Skip to content
ClosingCodeClosingCode
ENES

Pennsylvania · Tax Reform Code §1102-CPennsylvania realty transfer tax: 1% to the state, plus the local rate

Pennsylvania imposes a state realty transfer tax of 1% of the value of the real estate on every person who makes, delivers, accepts or presents a deed for recording, payable when the document is recorded or within 30 days of acceptance (Tax Reform Code §1102-C). Local governments – the municipality and the school district – levy their own realty transfer taxes on top, so the total depends on where the property is. The state tax does not apply to, among others, transfers between spouses, former spouses dividing marital property, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, siblings, and grandparents and grandchildren – though a resale by the recipient within a year is taxed as if the original owner sold it – or to an estate's distribution to heirs for no consideration (§1102-C.3). On a $400,000 sale the state share is $4,000.

Rate, who pays and an example

  1. State tax

    1% of the value of the real estate represented by the deed (§1102-C).

  2. When

    When the deed is presented for recording, or within 30 days of acceptance (§1102-C).

  3. Who is subject

    Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents the document (§1102-C); government parties are exempt but others stay liable (§1102-C.2).

  4. Local tax

    Set by the municipality and school district – check the local rate for the address.

  5. Example

    $400,000 sale → state tax $4,000, plus the local rate.

Good to know

  • Family transfers excluded: spouses, former spouses (marital property), parent–child, stepparent–stepchild, siblings, grandparent–grandchild (§1102-C.3(6)).
  • A resale by the family recipient within one year is taxed as if the original owner made it.
  • Estate distributions to heirs or devisees for no or nominal consideration are excluded (§1102-C.3(7)).

What the TC checks

  • The tax line on the closing statement against the statutory rate.
  • Who pays it – the statute, the contract or local custom.
  • The value or consideration stated on the deed or declaration.

Questions about this tax

How much is the realty transfer tax in Pennsylvania?

1% to the state plus the local realty transfer tax of the municipality and school district; the state share is $4,000 on a $400,000 sale.

Is a transfer from parent to child taxed in Pennsylvania?

No. Transfers between parent and child or the child's spouse are excluded from the state tax, but a resale within a year is taxed (§1102-C.3(6)).

Who pays Pennsylvania transfer tax?

The statute makes every party who makes or accepts the deed subject to it; the contract sets how buyer and seller split it.

Related guides

Add the transfer tax check to the closing statement review as a task with an owner and due date in ClosingCode.

Start free trial

Source: Pennsylvania Tax Reform Code of 1971, §§1102-C, 1102-C.2, 1102-C.3 (palegis.us, read October 25, 2026).

General information, not legal or tax advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage.