Deed FAQs

Maryland has 4 potential fees and taxes -- recording fees; state transfer tax; state recordation tax; county transfer tax.

Generally: $10.00 for a release nine (9) pages or less in length; $20.00 for any other instrument nine (9) pages or less in length.

Except as provided above, $20.00 for an instrument, regardless of length, involving solely a principal residence.

$75 any other instrument ten (10) pages or more in length.

In addition to the fees listed above, a surcharge of $40.00 is charged for every instrument recorded in the land records  -- so a deed less than 10 pages involving an investment property is going to cost $60.00 ($20.00 + $40.00 surcharge) exclusive of transfer and recordation taxes.

Recordation Tax is applied to any instrument that transfers an interest in real property or that creates a security interest in real or personal property. Every county in Maryland has a different rate for State Recordation Tax.

In every written or oral agreement for the sale or other disposition of property, it is presumed in the absence of a contrary provision in the agreement or the law, that the parties to the agreement intended that the cost of any recordation tax or any State or local transfer tax shall be shared equally between the grantor and grantee.

The tax is applied to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, e.g. deed, lease, easements, contract, etc. The tax is one half of 1% (0.5%) of the consideration, except for deeds to a first time Maryland home buyer (someone who has never owned property in Maryland as their primary residence), in which case the tax is 0.25% and the 0.25% is paid entirely by the seller unless the contract states otherwise.

In every written or oral agreement for the sale or other disposition of property, it is presumed in the absence of a contrary provision in the agreement or the law, that the parties to the agreement intended that the cost of any recordation tax or any State or local transfer tax shall be shared equally between the grantor and grantee.

The tax is applied to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, e.g. deed, lease, easements, contract, etc. The rate is established by the county -- ranging from 0.5% to 1.5% of consideration -- while some counties don't charge a county transfer tax at all.

In every written or oral agreement for the sale or other disposition of property, it is presumed in the absence of a contrary provision in the agreement or the law, that the parties to the agreement intended that the cost of any recordation tax or any State or local transfer tax shall be shared equally between the grantor and grantee.

Note: you will find exemptions to county transfer tax in the county code, if one is published. Since the exemptions in the Maryland Code relate only to state transfer and recordation taxes, in our experience you will find that many county clerks attempt to collect county transfer taxes on what would appear to be tax-exempt transfers.

Generally speaking, the Maryland exemptions are found in Maryland Code Annotated Tax-Property 12-108 (recordation tax exemptions) and 13-207 (transfer tax exemptions). These include spousal transfers, family transfers, no-consideration transfers from personal representatives, transfers to revocable trusts, certain entity transfers, etc. It is important to understand that even if a transfer is exempt under the state law exemptions referenced above, the transfer may still be subject to county transfer tax.

Anyone can create a free account and get full access to Maryland Land Records here: MD Land Records

Maryland deeds go through several stops before being indexed in the Land Records. The process takes different time depending upon the county (or Baltimore City) and also whether the recording needs to go through special stops, such as a tax sale office. The recording process can range from several days in certain counties to several months in others.

In Maryland, in order to be valid, a deed must contain the names of the grantor and grantee, a description of the property sufficient to identify it with reasonable certainty, and the interest or estate intended to be granted, is sufficient, if executed, acknowledged, and, where required, recorded. Md Code Ann. Real Property 4-101.

Let's go through each of the elements.

The grantor is the person transferring the property (or an interest in it). The grantee is who is receiving it. The grantor may be a person, a group of persons, an entity such as a corporation of limited liability company, or someone or something serving in a fiduciary capacity such as an attorney in fact under a power of attorney, a trustee of a trust, or a personal representative of an estate. There are many other examples.

To satisfy the requirement of a description of the property sufficient to identify it, a complete legal description of the property should be included. While a tax ID may suffice (and this is the method used to convey property via tax sale deed) it is best to be thorough. A legal description is more than a street address.

Regarding the interest or estate to be granted, this relates to the nature of the interest being conveyed by the grantor. Depending on the circumstances, the interest may be fee simple or leasehold; the interest may be a full (100%) conveyance or a lesser percentage; the interest may be less than absolute such as a life estate (bare or enhanced). In the context of a ground rent redemption deed, the interest is actually the merger of a fee interest with a leasehold interest which results in the extinguishment of the leasehold.

Maryland law requires a deed to be executed. Until recently, that would have required an ink signature. The expansion of electronic signature laws to this state have changed this requirement. To satisfy the acknowledged requirement, a notary public needs to be involved. The notary confirms the identity of the grantor, confirms the grantor's intent, and affixes or attaches a notary seal/stamp. All of these requirements can now be completed electronically in an online meeting. The record of that meeting and signing are required by law to be preserved for a period of years.

When a deed is recorded, it has been officially made part of the Land Records. Each deed passes through several different offices where it gets “stamps” (approvals/receipts) before finally being submitted to the Land Records, where it gets indexed and part of the public record. Deeds are indexed by their location in books (Liber), at certain pages (Folio). Every county has its own recording process. When engaged to do so, our firm will take care of recording your deed, often by e-recording (through an electronic recording system). Deeds submitted for recording are accompanied by a Certificate of Preparation. All Maryland deeds must either be prepared by (a) a licensed Maryland attorney or (b) one of the parties to the instrument*. Also required are completed intake sheet, plus any necessary affidavits and forms, supporting documentation for any claimed exemptions, and of course whatever payment is due.

