Massachusetts does not keep a long list of deed excise exemptions, and a quitclaim deed is not exempt because of what it is called. The statute taxes a deed by which real estate sold is conveyed, on the consideration less any mortgage or lien that stays on the property, and only when that figure is more than $100. So the question for a family deed is rarely which exemption applies. It is what was paid, and whether any of it was for the property rather than the loan. A gift, a transfer where the only value moving is a mortgage the grantee takes over, and a corrective deed all come out at zero.
This page goes through the transfers that owe nothing, the ones that owe something people do not expect, and how to write the deed so the registry records it without stamps. The rate itself, rounding, Barnstable County and the island land bank fees are on our Massachusetts deed excise tax page, and the deed is on the Massachusetts quitclaim deed page.
The Rule the Exemptions Hang On
The excise statute reaches a deed by which "lands, tenements or other realty sold" are conveyed to a purchaser. It measures the tax by the consideration of the interest conveyed, "exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon at the time of the sale", and it starts at a consideration that exceeds $100. Three things follow. A transfer that is not a sale has no consideration to tax. A mortgage that stays on the property, whether the grantee formally assumes it or just keeps paying it, is subtracted. And anything at or under $100 is ignored. The only exemption written as one is for a deed to which the Commonwealth, a city or town, or the United States or one of their agencies is a party.
What the registry reads is the deed's recital of consideration, which a separate statute requires on every deed: the full price in dollars or, if the deed was not delivered for a sum of money, the nature of the other consideration. The recital is where an exemption is claimed, by stating truthfully what was given.
Gifts and Family Transfers
A gift owes no excise. A deed "for consideration of love and affection" or "for no monetary consideration" has nothing to apply the rate to, and the registry records it without stamps. Writing "one dollar" as the consideration reaches the same result, since $1 is under the $100 line, though the honest recital is the better one because the statute asks for the nature of the consideration when it is not money.
Two cautions. If the relative pays you anything for the property above $100, apart from taking over a loan, the excise is due on that payment; a $20,000 payment from a son to a mother is taxed like any other $20,000. And the land bank fee on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, which is separate from the excise, has its own gift exemption. It presumes that a transfer to a spouse, child, grandchild, parent or grandparent for less than market value is a gift to the extent of the difference.
A Mortgage the Grantee Takes Over
This is the situation where Massachusetts differs from most states, and in the family's favor. When a parent deeds a house to a child who agrees to keep paying the mortgage, the child has given value, and many states tax the balance assumed. Massachusetts subtracts it. The statute excludes the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property. The Department of Revenue's directive, repeated in the registers' statewide standards, deducts the outstanding balance of an assumed mortgage from the consideration when the excise is computed.
The deed still recites the full figure. The recital statute defines full consideration as the total price without deducting any lien the grantee assumes or that remains. So a deed for a $180,000 mortgage assumption recites $180,000, and the standards ask the drafter to add that $180,000 of it is the mortgage being assumed. The excise clerk subtracts it and finds nothing over $100.
Divorce
A deed that carries out a divorce judgment or separation agreement, transferring the home from one spouse to the other for nothing beyond the division the court approved, recites no monetary consideration and owes no excise. Where one spouse buys the other's share, the payment is consideration and the excise is due on it, with any mortgage that stays on the property subtracted as usual. The statute has no separate divorce exemption; the result follows from what was paid. The island land banks do have one, for a division of marital assets under the divorce statute.
Trusts, and the Nominee Trust Trap
A deed moving your home into your own revocable trust, for no consideration, owes no excise, and the homestead statute adds that such a deed leaves your homestead in place. A deed from the trustee back to you, or out to the beneficiaries on distribution, for no consideration, likewise has nothing to tax.
The trap is the nominee trust, a Massachusetts form in which trustees hold title and the beneficiaries hold the real ownership. Selling a beneficial interest in one is selling the property. The Department of Revenue's directive, repeated in the registers' standards, taxes a sale of a beneficial interest for more than $100 as a deed, with the stamps placed on the assignment of beneficial interest whether or not it is ever recorded. Putting property in a nominee trust does not make a later sale of it excise-free.
Corrective and Confirmatory Deeds
A deed given only to correct or confirm an earlier recorded deed, with no new consideration, has nothing to tax; the sale, if there was one, was taxed when the first deed was recorded. The corrective deed should say what it is and identify the deed it corrects by book and page, for example: "This deed is given to correct the description in the deed recorded in Book 1234, Page 56, and no additional consideration has been paid". It still needs the grantee's address, the full recital and a title reference like any other deed.
Partition Among Co-Owners
When co-owners divide land between themselves, the Department of Revenue's directive, repeated in the registers' standards, draws the line at whether anyone comes out ahead. Where no party to the partition receives a greater interest than they held before, no excise is due. Where a party receives more than their original undivided interest, the excise is due on the consideration given for the excess. And where a share is conveyed out to a third party, the excise is due on the price paid for it. In each case the person signing the deed pays.
Deeds in Lieu of Foreclosure, and Government Parties
Two transfers surprise people the other way. A deed in lieu of foreclosure, by which a borrower hands the property to the lender and the lender cancels the debt, is taxed. The consideration is the debt canceled plus any cash paid, under the same directive that governs assumed mortgages. And a deed to which the Commonwealth, a city or town, or the United States is a party is outside the excise altogether, in either direction.
How to Write It So the Registry Records It
There is no exemption form and no application. The registry decides from the face of the deed, and the recital of consideration is what it reads. Recite what was actually given: the price, "love and affection," "no monetary consideration," or the mortgage balance assumed with a note that it is the mortgage. Where the excise is due on part of the consideration, state both figures so the clerk can subtract, as the standards ask. If the registry reads the deed differently and asks for stamps, the deed is held until they are bought, and stamps affixed in error can be abated on application to the Commissioner of Revenue afterwards.
Recording is a separate charge. A deed that owes no excise still pays the $155 recording fee.
Massachusetts Deed Excise Exemptions — Common Questions
Is a Massachusetts quitclaim deed exempt from the deeds excise?
Not because it is a quitclaim deed. The excise depends on what was paid, not on the kind of deed. A quitclaim deed used for a sale is taxed on the price less any mortgage left on the property; a quitclaim deed used for a gift, a move into a trust or a corrective deed has no consideration to tax.
Do I owe the excise on a deed giving my house to my child?
No. A gift has no consideration, and the excise starts only where the consideration exceeds $100. Recite the gift honestly, as "love and affection" or "no monetary consideration," and the registry records the deed without stamps. If your child pays you something above $100, other than taking over your mortgage, the excise is due on that amount.
What if my child takes over my mortgage?
Still no excise, unless money changes hands as well. The statute excludes any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property from the consideration, and the Department of Revenue subtracts an assumed mortgage's balance. The deed recites the balance as the full consideration, because a different statute defines that recital to include assumed liens, and notes that it is the mortgage being assumed.
Is a transfer between divorcing spouses taxed?
Only on money actually paid for the property. A deed carrying out the divorce judgment for no payment recites no monetary consideration and owes no excise. A buyout of the other spouse's share is consideration, taxed at $2.28 per $500, with any mortgage left on the property subtracted first.
Is there a form for claiming a Massachusetts deed excise exemption?
No. Massachusetts has no exemption form; the registry reads the recital of consideration on the deed itself. State what was given, and where part of the consideration is a mortgage that stays on the property, state that amount too so the clerk can subtract it. The exception is Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, where the land bank has exemption forms for its own 2 percent fee, which is separate from the excise.
Official Sources
Massachusetts's laws are collected in the General Laws, and a citation such as chapter 64D, section 1 is an address: the chapter, then the section within it. Each links to the section on the Legislature's website, or to the office's own page, and opens in a new tab.
- Chapter 64D, section 1 — what the excise reaches: realty sold and conveyed to a purchaser, consideration exclusive of liens and encumbrances remaining, the $100 threshold, and the exemption for deeds to which the Commonwealth, a city or town, or the United States is a party.
- Chapter 64D, section 2 and section 4 — who pays and how it is shown; abatement of stamps affixed in error.
- Chapter 183, section 6 — the recital of consideration required on every deed, in dollars or by its nature, and the definition of full consideration that includes an assumed mortgage.
- Chapter 188, section 10 — a deed to the trustee of a trust for the grantor’s benefit does not end the grantor’s homestead.
- Massachusetts Deed Indexing Standards, version 4.0, section 9 — the registers’ restatement of the Department of Revenue directives: assumed mortgages and deeds in lieu of foreclosure (Directive 88-18), partitions (Directive 89-13), nominee trust interests (Directive 95-5), and the register’s power to refuse a deed without stamps. Cited without a link because the standards are posted on individual registry websites rather than on a state site.
- Nantucket Islands Land Bank — Land Bank Act, section 12 and Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank — the Land Bank Law — the exemptions from the islands’ 2 percent fee, including gifts, the family presumption, trusts, divorce divisions and corrective deeds.
Tax and fee amounts checked against the Massachusetts General Laws and the registries’ published fee schedules on September 4, 2026.