If you are pricing a sale, the Montgomery County transfer tax is one of the few closing costs set by law rather than by negotiation with a vendor. However, it is never just one tax. Sellers in the county face a state transfer tax, a county transfer tax and a county recordation tax, and the recordation piece climbs in tiers as the price rises. As a result, your share grows faster than the price does.
How the Montgomery County transfer tax and recordation tax add up
All three taxes are figured on the sale price. Here are the current rates for an improved residential sale above $70,000.
| Tax | Rate | Default payer |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland state transfer tax | 0.5% of the price | Split 50/50 |
| Montgomery County transfer tax | 1% of the price | Split 50/50 |
| Montgomery County recordation tax | 0.89% to 2.27%, in tiers | Split 50/50 |
The 50/50 default comes from Maryland Real Property §14-117, which says these taxes are shared equally between the buyer and seller unless the contract or state or local law provides otherwise. In other words, the split is a starting point, not a requirement.
Recordation tax rises in tiers
Montgomery County’s recordation tax is marginal, much like an income tax bracket. In fact, each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside its band, per the county’s Bill 17-23 rate schedule, in effect since October 1, 2023.
- First $500,000: $4.45 per $500 (0.89%)
- $500,000 to $600,000: $6.75 per $500 (1.35%)
- $600,000 to $750,000: $10.20 per $500 (2.04%)
- $750,000 to $1,000,000: $10.78 per $500 (2.156%)
- Above $1,000,000: $11.35 per $500 (2.27%)
For example, on a $700,000 sale the recordation tax is $4,450 on the first $500,000, $1,350 on the next $100,000 and $2,040 on the last $100,000, or about $7,840 in all.
What sellers pay at Montgomery County prices
To make this concrete, I ran the three taxes at the median price for each home type, using 6,653 Bright MLS closed sales in Montgomery County from November 2025 through October 2026.
| Home type (sales) | Median price | All three taxes | Seller’s half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condo (1,597) | $335,000 | about $8,010 | about $4,000 |
| Townhouse (960) | $640,000 | about $16,220 | about $8,110 |
| All homes (6,653) | $700,000 | about $18,340 | about $9,170 |
| Detached (3,987) | $882,500 | about $24,950 | about $12,480 |
| $1M–$1.5M sales (1,052) | $1,215,000 | about $37,360 | about $18,680 |
What stands out in the numbers
The share of the price going to these taxes climbs with value. Specifically, the seller’s half is about 1.2% on the median condo, but about 1.54% on a $1.215 million sale, because more of the price lands in the upper recordation tiers.
Meanwhile, the market is giving sellers a little less room than a year ago. The median home spent 13 days on the market, up from 10, and 48% sold at or above the original list price, down from 53%. Therefore, a net-proceeds estimate that skips these taxes can be off by thousands at exactly the moment you are weighing a price.
