# Maryland — Real estate transfer tax by state: rate, who pays, brackets and first-time buyer relief For Maryland, tax name is transfer tax; state rate is the rate of the transfer tax is 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing; first-time buyer relief is the rate of the transfer tax is 0.25% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing and the transfer tax shall be paid entirely by the seller; citation is §13–203, verified against its source on 2026-08-31. - **State:** Maryland _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ - **Tax name:** transfer tax _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **State rate:** the rate of the transfer tax is 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **First-time buyer relief:** the rate of the transfer tax is 0.25% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing and the transfer tax shall be paid entirely by the seller _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Citation:** §13–203 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **Who pays:** the cost of any recordation tax or any State or local transfer tax shall be shared equally between the grantor and grantee _(per mgaleg.maryland.gov, not stated by the source above)_ ## What the source says > §13–203. (a) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a–1) and (b) of this section, the rate of the transfer tax is 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing. (2) The consideration: (i) includes the amount of any mortgage or deed of trust assumed by the grantee; and (ii) subject to item (i) of this paragraph, includes only the amount paid or delivered in return for the sale of the property and does not include the amount of any debt forgiven or no longer secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on the property. ## Where each value comes from This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it. ### First-time buyer relief > (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 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% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing and the transfer tax shall be paid entirely by the seller. ## The source states this two ways The same publisher states this differently in more than one place. Each version is reproduced with the page it came from. ### Citation mgaleg.maryland.gov says citation is **§13–203**, as of 2026-08-31. > §13–203. (a) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a–1) and (b) of this section, the rate of the transfer tax is 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing. (2) The consideration: (i) includes the amount of any mortgage or deed of trust assumed by the grantee; and (ii) subject to item (i) of this paragraph, includes only the amount paid or delivered in return for the sale of the property and does not include the amount of any debt forgiven or no longer secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on the property. Source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtp§ion=13-203&enactments=false mgaleg.maryland.gov says citation is **§14–104**, as of 2026-08-31. > §14–104. (a) In this section, “first-time Maryland home buyer” means an individual who has never owned in the State residential real property that has been the individual’s principal residence. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in every written or oral agreement for the sale or other disposition of property, it is presumed in the absence of a contrary provision in the agreement or the law, that the parties to the agreement intended that the cost of any recordation tax or any State or local transfer tax shall be shared equally between the grantor and grantee. This section does not apply to mortgages or deeds of trust. Source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=14-104&enactments=false ## Source - https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtp§ion=13-203&enactments=false - https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=14-104&enactments=false Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31. Part of [Real estate transfer tax by state: rate, who pays, brackets and first-time buyer relief](https://referencesource.org/state-real-estate-transfer-tax/).