The State Tax Is Half the Story. The County Charge Is the Other Half.
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Maryland charges at two levels and only one of them is in the statute everybody quotes. On a Prince George's purchase the county line is nearly three times the state line.
The state rate
Md. Code, Tax-Property §13-203(a)(1): "the rate of the transfer tax is 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing."
§13-203(b)(3) then does two things in one sentence: "for a sale of improved residential real property to a first–time Maryland home buyer who will occupy the property as a principal residence, the rate of the transfer tax is 0.25%…and the transfer tax shall be paid entirely by the seller."
★★ And the definition is narrower than people assume: "never owned in the State." Ownership in another state is outside the test. The full rule.
★★ Now the part §13-203 does not touch
Maryland counties levy their own transfer tax and their own recordation tax. Those sit outside §13-203, so the "paid entirely by the seller" direction does not reach them.
From the Maryland Department of Legislative Services' Issue Papers, 2026 Legislative Session, Exhibit 2, "Local Tax Rates, Fiscal 2025 and 2026". Its own note: "Recordation is per $500 of transaction."
| Jurisdiction | County transfer tax | Recordation, per $500 |
|---|---|---|
| ★★ Frederick | ★★ 0.0% | $7.00 |
| ★★ Calvert | ★★ 0.0% | $5.00 |
| Charles | 0.5% | ★★ $7.00, raised from $5.00 |
| ★ Montgomery | ★ varies by property value | ★ varies; surcharges above $500,000 |
| ★★ Prince George's | ★★ 1.4% | $2.75 |
| Baltimore City | ★ 1.5% | $5.00 |
| Baltimore County | ★ 1.5% | $2.50 |
These are the seven jurisdictions we read directly. Statewide, DLS reports county transfer tax ranging from 0% to 1.5%, and recordation between $2.50 and $7.00 per $500.
★★ Three things that table tells a physician
★★ One. Five counties charge no county transfer tax at all: Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Somerset and Wicomico, per DLS. Frederick is one of the four counties carrying the $1,249,125 conforming limit. So Frederick gives you the state's highest borrowing capacity and no county transfer tax. That combination is not an accident of any policy design; it is just a fact worth knowing before you choose a county. The limits.
★★ Two. Prince George's charges 1.4%, which is nearly three times the standard state rate and more than five times the first-time-buyer state rate. A first-time Maryland home buyer there gets the state portion halved and paid by the seller, and still faces the county's 1.4%. Anyone who reads §13-203 and concludes transfer taxes are handled has the wrong picture in that county.
★★ Three. Charles County changed. Its recordation tax went from $5.00 to $7.00 per $500 for FY2026, the only recordation change in the state that year. Older closing-cost guidance for Charles County is stale, and Charles also carries the $1,249,125 limit.
★ A correction we are making in public
An earlier version of this page said we published no county rate because we had not read one at a primary source.
That reason was weak, and it was ours rather than the state's. DLS publishes a complete FY2026 exhibit for all twenty-four jurisdictions, and it answers the AI crawlers as readily as a browser. We have replaced the omission with the rows we read. The honest residual limit is narrower: we publish seven jurisdictions, not all twenty-four, and Montgomery's and Anne Arundel's variable schedules are reported by DLS as "varies", which we are not going to invent a number for.
The conditions on the halved state rate
- Occupancy as a principal residence.
- ★ Each grantee must qualify, unless a non-occupying co-maker or guarantor (§13-203(b)(2)).
- ★ A statement signed under oath from each grantee or their agent (§13-203(b)(4)).
★ Our lane
We are a mortgage lender. We publish these figures because they change a physician's cash at closing and because the "first-time" misconception is so widespread.
We give no legal advice and we do not determine whether you qualify. That runs through your attorney and title company and is formalised by a sworn statement. Your title company also produces the exact jurisdiction figure for your settlement, including anything local that sits outside the DLS exhibit.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Maryland state transfer tax?
0.5 percent of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing, under Md. Code, Tax-Property section 13-203(a)(1). For a sale of improved residential real property to a first-time Maryland home buyer occupying it as a principal residence, the rate is 0.25 percent and the statute directs that the seller pay it entirely.Do Maryland counties charge their own transfer tax?
Yes, and it is separate from the state tax and outside section 13-203. Maryland Department of Legislative Services reports FY2026 county transfer tax rates ranging from zero to 1.5 percent, with Baltimore City and Baltimore County at 1.5 percent and Prince George's at 1.4 percent. Five counties, Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Somerset and Wicomico, impose no transfer tax on property transfers.Which Maryland counties have no transfer tax?
Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Somerset and Wicomico impose no county tax on property transfers for fiscal 2026, per the Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Frederick also carries the state's top conforming loan limit of $1,249,125, and Calvert carries $1,209,750.What is the recordation tax in Maryland?
It varies by jurisdiction and is charged per $500 of transaction. For fiscal 2026 the Maryland Department of Legislative Services reports a low of $2.50 per $500 in Baltimore and Howard counties and a high of $7.00 in Charles and Frederick, with Montgomery imposing specified surcharges on transactions valued at more than $500,000.Did any Maryland county change its recordation tax for 2026?
Charles County raised its recordation tax from $5.00 to $7.00 per $500 of transaction for fiscal 2026, the only recordation rate change in the state that year. No county altered its transfer tax rate.Does the first-time buyer rule cover the county transfer tax?
No. Section 13-203 governs the state transfer tax, so the halved 0.25 percent rate and the direction that the seller pay it entirely apply to the state charge only. A first-time Maryland home buyer in Prince George's County still faces that county's 1.4 percent transfer tax.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about physician mortgage financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. The Maryland Loan Repayment Programs are administered by the Maryland Department of Health, not by Cornerstone; their terms, award amounts and application cycles are set by that department and change. Md. Code, Tax-Property §13-203 is quoted so you can take it to your own attorney and title company; whether a particular buyer qualifies as a first-time Maryland home buyer is established by a statement signed under oath, not by a lender. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees and overlays are set by the lender and change. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.