No Calculator. One Real Calculation Instead.
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A calculator that invents a rate produces a number precise enough to budget against and wrong enough to hurt. The transfer tax, though, is pure arithmetic on a statutory rate.
Why there is no widget
A payment needs a rate. This site publishes none, because pricing turns on credit, down payment, programme and the day. A calculator would have to invent one.
What follows is the arithmetic we can actually do, and an honest account of the parts we cannot.
★★ The calculation we can do
Maryland's state transfer tax is a statutory percentage of the consideration, so it is arithmetic:
- Standard: 0.5% of the consideration (§13-203(a)(1)).
- ★ First-time Maryland home buyer occupying as a principal residence: 0.25% (§13-203(b)(3)).
- ★★ And in that case the statute says it "shall be paid entirely by the seller", so the buyer's share of this particular line goes to zero.
★ That is the most consequential closing-cost swing on a Maryland physician purchase, and it turns on a definition that tests Maryland ownership only. The rule.
★ The calculations we will not fake
| Line | Status |
|---|---|
| ★★ County transfer tax | ★ 0% to 1.5% by jurisdiction, and outside §13-203, so the seller-pays direction does not reach it. By county |
| ★ Recordation tax | not published here: same reason, and often the larger line |
| Property tax | per parcel, not per county average. Get the specific figure |
| Insurance | a quote, not a percentage of value |
| ★ Student loan payment | usually the figure that decides the file. How it is counted |
★ We say this plainly because the halved state rate is genuinely good news and it would be easy to let a reader think it is the whole picture. It is not. Your title company produces the jurisdiction-specific total. What we verified.
★ The other Maryland input a generic calculator gets wrong
The conforming limit, because Maryland has three:
- $1,249,125: Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Charles.
- $1,209,750: Calvert.
- $832,750: the other 19.
A national tool assumes one figure per state and will put a Montgomery County purchase in the wrong product. The swing between bottom and top is $416,375, which is 50% more capacity. Every jurisdiction.
★ The modelling mistake we see most
Treating MLARP as money in hand.
It pays two full payments, one during each service-obligation year, conditional on service at an approved practice site, capped at two (2) obligations per lifetime. Nothing arrives at closing. Model the mortgage on the salary. The terms.
Send four things
- Your signed contract: start date and compensation.
- Student loan balances, servicer and current monthly payment.
- Target price range and the jurisdiction, which in Maryland is not a formality.
- Whether you have ever owned a principal residence in Maryland.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no payment calculator on this page?
A payment requires an interest rate, and this site publishes no rates or payment figures. A calculator would have to invent one, producing a figure precise enough to budget against and wrong enough to cause harm.How do I calculate Maryland transfer tax?
The state transfer tax is 0.5 percent of the consideration under Md. Code, Tax-Property section 13-203(a)(1). For a sale to a first-time Maryland home buyer occupying the property as a principal residence it is 0.25 percent, and the statute directs that the seller pay it entirely.Does this calculator include Maryland county transfer taxes?
Partly. County transfer tax runs from zero to 1.5 percent and recordation from $2.50 to $7.00 per $500 of transaction for fiscal 2026, and seven jurisdictions are published on the transfer tax page. Montgomery and Anne Arundel operate variable schedules the state exhibit reports only as varies, so ask your title company for the jurisdiction-specific total.Should I budget around an expected MLARP award?
No. MLARP pays in two full payments, one during each service-obligation year, conditional on service at an approved practice site and capped at two obligations per lifetime. Nothing arrives at closing, so model the mortgage on salary.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.