Ohio real estate transfer tax: rate, who pays, exemptions

What is the rate in Franklin County?

The Franklin County Auditor’s calculator, as read in October 2026, gives these rules for a sale:

• The conveyance fee is $3 for every $1,000 of the sale price.
• Of that, $1 is the state’s share and $2 is set by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, whose fee the page says was last updated in August 2019.
• The minimum conveyance fee is $3.
• Every non-exempt transfer also carries a $0.50 transfer tax.
• The sale amount is rounded up to the nearest $100.

Counties set their own local portion, so another county can differ. The auditor of the county where the home sits is the source for its rate.

Who pays?

The sources I read do not say who must pay under a purchase contract, so the contract controls. The calculator states the reduced rate by reference to the grantor, the seller: if the grantor receives the homestead exemption when the property transfers, the county’s $2 portion is waived and the fee is $1 per $1,000. That points to the seller as the party charged. Ask your title company to confirm before you sign.

The homestead exemption here is the property-tax reduction for lower-income seniors and certain disabled owners. It is not a general benefit for all sellers. The Ohio Department of Taxation describes who qualifies, and our Ohio property tax page summarizes it.

What are the exemptions?

The Auditor lists transfers that are exempt from the conveyance fee “per state law,” citing Ohio Revised Code §§ 319.202 and 319.54(G)(3). The exempt transfers include those:

• to or from the United States, Ohio or their agencies and political subdivisions;
• made solely to provide or release security for a debt (an affidavit of facts is required);
• that confirm or correct a deed already recorded;
• that are gifts between spouses, or between a parent and child or a child’s spouse;
• made on sale for delinquent taxes or assessments;
• when no money or other valuable consideration is paid and the transfer is not a gift (an affidavit is required);
• to a trustee of a trust whose grantor kept an unlimited power to revoke it, or back to that grantor;
• among the heirs or devisees of a person who died, when no money is paid.

The list is longer than this. An exempt transfer still pays the $0.50 transfer tax, and it must be reported on the state form DTE 100EX. The Auditor’s FAQ adds that a transfer for money is taxable, and a transfer with no money is treated as a gift, taxable unless it fits an exemption on that form.

Example: a $300,000 sale in Franklin County

This is an example, not a quote.

Each row adds the $0.50 transfer tax. For the full list of costs on the deed and at the closing table, including the Recorder’s $34 for the first two pages and $8 per additional page, see closing costs in Ohio. For general closing lines, see closing costs explained.