Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax Calculator: the facts

1. Illinois charges a transfer tax when a deed is recorded: 50 cents for every $500 of the price, or any part of $500, so $1 on each $1,000 (35 ILCS 200/31-10). Every county adds 25 cents per $500, another 50 cents per $1,000 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031).
2. Neither the state nor the county law says who pays. By custom the seller pays both, through stamps the county recorder sells, and a contract can shift them.
3. Only a home rule municipality can add its own transfer tax, and only after a referendum that states the rate and who pays (65 ILCS 5/8-3-19). 72 Illinois municipalities levy one, at rates from $0.50 to $10 per $1,000 and a few flat fees; 200 more Chicago-area towns are confirmed as charging none.
4. Chicago's is the largest in dollars: $3.75 per $500 from the buyer, the city portion, and $1.50 per $500 from the seller, the CTA portion. On a $500,000 home that is $3,750 from the buyer and $1,500 from the seller, on top of $750 of state and county tax.
5. The same $500,000 sale in Naperville costs the buyer $1,500 in village tax; in Oak Park the seller pays $4,000; in a village with no transfer tax the only cost is the $750 the seller pays the state and county.
6. The tax is figured on the price in the transfer declaration, the PTAX-203 or its online MyDec form, which a seller and a buyer both sign. Transfers for less than $100, deeds that secure or release a debt, tax deeds, and deeds to a lender in foreclosure are exempt (35 ILCS 200/31-45).

Educational only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates that vary with each use and over time and are not guaranteed accurate or complete. Using this tool creates no client relationship with Considerate Capital, and the site that linked here is not affiliated with it. By using it you agree to the tool terms (opens in a new window).