legal description.
• Transfers without consideration between joint tenants or tenants in common.
• Transfers to a person related in the first degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity. The Recorder’s list names parents and children, spouse to spouse, and registered Nevada domestic partners, and asks you to state the relationship on the Declaration of Value.
• Transfers between spouses under a divorce decree.
• Transfers to or from a trust without consideration.
• Transfers to a business entity that the transferor wholly owns.
• Deeds that take effect on the grantor’s death.

A sale to a new owner is not on that list. The exemptions cover transfers where no sale price changes hands or the law treats the move as a change of form. The Clark County Recorder audits the value or the exemption at the time of recording and asks for documents such as a closing statement, a divorce decree or a certificate of trust. A document without the proof can be returned unrecorded. The Recorder’s exemption sheet was last revised in April 2022, so confirm the current list with the Recorder at (702) 455-4336.

Example: a $500,000 home in Las Vegas

This is an illustration, not a quote. The price is chosen for round numbers.

• $500,000 ÷ $500 = 1,000 steps.
• 1,000 × $2.55 = $2,550 of transfer tax.
• Of that, $1,300 goes to the State General Fund, $600 to the school district, $550 to the consolidated tax and $100 to the housing program.

If the price were $500,100, the tax would be 1,001 steps × $2.55 = $2,552.55. Under the equal split the State Bar describes as common, each side would pay half, $1,275 on the $500,000 sale. A contract can assign it differently.

For the other lines on the settlement statement, see closing costs in Nevada. To see how the tax compares with the yearly bill, read Nevada property tax and the Las Vegas guide.