Tennessee charges a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 on recorded deeds — and unlike many states, the buyer pays it. Enter a sale price for the exact figure your Register of Deeds will collect.
$0.37 per $100 of consideration, or fraction thereof, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409(a).
Rate per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409(a) and the Tennessee Department of Revenue Realty Transfer & Recordation Tax Manual. Register of Deeds recording fees are charged separately. Need the loan side too? Use the Tennessee mortgage tax calculator.
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Tennessee charges a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 for the privilege of publicly recording a document that transfers an interest in real property. It applies to deeds, court deeds, decrees, and partition deeds alike. The rate is set by Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409(a), and the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits collects it at the moment of recording.
The tax is charged on each $100 or fraction thereof, so the taxable amount rounds up to the next full $100 before the rate is applied. On a $400,000 sale that is 4,000 increments at $0.37, or $1,480.00.
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A common mistake is assuming the tax follows the contract price. It does not always. Tennessee measures the tax on the greater of the consideration paid or the value of the property transferred. In an arm’s-length sale those are the same number and the distinction never comes up. In a bargain sale, a transfer between related parties, or a deed given for a nominal sum, the value controls and the tax can be far higher than the stated price would suggest.
The transfer tax is the grantee’s obligation in Tennessee, which in an ordinary purchase means the buyer. This is the reverse of the assumption many out-of-state buyers arrive with, because in a number of states the seller carries the deed tax. If you are budgeting a Tennessee purchase from outside the state, put this line on the buyer’s side of the sheet.
Parties can agree to allocate the cost differently in the contract, but that is a private agreement about who reimburses whom. It does not change who the statute looks to, and it does not change what the Register of Deeds collects before the deed goes on record.
Closing in Tennessee? We are a licensed Tennessee title agency — see how we handle Tennessee title insurance and closings, or read how a Tennessee mail-away or RON closing works if you are signing from another state.
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