Anne Arundel County transfer tax and closing costs

The “Estimate the taxes” box above works out the three government taxes on an Anne Arundel County sale: the state transfer tax, the county transfer tax and the recordation tax. Enter a price and say whether you are buying or selling, and it shows your share under Maryland’s default rule, the total, and each tax.

1. Enter the contract price. That is the full sale price, not the loan amount. Until you change it, the box shows the county’s median sale price of $509,990 (improved, owner-occupied homes sold July 2025 - June 2026), so a typical result is on screen from the start.
2. Tick the first-time buyer box only when it fits. Each buyer must be someone who has never owned a home in Maryland that was their main residence, and who will make this home their main residence. The conditions are set out further down.
3. Treat the buyer and seller shares as a default, not a promise. They show the split Maryland law presumes when the contract does not deal with it. If your contract sets a different split, the contract controls.

These figures assume an ordinary sale at an agreed price. Gifts, transfers within a family, transfers on divorce and deeds into a trust may be taxed differently, and some are exempt. Our deeds and estates service handles those, and we can check which taxes apply.

The table uses the county’s median sale price of $509,990, which is also where the estimator above starts, and an illustrative sale at $1,200,000 to show the upper tier.

Tax	Median home ($509,990)	$1,200,000 sale
State transfer tax	$2,549.95	$6,000
County transfer tax	$5,099.90	$18,000
Recordation tax	$3,570	$8,400
Total taxes	$11,219.85	$32,400
Buyer’s share, if split equally	$5,609.92	$16,200
Seller’s share, if split equally	$5,609.93	$16,200

At the higher price the county transfer tax is 1.5% rather than 1%, which is why the total climbs faster than the price. At the median price the state transfer tax does not halve evenly, so the seller’s share comes out one cent higher, as it does in the estimator.

Buyers who have never owned a principal residence in Maryland, and who will live in this home, get a different result. The state transfer tax drops to 0.25% ($1,274.98 at the median price) and the seller must pay it. Unless the contract expressly moves them to the buyer, the county transfer tax and recordation tax fall on the seller too, so a qualifying buyer may owe none of the three. The rate applies only to a home with a building on it that the buyer will live in as a principal residence, and every buyer on the deed must give a statement under oath: either as a first-time Maryland buyer who will live there, or as a co-signer or guarantor of the purchase loan who will not. The county’s tax page lists no separate county reduction for first-time buyers, so the estimator applies only the state rule when you tick its first-time buyer box. Ask us whether anything more applies to your purchase. Who counts as a first-time buyer is explained in our first-time buyer transfer tax guide.

Keep in mind that the table is a tax table, not a closing statement. A real settlement adds the loan costs, the lender’s title premium, the owner’s title premium if you choose an owner’s policy (it is optional in Maryland, and its one-time premium is paid at settlement), our fee, the Clerk’s charge to record the documents, and the day-by-day sharing of property tax and any association dues. Our instant quote gives a fuller estimate for a purchase or refinance.

Anne Arundel County’s property tax year runs from July 1 to June 30, and each bill covers the whole year. Outside Annapolis and Highland Beach, the FY2027 (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027) bill adds $0.968 (county) and $0.112 (state) for each $100 of assessed value. If the home is your principal residence you may pay in two halves, the first by September 30 and the second by December 31, and the county adds a small service charge to the second half. At settlement the year’s tax is shared by the days each side owns the home, so a buyer who settles in the spring usually pays the seller back for the months the seller has already paid.

Some tax bills carry an extra line. The County Council’s levy for this tax year covers 95 districts: 77 special community benefit districts, many of them waterfront or older subdivisions, 14 shore erosion control districts and 4 waterway improvement districts. Each has its own charge, which the Council sets every year. The charges vary widely: this year’s Crofton district charge is $0.1086 per $100 of assessed value, while Sherwood Forest’s is $5,985 per improved lot. Buyers should see that line before they commit; our special tax districts guide has more.

The homestead credit limits how fast the taxable assessment on your principal residence can rise for tax purposes. For county tax the limit is 2% a year, and that also covers the county part of bills in Annapolis and Highland Beach. The City of Annapolis limits its own tax to 10% a year, and the state tax uses the state’s 10% limit. The seller’s credit does not pass to you with the sale, so you apply in your own name. The settlement agent must hand buyers a copy of the homestead application at settlement, and SDAT mails another after the deed is recorded. Send it in once you are living in the home as your principal residence.

The homeowners’ tax credit is a separate, income-based credit. A buyer who wants it counted at settlement can apply to SDAT before closing. State law sets the filing window at 7 working days after the contract is signed and gives SDAT 5 working days to answer, while SDAT’s own page suggests applying at least 30 days before settlement, so apply as soon as the contract is signed. A credit SDAT certifies in time can reduce the property tax the buyer pays at settlement.

Maryland sets no standard length of time between contract and settlement; your contract names the date. A financed purchase usually moves through these stages:

1. Ratified contract. The signed contract comes to the title company, and we open the file.
2. Inspections and association documents. In a homeowners association, a buyer who did not receive all the association’s disclosures at least 5 calendar days before signing may cancel within 5 calendar days of getting them. In a condominium, the buyer has 7 days after receiving the resale certificate and documents to cancel, and that right ends at closing. Ask for the documents early.
3. Title search. We trace the property’s history through the county land records and look for anything that must be dealt with before settlement, such as an unreleased mortgage or a judgment against the seller, and for recorded rights such as easements that the buyer should know about.
4. Loan approval and the Closing Disclosure. The lender must get the final Closing Disclosure to the buyer at least three business days before settlement.
5. Payoffs and the settlement statement. We order payoffs, check the tax and utility accounts and any district charges, and prepare the figures.
6. Settlement. Documents are signed and funds move by wire. We send wire instructions by email, and so do fraudsters who fake them. Before you wire any money, confirm the instructions by calling our office at 410-768-2300, the number on this website, never a number taken from an email. Our wire fraud warning explains more.
7. Endorsement and recording. The county Office of Finance must endorse the deed and collect the county taxes before it can be recorded. Recording then takes place with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Land Records Department, at the courthouse on Church Circle in Annapolis. Electronic recording is available, and we take care of these steps for you.

Make sure the deed goes to the right county. Some addresses near the county line can point the wrong way: Brooklyn Park homes can carry “Baltimore” mailing addresses, and Hanover’s 21076 ZIP code reaches into Howard County. Our Brooklyn Park and Hanover guides explain how we confirm the county.

How a Maryland settlement works covers each of these steps in more detail.