Indiana's sales disclosure form, State Form 46021, goes with a deed to the county assessor and then the county auditor, and the auditor may not accept the deed without it. But it goes only with a conveyance, and Indiana defines that as a transfer for valuable consideration. A true gift, with nothing paid or promised, is not a conveyance for this purpose, and neither is a quitclaim deed that is not the source of title.
So the question this page turns on is whether anything of value is being paid. If nothing is, the deed still needs the auditor's endorsement, but not this form. If something is, the form is required, the assessor reviews it first, and there is a filing fee.
What the Form Is For
Indiana's assessors have to keep assessed values in line with the market, and the sales disclosure form is how the state learns what property actually sells for. It records the parcel number, the property address and the tax billing address, the conditions of the sale, the price, any personal property or seller financing included in it, and the names and contact details of seller and buyer. The county assessor uses the information to validate the sale and decide whether it belongs in the ratio studies that keep assessments in line with the market. The Department of Local Government Finance publishes a public search of every disclosure filed since July 2008.
Because the data feed assessment, the statute treats the form seriously. A person who knowingly falsifies the value of the property, or omits or falsifies required information, commits a Level 5 felony. Telephone numbers given on the form are kept confidential.
The Word the Whole Rule Turns On: Consideration
The statute requires the form with a "conveyance document", and it defines a conveyance as any transfer of a real property interest for valuable consideration. The Department's instructions draw the consequence: a transfer of property for no consideration, and a re-recording of a prior transaction to correct an error, are not conveyances for this purpose. A quitclaim deed given as a gift is outside the rule altogether.
The instructions also list what is not a conveyance document even where value changes hands: a mortgage or other security document; a lease of less than ninety years; corporate merger and consolidation papers; a quitclaim deed not serving as a source of title; and public utility or governmental easements and rights of way.
On the other side, some transfers are conveyance documents and need the form but pay no filing fee: compulsory transfers such as a foreclosure, a divorce order, a court judgment, a condemnation or a probate distribution; a partition among tenants in common, joint tenants or tenants by the entirety; and a transfer to a charity, a not-for-profit or a government. The form is filed in those cases; the $10 is not.
Source of Title, or Not
The statute names "a quitclaim deed serving as a source of title" as a conveyance document and leaves out one that does not. The difference is what the deed does. A quitclaim deed by which the grantee actually acquires the property, a parent conveying the house to a child who then owns it, is the source of the child's title. A quitclaim deed given only to release a possible claim, where the grantee already holds the property under some other deed, is not.
The form itself asks the question, in its transaction details, as "Was the property transferred under a quitclaim deed serving as a source of title?" The instructions do not define the phrase beyond that. Where a deed is a gift, the question does not arise, because there is no consideration. Where money is paid and you are unsure which kind of quitclaim deed you have, ask the county assessor's office before you file rather than after.
Filling It In and Filing It
A separate form is filed for each parcel conveyed, except that one form covers several contiguous parcels in a single taxing district conveyed by one deed. The form has parts for the property, the sale conditions, the transaction details, the seller and the buyer, and then parts completed by the county. Both sides sign: the seller or the seller's representative, and the buyer or the buyer's representative, each certifying that the disclosure is true, correct and complete. Where the parties cannot agree on the contents, each files a separate form. Anyone signing for a party who is not that party's attorney needs a power of attorney attached.
The route is fixed by statute. The form goes to the county assessor, who checks it for completeness, verifies the parcel information and stamps it. It then goes to the county auditor with the deed; the auditor collects the $10 filing fee where one is due, confirms that everyone has signed, and endorses the deed for transfer. The auditor may not accept a conveyance if the form is missing, incomplete, or unstamped by the assessor. Only then does the deed go to the recorder.
Counties can take the form through the state's Gateway system rather than on paper, and the Department's page says to contact the county assessor for submission instructions. Ask before you print.
The Homestead Deduction Rides Along
Indiana's homestead deduction, which lowers the assessed value of an owner-occupied home before tax is calculated, does not pass from seller to buyer. Where a sales disclosure form is filed, it may be used as the application: the buyer marks the property as their principal residence, gives their full legal name as the Social Security Administration has it and the last five digits of their Social Security number, and, if married, the spouse's name and last five digits. The instructions say those digits are required only when the form is being used as a deduction application.
Where no form is filed, because the transfer was a gift, the new owner applies with the county auditor separately. And an owner who stops qualifying has sixty days to tell the auditor, or faces the back taxes plus a ten percent penalty.
What This Means for Your Indiana Quitclaim Deed
- Decide first whether anything of value is being paid, including a promise to pay the grantor's mortgage, which may count; if that is your situation, ask the county assessor. If nothing is being paid, skip the form and take the deed to the auditor for endorsement.
- If money or other value changes hands, complete State Form 46021, have a seller and a buyer sign it, and take it to the county assessor before the auditor.
- Bring $10 for the filing fee unless the transfer is compulsory, a partition, or to a charity or government.
- If the buyer will live there, use the form to claim the homestead deduction at the same time.
Next step: our Indiana quitclaim deed page has the full sequence, from the statements the deed must carry to the auditor's endorsement and the recorder's fee.
Indiana Sales Disclosure Form — Common Questions
What is Indiana's sales disclosure form?
State Form 46021, the form Indiana requires with a conveyance document so that the county assessor and the Department of Local Government Finance learn what was paid for the property. It records the parcel, the addresses, the conditions of the sale, the price and any personal property or financing included, and it is signed by a seller and a buyer or their representatives. The county assessor reviews it for completeness and stamps it, and the county auditor may not accept the deed for transfer without it where it is required.
Do I need a sales disclosure form for a gift to a family member?
Not if nothing of value is paid. The form is required with a "conveyance document", and Indiana defines a conveyance as a transfer of a real property interest for valuable consideration. The Department of Local Government Finance's instructions say in terms that a transfer for no consideration is not a conveyance for this purpose. A gift to a child or parent, a transfer between spouses for nothing, or a deed into your own trust goes to the auditor for endorsement without the form.
What does it mean that a quitclaim deed is not a source of title?
The statute lists "a quitclaim deed serving as a source of title" among conveyance documents and excludes a quitclaim deed that does not serve as one. A deed that actually moves ownership to the grantee, a parent deeding the house to a child for instance, is a source of title. A deed used only to clear a possible claim, where the grantee already holds the property under another deed, is not. The instructions do not define the line further, so if your deed does both jobs, ask the county assessor before filing.
How much is the sales disclosure filing fee, and who pays it?
Ten dollars, paid to the county auditor when the form is required. The instructions say a person filing a form marked only with conditions subject to the fee pays it, and that no fee is charged for a compulsory transfer such as a divorce decree, foreclosure or probate, for a partition among co-owners, or for a transfer to a charity, not-for-profit or government, even though the form is still filed in those cases.
Can the sales disclosure form get me the homestead deduction?
Yes, where a form is being filed. The instructions say the form may be used to apply for the homestead deduction on the property, and a buyer who does so gives their full legal name and the last five digits of their Social Security number, and a spouse's if married. Where no form is filed, because the transfer was a gift, the new owner applies for the deduction with the county auditor separately. Either way it does not carry over from the previous owner.
Official Sources
Indiana's laws are collected in the Indiana Code, and a citation such as IC 6-1.1-5.5-2 is an address: the title, the article, the chapter and the section. You do not need any of these to follow this page. They are here so that you, or an attorney, can read the exact wording rather than take this page's word for it. The General Assembly's website opens the whole title in your browser and jumps to the section; each link opens in a new tab.
- IC 6-1.1-5.5-1 and 6-1.1-5.5-2 — a conveyance is a transfer for valuable consideration; what is and is not a conveyance document.
- IC 6-1.1-5.5-3 — what the form contains, who signs it, the assessor's review and the confidentiality of phone numbers.
- IC 6-1.1-5.5-4 — the $10 filing fee and the transfers that pay none.
- IC 6-1.1-12-37 — the homestead deduction, and the duty to tell the auditor within sixty days of becoming ineligible.
- IC 36-2-11-14 — the recorder may not record a conveyance the auditor has not endorsed.
- Department of Local Government Finance — Sales Disclosure Form Information — the form, its addenda, the Gateway user guide and the public search of filed disclosures.
- Sales Disclosure Form Instructions (revised July 20, 2021) — the Department's line-by-line instructions, including the definitions, exclusions, fee rules, signatures and the deduction application.
Fee amounts checked against the Indiana Code and the Department's instructions on September 3, 2026.