*Although it is permissible for a grantor or grantee to prepare the deed, this is not recommended. Too much can go wrong, leading to invalid conveyances and unexpected results. Also MD requires supporting documentation for all claimed transfer/recordation tax exemptions, along with the proper citation(s) to the Maryland Code.

A Maryland-licensed attorney at our firm will prepare your deed, confirm all legal requirements have been satisfied, and ensure all necessary payments have been calculated and collected before submitting it for recording.

DC has 3 potential fees and taxes -- recording fees; recordation tax; transfer tax.

The following fees shall be charged for recording documents in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds:

• One hundred fifty dollars ($150) for the recordation of any and all deeds of trust, mortgages, modifications to deeds of trust, amendments to deeds of trust, or amended and restated deeds of trust; and
• Twenty-five dollars ($25) for the recordation of all other documents.

There is a surcharge of $6.50 on every document in DC... so the Recording Fee for deeds is $31.50.

In Washington DC, the recordation tax is based on the consideration paid for the transfer. Where there is no consideration or where the amount is nominal, recordation tax will be based upon the fair market value of the property being conveyed. FMV would be the current tax assessed value of the property. The current recordation tax rate is 1.1% of consideration or fair market value for residential property transfers less than $400,000 and 1.45% of consideration or fair market value if transfer is greater than $400,000. The 1.45% rate also applies to commercial or mixed use properties regardless of consideration (recently reduced from 2.5%).

The seller generally pays the recordation tax... although this can be modified by contract (such as is the case with most foreclosures, where the buyer pays both recordation and transfer taxes).

In Washington DC, the transfer tax is based on the consideration paid for the transfer. Where there is no consideration or where the amount is nominal, transfer tax will be based upon the fair market value of the property being conveyed. FMV would be the current tax assessed value of the property. The current transfer tax rate is 1.1% of consideration or fair market value for residential property transfers less than $400,000 and 1.45% of consideration or fair market value if transfer is greater than $400,000. The 1.45% rate also applies to commercial or mixed use properties regardless of consideration (recently reduced from 2.5%).

The buyer generally pays the transfer tax... although this can be modified by contract.

Generally speaking, the DC exemptions are found in DC Code 47-902 (transfer tax) and DC Code 42-1102 (recordation tax). Here are examples of the most common exemptions: deeds between spouses, parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, or domestic partners, without actual consideration therefor; deeds of personal representatives of decedents, transferring without additional consideration, real property of a decedent; a deed by a transferor that conveys bare legal title to the trustee of a revocable trust, without consideration for the transfer, where the transferor is the beneficiary of the trust; etc. DC has strict documentation requirements for satisfying transfer and recordation tax exemptions. You can find a list of these requirements here.

Anyone can create a free account and get full access to DC land records here: DC Land Records

Currently the DC Recorder of Deeds office is closed to the public for renovations, so all deeds must be e-recorded. The e-recording process only takes a few days.

In DC, in order to be valid, a deed must contain the names of the grantor and grantee, a description of the property sufficient to identify it with reasonable certainty, and the interest or estate intended to be granted, is sufficient, if executed, acknowledged, and recorded.

Let's go through each of the elements.

The grantor is the person transferring the property (or an interest in it). The grantee is who is receiving it. The grantor may be a person, a group of persons, an entity such as a corporation of limited liability company, or someone or something serving in a fiduciary capacity such as an attorney in fact under a power of attorney, a trustee of a trust, or a personal representative of an estate. There are many other examples.

To satisfy the requirement of a sufficient description of the property, according to the Recorder of Deeds a complete legal description is required on each document, which includes the lot number, square number, subdivision and reference information as recorded with the Office of the Surveyor. A legal description is more than a street address.

Regarding the interest or estate to be granted, this relates to the nature of the interest being conveyed by the grantor. Depending on the circumstances, the interest may be fee simple or leasehold; the interest may be a full (100%) conveyance or a lesser percentage; the interest may be less than absolute such as a life estate (bare or enhanced).

DC law requires a deed to be executed (signed by hand). To satisfy the acknowledged requirement, a notary public needs to be involved. The notary confirms the identity of the grantor and the grantor's intent, and affixes or attaches a notary seal/stamp.

When a deed is recorded, it has been officially made part of the Land Records. In DC, deeds are indexed by Instrument Number. When engaged to do so, our firm will take care of recording your deed, often by e-recording (through an electronic recording system). Deeds submitted for recording are accompanied by an FP-7 intake form, plus any affidavits and forms required, supporting documentation for any claimed exemptions, and of course whatever payment is due.

Although in DC it is permissible for someone other than a DC-licensed attorney to prepare a deed, this is not recommended. Too much can go wrong, leading to invalid conveyances and unexpected results. Also DC requires supporting documentation for all claimed transfer/recordation tax exemptions, along with the proper citation(s) to the DC Code.

A DC-licensed attorney at our firm will prepare your deed, confirm all legal requirements have been satisfied, and ensure all necessary payments have been calculated and collected before submitting it for recording.