When a Michigan deed transferring property for a price is recorded, the register of deeds collects two taxes: a state transfer tax of $3.75 for each $500 of the value and a county transfer tax of 55 cents for each $500, together $8.60 per $1,000. Both fall on the seller or grantor. A transfer for less than $100 is exempt from both, which covers a gift deed to a relative who takes on no debt. If the relative takes over the mortgage, the Department of Treasury counts that debt as consideration. Beyond that, the state and the county each have their own exemption list, and the lists do not match: the state exempts a deed from a parent to a child or a grandparent to a grandchild at any price, and the county does not.
An exemption is claimed by writing it on the face of the deed, with the letter of the exemption under each statute, and a deed that states no price and cites no exemption is refused at the counter. This page lists both schedules in plain English, shows where they part ways, gives the wording to use, and explains the affidavit that stands in for a stated price and the refund when tax is paid by mistake. The Michigan quitclaim deed page has the deed itself, and the Property Transfer Affidavit page covers the separate filing that follows recording.
The Two Taxes, and Who Pays Them
Michigan has taxed deeds at the county level since 1968 under the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, and at the state level since 1994 under the State Real Estate Transfer Tax Act. Each is imposed on a deed or other instrument conveying property "for a consideration" when the instrument is recorded, and each names the seller or grantor as the person liable. The parties may agree between themselves who bears the cost, but the register looks to the grantor's side of the deed for it.
The state rate is $3.75 for each $500 of the total value of the property transferred, or any fraction of $500, so the value is rounded up to the next $500 first. The county rate is 55 cents per $500; the statute allows up to 75 cents in a county of two million people or more, and no Michigan county has that many. On a $250,000 sale the state tax is $1,875 and the county tax $137.50. The state tax is due to the county treasurer within 15 days after the deed is delivered, and both are paid to the register of deeds when the deed is recorded, usually by a check separate from the recording fee.
The State Exemptions a Family Deed Can Use
The state act lists 23 exemptions, lettered (a) through (w). Most concern leases, mineral rights, government parties, and corporate reorganizations. These are the ones a quitclaim deed between people is likely to fit, with the letter to cite.
- (a) A deed where the value of the consideration is less than $100. This is the gift exemption, as long as the relative does not take over a mortgage, which the Department of Treasury counts as consideration. A deed "for love and affection", for $1, or for $10 fits it; a deed for exactly $100 does not.
- (i) A deed from a spouse or a married couple that creates or ends a tenancy by the entirety between the grantor and the grantor's spouse. Adding a spouse to the title, or taking one off in a divorce, is exempt at any price.
- (j) A deed from an individual to that individual's child, stepchild, or adopted child.
- (k) A deed from an individual to that individual's grandchild, step-grandchild, or adopted grandchild. Neither (j) nor (k) runs the other way: a deed from a child to a parent, or between brothers and sisters, is exempt only if it is a gift under (a).
- (l) A transfer made or ordered by a judgment or order of a court, unless the court set a specific monetary consideration for it. A divorce judgment ordering the house to one spouse is the usual case.
- (m) A deed used to straighten a boundary line with no money paid.
- (n) A deed that confirms title already vested in the grantee, including a quitclaim deed to correct a flaw in title. A corrective deed cites this one.
- (p) Transfers between a company, partnership, or trust and its owners or beneficiaries to dissolve it, and transfers between a company and its members where the ownership is the same before and after. A deed from an individual into a trust or a company for no money is exempt under (a) instead.
- (r) A deed creating a joint tenancy between two or more people where at least one of them already owned the property. A parent adding a child as joint tenant cites this one.
- (u) A sale of a home with a principal residence exemption where the state equalized value at sale is no higher than it was when the seller bought, at an arm's-length price. This is the exemption for a seller whose home lost value, and it is claimed by the seller, often as a refund after the fact.
- (v) A deed made in a foreclosure or in lieu of foreclosure of a mortgage, though not the lender's later sale of the property.
The County Exemptions
The county act's list is shorter, 15 exemptions lettered (a) through (o), and it was written in 1966 and never given the family exemptions the state list gained later. These are the ones a family deed can use.
- (a) A deed where the value of the consideration is less than $100.
- (i) A deed from a husband, wife, or married couple creating or ending a tenancy by the entirety.
- (j) A transfer made or ordered by a court judgment or order that sets no specific monetary consideration.
- (k) A deed to straighten a boundary with no money paid.
- (l) A deed to confirm title already vested, such as a quitclaim deed to correct a flaw in title.
- (o) A deed creating a joint tenancy where at least one of the joint tenants already owned the property.
- (h) Deeds where the grantor is the United States, the state, or a local government, and deeds in foreclosure of a government-backed loan.
Where the Two Lists Part Ways
Because the county list has no exemption for a child or grandchild, a sale from a parent to a child owes the county tax and not the state tax. On a $150,000 sale that is $165 to the county and nothing to the state, and the deed cites the state exemption (j) alone. A gift to the same child cites (a) under both acts and owes neither.
A deed into a family trust or a family company for no money is a gift under (a) on both lists. A deed out of a company or trust to its owners on dissolution is exempt from the state tax under (p), but the county list has no matching entry, so it is exempt from the county tax only if less than $100 changed hands.
A deed in lieu of foreclosure to a private lender is exempt from the state tax under (v) and not from the county tax, which exempts only foreclosures of government-backed loans. And the principal residence exemption for a home that lost value, (u), exists in the state act only.
How to Claim the Exemption on the Deed
Neither act has a separate exemption form. The claim is made on the deed itself, by a sentence citing the exemption under each statute, and a deed that neither states a price nor cites its exemptions satisfies neither act, so registers of deeds look for that sentence. The usual sentence, placed above the signatures or beneath the legal description, reads:
This transfer is exempt from the state real estate transfer tax under MCL 207.526(a) and from the county real estate transfer tax under MCL 207.505(a).
Change the letters to match the transfer. A parent's gift to a child cites (a) and (a); a sale from parent to child cites 207.526(j) only, and pays the county tax; a deed adding a spouse cites (i) and (i); a corrective deed cites (n) and (l). Cite only an exemption that fits the facts, since a register may collect the tax on a deed whose claimed exemption does not match what the deed shows.
If the deed is taxable and you would rather not print the price on it, both acts let you attach a Real Estate Transfer Tax Valuation Affidavit, Treasury Form 2705, declaring the value instead. The form is filed with the register of deeds along with the deed, and the register computes the tax from it. Ask the register whether it records the affidavit with the deed or keeps it on file, because that is what decides whether the price becomes part of the public record.
Getting Tax Back That Was Paid in Error
If the state tax was paid on a deed that was exempt, the seller, or a buyer who paid the tax for the seller, may ask the Department of Treasury for a refund. The state act gives that right for any of its exemptions, and separately for the principal residence exemption in (u), where the request is common because the exemption is often discovered after closing. The county act has no refund provision of its own; a county tax paid in error is taken up with the county treasurer that received it.
None of this is the Property Transfer Affidavit. That form goes to the assessor within 45 days of the transfer and decides whether the property taxes reset the next year. A deed can be exempt from transfer tax and still reset the taxes, and the other way around; a sale from a parent to a child, for instance, is exempt from the state transfer tax under (j) and does not reset the taxes if the house is residential and stays that way, while a sale to a nephew owes both taxes and resets them.
Four Examples
- A parent gives a $300,000 house to a daughter. The deed recites consideration of less than $100 and cites 207.526(a) and 207.505(a). No transfer tax; the $30 recording fee only.
- The same parent sells the house to the daughter for $200,000. The deed states $200,000 and cites 207.526(j). State tax: none. County tax: 400 units of $500 at 55 cents, $220.
- A husband deeds the house he owned before the marriage to himself and his wife. The deed cites 207.526(i) and 207.505(i), creating a tenancy by the entirety. No tax at any price.
- A couple sells to a stranger for $412,300. The value rounds up to $412,500, 825 units. State tax $3,093.75, county tax $453.75, $3,547.50 in all, paid by the sellers at recording.
Michigan Transfer Tax Exemptions — Common Questions
Is a Michigan quitclaim deed automatically exempt from transfer tax?
No. Both taxes apply to any deed conveying property for a consideration, whatever its form. What makes most quitclaim deeds exempt is not the word quitclaim but the transfer behind them: a gift for less than $100, a deed between spouses creating or ending a tenancy by the entirety, a deed under a court order, or a corrective deed. The exemption has to be cited on the deed, and a quitclaim deed for a price is taxed like any other.
Does a gift of property to my child owe Michigan transfer tax?
No. A transfer for less than $100 is exempt from both the state and the county tax, and the deed cites subsection (a) of each act. The state act also exempts a deed from a parent to a child, stepchild, or adopted child at any price, under (j), so even a sale to your child owes no state tax. The county has no such exemption, so a sale to your child owes the county's 55 cents per $500 of the price.
How do I claim a transfer tax exemption on a Michigan deed?
Write it on the deed. A sentence such as "This transfer is exempt from the state real estate transfer tax under MCL 207.526(a) and from the county real estate transfer tax under MCL 207.505(a)" is what registers look for, with the letters changed to fit your transfer. There is no separate exemption form. A deed that states no price and cites no exemption is refused, and one that cites an exemption the facts do not support can be taxed anyway.
Is a deed between divorcing spouses exempt from Michigan transfer tax?
Yes, two ways. A deed from a husband, wife, or both that ends a tenancy by the entirety is exempt under (i) of each act, and a transfer made under a divorce judgment that sets no monetary consideration is exempt under (l) of the state act and (j) of the county act. If the judgment orders one spouse to pay the other a stated sum for the house, the court-order exemption no longer applies, though the entireties exemption may still.
What if I paid Michigan transfer tax on a deed that was exempt?
For the state tax, the seller, or a buyer who paid it on the seller's behalf, may request a refund from the Department of Treasury, and the state act says Treasury pays it if the property was eligible for the exemption at the time of the transfer. For the county tax there is no refund section in the act; ask the county treasurer that received the money.
Official Sources
Michigan's laws are collected in the Michigan Compiled Laws, and a citation such as MCL 207.526 is an address: the chapter number, then the section within it. Each links to the section on the Legislature's website, or to the agency's own document, and opens in a new tab.
- MCL 207.502, 207.504 and 207.505 — the county transfer tax: imposed on deeds for a consideration when recorded, on the seller or grantor; 55 cents per $500, up to 75 cents in a county of two million or more; the value stated on the deed or by affidavit; and the fifteen county exemptions.
- MCL 207.523, 207.525 and 207.526 — the state transfer tax: imposed on deeds for consideration when recorded, on the seller or grantor, paid to the county treasurer within 15 days, with the refund from Treasury for an exempt transfer; $3.75 per $500; the value stated on the deed or by affidavit; and the twenty-three state exemptions.
- Treasury Form 2705, Real Estate Transfer Tax Valuation Affidavit — the affidavit filed with the register of deeds when the price is not stated on the deed, and its instructions.
Tax rates and exemptions checked against the Michigan Compiled Laws on September 4, 2026.