It calculates the state-level transfer tax on a deed conveying a rental property you already own into a limited liability company you own. Every rate, exemption and status comes from the same verified dataset behind our 50-state rental property guides, checked against state statutes, revenue departments and county recorders.
It does not calculate county or municipal transfer tax, recording fees, or what happens to your property tax assessment beyond flagging that a risk exists. It cannot tell you whether a conditional exemption applies to your facts. That turns on what the deed recites and what consideration passes, which is a question for an attorney in your state and the recorder in your county.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends entirely on the state, and in most of them the answer is 'only if you meet conditions'. Fourteen states levy no real estate transfer tax at all, so the deed costs a recording fee. Five exempt a transfer to an LLC you wholly own outright. Twenty-seven exempt it only if statutory conditions are met, and those conditions are where people get caught. Three tax it like an arm's-length sale.
Many states measure the tax on 'consideration', and define consideration to include a mortgage the LLC takes the property subject to. On that measure a deed reciting $1 is not a nominal transfer at all. The tax is computed on the loan balance, or in some states on the property's full market value. Other states expressly exclude a remaining lien. The calculator flags which rule your state uses.
Often not. In states that cap a property's assessed value, the deed can be treated as a change of ownership that resets the cap, and that repeats every year for as long as you own the property, which can dwarf a one-off transfer tax. A handful of states expressly protect the cap on a transfer to a company the owner already owns. The calculator surfaces which applies.
No, and that is a real limitation. This calculates the state-level charge only. Several states let counties or municipalities levy their own transfer tax on the same deed, and in a couple of states the local tax is the only transfer tax there is. Where local tax is possible, the calculator says so and points you at the recorder for the county the property sits in.
Deeding the property to an LLC is a transfer of title, which is what a due-on-sale clause exists to catch. The Garn-St Germain protection people cite at 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d) is written for transfers into a trust; none of its categories names a limited liability company. Lenders frequently do not call a loan while payments arrive, but that is forbearance rather than a right. Ask your servicer for written consent before you record.
State statutes, departments of revenue and taxation, Secretary of State fee schedules and county recorders, 684 distinct primary sources across the 50 states. Formation-service blogs and law-firm marketing were not used as the basis for any figure. Each state's guide lists the sources behind its own answer.
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This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what state statutes and revenue departments say, with sources listed above. It cannot tell you how they apply to your property: the tax on a conveyance turns on what the deed recites, what consideration passes, what the property is encumbered by, and the county it sits in, and the protection an LLC gives against your own creditors turns on how the company was capitalised and has been operated. Confirm your own position with an attorney or tax adviser licensed in your state, and with the recording office for your county, before you sign or record anything.
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
