Seven places where the published rate is wrong, out of date, or contradicts the statute.
In several states the number in the law is not the number on your bill.
We built transfer tax calculators for all 50 states, Washington DC and 216 cities and counties, reading each statute and then checking it against the revenue department. Seven jurisdictions had either changed recently or never matched their own text. Massachusetts collects 14 percent more than its statute says because of a 1969 surcharge that was never codified. Philadelphia raised its rate in July 2025 and its own payment page still mentions the old one. New Jersey moved the mansion tax onto the seller and took it to 3.5 percent.
Deeds excise collected at $2.28 per $500 while the statute still reads $2.00
Change: 14% higher than the statute
An uncodified 14 percent surcharge from St. 1969 c.546 §23 was never folded into M.G.L. c.64D §1. Anyone quoting the statute alone is 12 percent low.
Massachusetts DOR Directive 95-4 — “The rate of the excise (except for Barnstable county) is $2.28 per $500.00 of consideration”
City realty transfer tax 3.278% to 3.578%
Change: Total went from 4.278% to 4.578%
On a $300,000 home that is $900 more. Guides written before July 2025 still show the old total, and the city’s own payment instructions still mention 3.278% further down the page.
City of Philadelphia announcement — “The City portion of the transfer tax rate is now 3.578%. It was previously 3.278%.”
Mansion tax moved to the seller and became graduated up to 3.5%
Change: Was a flat 1% paid by the buyer
Two changes at once: who pays flipped, and the rate now climbs to 3.5% on sales above $3.5 million. It applies to the entire price, so a $2,000,001 sale jumps from 1% to 2% on the whole amount.
New Jersey Division of Taxation notice — “it is legally imposed on the grantor instead of the grantee”
Documentary stamp tax $2.25 to $2.32 to $3.32 per $1,000
Change: Up 48% in twelve months
Two increases inside a year, and it is scheduled to drop back to $2.32 on January 1, 2032. Many county pages still show $2.25.
Nebraska Department of Revenue rate history — “July 18, 2026 through current: $3.32 per each $1,000 of value or fraction thereof”
Conveyance tax $2.30 to $3.75 per $500, plus a second $3.75 above $800,000
Change: Residential sales above $800,000 effectively pay 1.5%
The widely quoted $2.30 figure is long out of date. The $800,000 threshold is indexed to inflation from tax years beginning January 1, 2026.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-25-1 — “a tax at the rate of three dollars and seventy-five cents ($3.75) for each five hundred dollars ($500)”
Real estate excise tax brackets applied at $525,000 while the statute says $500,000
Change: Brackets rise again to $551,000 on January 1, 2027
RCW 82.45.060 sets base-year figures and directs the Department of Revenue to adjust them for inflation. Reading the statute alone gives you the wrong bracket.
Washington Department of Revenue — “$525,000 or less 1.10% $525,000.01 - $1,525,000 1.28%”
Notarized bill of sale will no longer prove a below-book private sale price
Change: Book value applies whenever your price is $500 or more below book
Chapter 119 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland repeals the notarized bill of sale route. Buyers of genuinely cheap used property will be taxed on book value instead.
2026 Laws of Maryland Ch. 119 — “This Act shall take effect October 1, 2026.”
Every figure above was read from the statute or the state revenue department page it links to, not from a secondary source. Where the statute and the agency disagree, we used what the agency actually collects and said so. Several of these entries exist precisely because the two do not match.
Found something wrong? The sources are linked on every entry so you can check for yourself. We would rather be corrected than be wrong.
See the same list for vehicle registration and car sales tax →
This page tracks rate changes only. For a calculation, use the state page. Estimates only; the state or county issues the final bill.