RECORDING FEES AND TAXES

RECORDING SURCHARGE: 

Notice: By action of the Maryland General Assembly (House Bill 72), effective July 1, 2011, the Recording Surcharge on instruments recorded in land records and financing statement records will increase from $20.00 to $40.00 per instrument, for all instruments executed on or after July 1, 2011.

In addition to the fees listed below, a surcharge of $40.00 is charged for every instrument recorded in the land records, other than: 
Power of Attorney;
Request for Notice of (Foreclosure) Sale;
Plats;
Homeowners' Association Disclosures.

RECORDING FEES:

Land Record Fees:
Real Property Article, §3-601 provides, in part, as follows:

(a) In general - (1) In this subsection, "page" means one side of a leaf not larger than 8½ inches wide by 14 inches long, or any portion of it. (2) Before recording an instrument among 
the land or financing records, a clerk shall collect:
i.$10.00 for a release nine (9) pages or less in length; [this does not apply to a termination of a  financing statement]
ii.$20.00 for any other instrument nine (9) pages or less in length;
iii.Except as provided in item 1 above, $20.00 for an instrument,regardless of length, involving solely a principal residence; and
iv.$75 any other instrument ten (10) pages or more in length;

Fees for Other Land Related Documents:

$15.00 for a Request for Notice of (Foreclosure) Sale
$5.00 per page for plats of any kind
$50.00 for Homeowner's Association Disclosures initial filing
$5.00 per page up to $25.00 for amendments to Homeowner's Association Disclosures.

RECORDING TAXES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY

State Recordation Tax:

Recordation Tax is applied to any instrument that transfers an interest in real property or that creates a security interest in real or personal property. The recordation tax rate for Washington County is $3.80 for every $500 or fraction of $500 of consideration. (See Tax Property Article, §12-108, for exemption from tax.)

State Transfer Tax:

The tax is applied to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, e.g. deed, lease, easements, contract, etc. The tax is one half of 1% (0.5%) of the consideration, except for deeds to a first time MARYLAND home buyer*, in which case the tax is one fourth of 1% (0.25%). (See Tax Property Article, §13-207 for exemptions from tax)

County Transfer Tax:

The tax is applied to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, e.g., deed, lease, easement, contract, etc. The first $50,000 of consideration on any instrument is exempt from the county transfer tax. On remaining consideration, the tax is one half of 1% (0.5%), except that the rate is one fourth of 1% (0.25%) for a first-time WASHINGTON COUNTY home buyer, defined as follows:

An individual who:
c.Has never owned residential real property in Washington County that has been the individual's principal residence, d.Has been a resident of Washington County continuously for twelve months prior to the purchase, and e.Has purchased a residence for a total consideration of less than $115,000. If there are two or more grantees, to qualify for the first-time Washington County Homebuyer each grantee must be a first-time Washington County home buyer or a co-maker or guarantor of a purchase money mortgage or purchase money deed of trust for the property and the co-maker or guarantor will not occupy the residence as the co-maker's or guarantor's principal residence.

The county transfer tax does not apply to an instrument of writing exempt from the state transfer tax, or to a transfer of land subject to the agricultural land transfer tax under Title 13, Subtitle 3, of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. 
For a copy, see Transfer Tax Ordinance, at: 
www.washco-md.net/county_attorney/legal.shtm

Agricultural Land Transfer Tax:

In addition to the state Agricultural Land Transfer Tax provided in Title 13, Subtitle 3, of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Washington County imposes a County Agricultural Land Transfer (Ag) Tax. The tax is imposed at the rate of two percent (2%), as provided in Title 13, Subtitle 5 of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The county ag tax is payable on any transfer for which state ag tax is due. Both state and county ag tax is collected by the County Treasurer's Office prior to recording with the Clerk of Circuit Court. For information on either ag tax, contact the County Treasurer's office at 240-313-2110.

PAYMENT

Except for the Agricultural Land Transfer Taxes, all recording fees, surcharges and taxes are collected by the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the time of recording. Make checks payable to Dennis J. Weaver, Clerk.

Both the state and county Agricultural Land Transfer Taxes are collected by the Washington County Treasurer prior to presentation to the Clerk of Circuit Court for recording. Make checks payable to Todd L. Hershey, Treasurer.

PLEASE CALL THE RECORDING DEPARTMENT IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT AT 301-790-7991 IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS