NookLocal tools
Pennsylvania transfer tax calculator
Pennsylvania charges a one-time realty transfer tax when real estate changes hands: 1% to the state plus a local rate that is 1% in most municipalities, for 2% combined. A number of municipalities charge more, from 2.5% combined in Allentown, Radnor, and Tredyffrin up to 5% in Reading, and transfers with no real sale price use different math. This calculator handles both, including the computed value for $1 deeds and other non-arm's-length transfers. Many family transfers owe no tax at all; see the FAQ.
Rates verified 2026-07-10 from the PA Department of Revenue, the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue, the City of Allentown, Allegheny County, and the deviation list title insurers circulate, current as of July 1, 2025. Computed-value factors are the 2025 STEB Common Level Ratios, in effect 2026-07-01 to 2027-06-30.
1% state + 1% local (the usual 0.5% municipal + 0.5% school split).
Transfer tax at 2% on $450,000:
$9,000
How Pennsylvania transfer tax works
The tax applies to the value stated in the deed. On a normal sale, that is the price. The state takes 1%, and the local share is typically split between the municipality (0.5%) and the school district (0.5%). Some places charge more: Reading is 5% combined (tied with Pittsburgh for the state's highest), Philadelphia moved to 4.578% on July 1, 2025, Coatesville and Delaware County's Upper Providence Township charge 3%, and Allentown, Malvern, Tredyffrin, Radnor, Upper Darby, and the City of Chester charge 2.5%. Each has a preset above, and the custom rate covers any municipality that sets its own.
When a transfer still owes tax but has no arm's-length price (many family transfers owe nothing), Pennsylvania taxes the computed value instead: the assessed value multiplied by the county's Common Level Ratio factor. That is why the same $1 deed costs a different amount in different counties. The recurring annual bill is separate math entirely; for that, use the property tax calculator.
Transfer tax questions
Who pays the transfer tax in Pennsylvania, buyer or seller?
By custom it is split 50/50 between buyer and seller, but that is a negotiating convention, not a law. Legally both parties are liable, and the taxing bodies can collect the full amount from either one, so the split belongs in the agreement of sale.
What is the Pennsylvania transfer tax rate?
The state charges 1%, and the municipality and school district together charge a local rate on top. In most of Pennsylvania the local rate is 1%, for 2% combined, but a number of municipalities charge more: Reading is 5% combined, Philadelphia 4.578%, Pittsburgh 5%, Coatesville and Upper Providence Township (Delaware County) 3%, and Allentown, Malvern, Tredyffrin, Radnor, Upper Darby, and the City of Chester 2.5%. The calculator carries presets for each.
Are family transfers exempt?
Many are. Pennsylvania excludes transfers between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and siblings, among others. The deed still gets recorded with an exemption claim; the county Recorder of Deeds handles the filing, and the PA Department of Revenue reviews whether a claimed exclusion holds.
What if there is no real sale price, like a $1 deed?
For non-arm's-length transfers that do owe tax, Pennsylvania taxes the computed value instead of the stated price: the assessed value multiplied by the county's Common Level Ratio factor. The calculator's computed-value mode runs that math with the current factor for every county.
Free email digest
Know when the rates change
Cities adjust transfer tax rates on their own schedules, and the state swaps the Common Level Ratios every July. Subscribe and we'll send what changed and what it costs, the week it lands.
Double opt-in. We only email you after you confirm. Unsubscribe any time. See our Privacy Policy.