This simple calculator can help home sellers in Washington D.C. estimate their transfer taxes. To get a ballpark idea of the transfer fees you might pay in the Nation’s Capital, enter your home’s estimated selling price above.
Need a selling price? Try HomeLight’s free Home Value Estimator to see what your house might be worth. To receive a more accurate listing price, contact a top Washington D.C. real estate agent and request a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), a report that will compare your home against nearby listed and recently sold properties.
See a full cost and proceeds breakdown
A top real estate agent can provide you with a Seller’s Net Sheet that breaks down all the costs of selling your home, along with an estimate of the proceeds you can expect. Use HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform to find a trusted local agent with excellent reviews and a proven track record.
How the Washington D.C. Transfer Tax is Calculated
Washington D.C. effectively has two types of transfer taxes, known as a Deed Recordation Tax and the Deed Transfer Tax.
Below is a table showing Washington D.C.’s transfer tax tiers:
| $400,000 or less | 1.1% of fair market value | 1.1% of fair market value |
| Greater than $400,000 | 1.45% of fair market value | 1.45% of fair market value |
Source: DC Office of Tax and Revenue
For example, if you sold your home for $643,000 (Washington D.C.’s median home price), you could expect to pay $9,323 each in Washington D.C. Deed Recordation Taxes and Deed Transfer Taxes.
»Learn more: Understanding Washington D.C.’s Transfer Tax
Does the Seller Always Pay the Washington D.C. Transfer Tax?
While it’s customary for the seller to pay the Washington D.C. transfer tax, who pays can sometimes be a point of negotiation between the buyer and seller during the closing process.
Some Washington D.C. home sales may be exempt, such as:
- Transfers by the federal or D.C. governments.
- Transfers by organizations with valid property tax exemptions.
- Transfers between family members or domestic partners without actual consideration.
- Deeds releasing property used as security for a debt.
- Transfers securing a debt or obligation.
- Transfers confirming, correcting, or modifying a previously recorded transfer.
- Transfers to lower-income homeownership households, nonprofit housing organizations, or cooperative housing associations.
- Transfers involving revocable trusts where the transferor is the current beneficiary or named beneficiary due to the grantor’s death.
- Transfers to resident management corporations.
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