Prince George's County adds two county-level charges to almost every deed recorded there: a county transfer tax of 1.4% of the price and a county recordation tax of $2.75 for each $500 of consideration. Maryland then adds its own state transfer tax on top, which is where the first-time buyer exemption comes in.
On a mid-priced 2026 purchase, those three lines together can run well past $10,000 before anyone decides who pays which share. This guide takes one illustrative purchase through each tax, shows the inputs a closing-cost calculator needs, and shows where each line lands on your Closing Disclosure.
A Prince George's County buyer faces a 1.4% county transfer tax, a recordation tax of $2.75 per $500 (0.55%), and Maryland's 0.5% state transfer tax. The contract decides who pays each.
Where These Rates Come From
Each of the three taxes rests on a different law, and the source matters because each one carries its own exemptions. Keep in mind that national closing-cost estimators often show a single blended "Maryland transfer tax" figure, which hides the county-by-county differences this site tracks.
Here is how each charge is authorized and where you can read it:
- County transfer tax — 1.4%. Prince George's County Code §10-188 imposes the tax at "one and four-tenths percent (1.4%)" of the actual consideration on every instrument conveying title to real property in the county. Section 10-187 caps the rate at that 1.4% and lists the exceptions.
- County recordation tax — $2.75 per $500. County Code §10-192 sets the rate at $2.75 for each $500 of consideration, which works out to $5.50 per $1,000, or 0.55%.
- State transfer tax — 0.5%, or 0.25% for first-time buyers. Maryland Tax-Property Article §13-203 (2026 statute text) sets the base rate at 0.5% of consideration and a reduced 0.25% rate for qualifying first-time Maryland home buyers.
The county codifies its rates by section rather than by revision date on the public code pages, so confirm the rate in force on your settlement date with the Prince George's County Office of Finance or your title company. Rates on this page were checked against the published code text on October 2, 2026.
How The Recordation Tax Is Actually Computed
Recordation tax does not run on a straight percentage of the price. Under Tax-Property §12-103(a)(1), the county rate applies to "each $500 or fraction of $500" of consideration, so any partial block rounds up to a full $500.
For example, a $451,200 price contains 902.4 blocks of $500, which becomes 903 blocks. At $2.75 each, the recordation tax on that deed is $2,483.25 rather than the $2,481.60 a flat 0.55% would produce.
Prince George's County recordation tax is $2.75 for each $500 of the price, and any partial $500 block rounds up to a full block under Maryland Tax-Property §12-103.
Consideration also includes any existing mortgage the buyer assumes, per §12-103(a)(2). That matters mostly for assumable FHA and VA loans, where the assumed balance counts toward the taxable figure.
Your Purchase Mortgage Is Not Taxed Again
Many buyers expect to pay recordation tax twice — once on the deed and again on the deed of trust securing their loan. That said, Tax-Property §12-108(i) states that a purchase money mortgage or deed of trust "is not subject to recordation tax."
To qualify, the deed of trust has to be delivered in the same transaction, recite on its face that it secures purchase money, be fully executed within 30 days of the deed, and be recorded no later than 30 days after the deed. Your settlement agent prepares the documents to meet those conditions, but it is worth confirming that the Closing Disclosure shows no recordation tax on the loan itself.
Who Qualifies As A First-Time Maryland Home Buyer
The first-time buyer benefit in this transaction is a state benefit, and it runs on the state's definition. Under §13-203(b)(1), a "first-time Maryland home buyer" is "an individual who has never owned in the State residential real property that has been the individual's principal residence."
Note that this definition is narrower than the three-year look-back many federal and lender programs use. If you owned and lived in a Maryland home at any point in the past — even ten years ago — you do not qualify under §13-203, although a home you owned in Virginia or the District of Columbia does not count against you.
Under Maryland Tax-Property §13-203(b), a first-time buyer is someone who has never owned a Maryland home they used as a principal residence. Homes owned in other states do not disqualify you.
The statute adds three further conditions that trip up otherwise-eligible buyers:
- Every grantee must qualify. Under §13-203(b)(2), if two or more people take title, each must be a first-time Maryland home buyer. The one carve-out is a co-maker or guarantor on the purchase money loan who will not live in the home.
- The home must be improved residential property you will occupy. Paragraph (b)(3) limits the reduced rate to a sale of "improved residential real property" to a buyer "who will occupy the property as a principal residence."
- You must sign a statement under oath. Paragraph (b)(4) requires each grantee, or an agent, to swear to first-time status and principal-residence occupancy. That affidavit is typically built into the deed or the intake paperwork your title company prepares.
All of these conditions work together. A married couple in which one spouse previously owned a condo in Silver Spring, for instance, would lose the reduced rate entirely because one grantee fails the test.
What The First-Time Buyer Exemption Actually Does
The exemption does two things at once, and both happen on the state line rather than the county lines — it cuts the state transfer tax rate from 0.5% to 0.25%, and under §13-203(b)(3) it requires that the reduced tax "be paid entirely by the seller."
Maryland's first-time buyer rule cuts the 0.5% state transfer tax to 0.25% and makes the seller pay all of it. The county's 1.4% transfer tax and recordation tax still apply.
In other words, a qualifying buyer owes nothing on the state transfer tax line. However, the Prince George's County transfer tax and recordation tax are untouched by the state exemption, so a first-time buyer still pays whatever share of those two county taxes the contract assigns.
This is the key difference from Montgomery County's transfer tax rules, where the county itself has written a first-time buyer break into its own transfer tax. Prince George's County has no general first-time buyer exemption from its 1.4% county transfer tax.
The Narrow County Exemption That Does Exist
Prince George's County does exempt one group of first-time buyers from its county transfer tax. Under state enabling legislation HB 1026 (effective July 1, 2006) and HB 654 (effective July 1, 2007), county police officers, municipal police officers serving in the county, and county deputy sheriffs who are first-time Maryland home buyers pay no county transfer tax on a qualifying home, as described in the Prince George's County Association of REALTORS summary of the law.
The officer must occupy the home as a principal residence for at least three years and stay in qualifying employment, or the county transfer tax becomes due. Officers who are not first-time buyers may qualify for a reduced county rate capped at 1.0%, according to the same explanatory statement, so confirm eligibility with the county Office of Finance before you rely on it.
A Worked 2026 Purchase In Prince George's County
The example below uses a single, round purchase price so you can follow each line. It is illustrative: the price is assumed, and the split of county taxes reflects one common negotiated arrangement, not a legal requirement.
The inputs are as follows:
- Purchase price. $450,000 for a single-family home the buyer will occupy as a principal residence.
- Buyer status. A sole buyer who has never owned a principal residence in Maryland.
- Contract terms. County transfer tax and county recordation tax split 50/50 between buyer and seller, which the parties negotiated in the sales contract.
- Financing. A purchase money deed of trust recorded at settlement, which is exempt from recordation tax under §12-108(i).
Here is the arithmetic for each tax under those inputs:
| Tax | Rule | Total tax | Buyer pays | Seller pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County transfer tax | 1.4% × $450,000 (County Code §10-188) | $6,300.00 | $3,150.00 | $3,150.00 |
| County recordation tax | 900 blocks × $2.75 (County Code §10-192) | $2,475.00 | $1,237.50 | $1,237.50 |
| State transfer tax (first-time buyer) | 0.25% × $450,000, seller pays all (§13-203(b)(3)) | $1,125.00 | $0.00 | $1,125.00 |
| Recordation tax on deed of trust | Purchase money exemption (§12-108(i)) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $9,900.00 | $4,387.50 | $5,512.50 |
Now compare the same purchase by a buyer who has owned a Maryland home before. The state transfer tax returns to 0.5%, or $2,250, and under the same 50/50 contract term the buyer's share becomes $1,125.
That brings the repeat buyer's total to $5,512.50. As a result, the first-time buyer saves $1,125 at the closing table — and the seller pays $1,125 of state tax either way under a 50/50 split.
On an illustrative $450,000 Prince George's County purchase with county taxes split 50/50, a first-time Maryland buyer pays about $4,387.50 in transfer and recordation taxes; a repeat buyer pays $5,512.50.
Contract language matters. The split shown above is negotiated, not mandated by the county code — some contracts assign all county taxes to the buyer and some to the seller, so read the tax clause before you compare estimates.
The Calculator Inputs, Line By Line
Whether you use a title company worksheet or a lender's fee estimator, the same handful of inputs drives the result. Getting any one of them wrong moves the total by hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Here are the inputs a Prince George's County estimate needs:
- Consideration. The contract price plus any assumed mortgage balance, per §12-103(a)(2) and §13-203(a)(2). Seller credits toward closing costs generally do not reduce the price on the deed, but confirm with your settlement agent.
- Jurisdiction. Prince George's County, which sets the 1.4% transfer rate and the $2.75-per-$500 recordation rate. Check whether your municipality imposes any separate charge.
- First-time Maryland buyer status for every grantee. A single "no" among the grantees switches the state rate back to 0.5%.
- Occupancy. Principal residence or not, since the first-time state rate requires owner occupancy.
- Contract split. The percentage of each tax assigned to the buyer and the seller in the sales contract.
- Special county status. Whether a grantee is a qualifying police officer or deputy sheriff under the county exemption.
Once those six inputs are fixed, the math itself is simple multiplication and rounding. The harder part is getting the facts right, which is why the affidavit and contract language deserve a careful read.
Where Each Line Lands On The Closing Disclosure
Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure group these taxes in Section E, "Taxes and Other Government Fees." The federal TRID rule at 12 CFR 1026.38(g)(1) requires that section to list recording fees and transfer taxes, with amounts split into borrower-paid and seller-paid columns.
In a Prince George's County closing, expect to see entries along these lines:
- Recording fees. The Clerk of the Circuit Court's fees for recording the deed and the deed of trust, shown separately from the taxes. These are flat clerk charges rather than percentage-based taxes.
- County transfer tax. Your contract share in the Borrower-Paid column, with the seller's share in the Seller-Paid column.
- County recordation tax. Itemized the same way, again split by the contract. Settlement agents label this line differently, so look for "recordation" or "recordation tax" in the description.
- State transfer tax. For a qualifying first-time buyer, the full $1,125 in our example appears in the Seller-Paid column only, with $0 to the buyer.
If the state transfer tax shows up in your Borrower-Paid column despite your first-time status, ask your settlement agent before signing. The most common causes are a missing affidavit or a co-buyer who does not meet the §13-203(b) definition.
Transfer and recordation taxes appear in Section E of the Closing Disclosure, "Taxes and Other Government Fees," split into borrower-paid and seller-paid columns.
How Prince George's Fits The Maryland Suburban Set
Prince George's County completes the trio of large Maryland suburbs this site covers alongside Montgomery County and Howard County's transfer and recordation taxes. All three sit on top of the same state §13-203 rules, which means the first-time state rate and seller-pays rule behave identically across them.
What differs is the county layer. Each county sets its own transfer and recordation rates and its own exemptions, so a buyer comparing homes on both sides of a county line should run each address separately rather than borrow a neighbor's estimate.
For the full picture of what else you will pay at settlement, our guide to Maryland closing costs covers lender, title and prepaid items. If you are still assembling your down payment, it is also worth reviewing the Maryland SmartBuy 3.0 program and our broader Maryland mortgage guide, since program assistance can sometimes be applied toward these closing costs.
Before You Settle
Prince George's County transfer and recordation taxes are among the largest single closing costs a buyer here will see, and the first-time buyer exemption only reaches the state portion. Accordingly, the most useful steps are to confirm every grantee's first-time status, read the contract's tax clause, and check Section E of the Closing Disclosure line by line.
Rates and exemptions can change by county legislation, so confirm the figures in force on your settlement date with the Prince George's County Office of Finance, the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, or the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). Your title company or settlement attorney can also verify the numbers against your specific contract.
This article is for informational purposes and is not financial / mortgage / contractor advice. Consult a licensed professional in your jurisdiction.