New Jersey Realty Transfer Fee Explained: What Sellers Pay at Closing

In New Jersey the seller pays the realty transfer fee when the deed goes to the county for recording. It is charged per $500 of price, and the rates jump once the price passes $350,000. Above $1,000,000 the seller also owes a graduated fee of 1% to 3.5% of the whole price.

Who Owes the Fee Under N.J.S.A. 46:15-7

The statute names the seller. N.J.S.A. 46:15-7(a) says “a grantor shall pay to the county recording officer at the time the deed is offered for recording” a basic fee, an additional fee and a general purpose fee. The supplemental fee in 46:15-7.1 falls on the grantor too.

The county won’t record the deed without it. Instruction 1 on Form RTF-1 reads: “No county recording officer shall record any deed evidencing transfer of title to real property unless” the consideration is stated and the fee is remitted.

Can the buyer end up paying? Sometimes. The Division of Taxation’s July 9, 2025 memo says that if the parties “have contracted to shift liability for any of the realty transfer fees due at the time the deed is submitted for recording, it remains a matter of contract law.” Check the fee clause in your contract.

Two Rate Schedules, Split at $350,000

The total price decides which schedule you use. At $350,000 or less the lower schedule applies to the whole price. Past $350,000 the general purpose fee kicks in, and every slice of the price is charged at the higher rate, including the first $150,000.

Each rate counts “each $500.00 of consideration or fractional part thereof”, so a partial $500 is charged as a full one. The Division of Taxation publishes these rates. They are the sum of the fees in 46:15-7(a) and 46:15-7.1(a). A deed for new construction must carry the words “NEW CONSTRUCTION” at the top of its first page, with the seller’s affidavit attached.

The $350,000 step

The switch costs real money. At exactly $350,000 the fee is $2,105. At $350,001 it is $2,739.80. One extra dollar adds $634.80, because the higher rates reprice the entire amount.

The Division’s FAQ gives its own check figure: a $325,000 deed with no exemption owes $1,910.00.

The Graduated Percent Fee Above $1,000,000

P.L.2025, c.69 rewrote N.J.S.A. 46:15-7.2 and imposed the fee “upon the grantor of a deed” for transfers on or after July 10, 2025. Before that it was a 1% charge on the buyer. The Division’s July 2, 2025 memo says the fee “is legally imposed on the grantor instead of the grantee.”

The rate is a percentage of the entire price, not of the part above $1 million:

• over $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000: 1%
• over $2,000,000 up to $2,500,000: 2%
• over $2,500,000 up to $3,000,000: 2.5%
• over $3,000,000 up to $3,500,000: 3%
• over $3,500,000: 3.5%

The trigger is “in excess of $1,000,000.” At exactly $1,000,000 it is zero. The Division’s worked example: a $2.75 million deed owes 2.5%, or $68,750, “in addition to the other grantor fees.”

It reaches Class 2 residential property (the Division says one to four units), Class 3A farm property that has a residential building, cooperative units and Class 4A commercial property. The Division’s general notice adds that the parties “are able to apportion or shift the burden of payment in their contract negotiations.”

The grounds for not paying it are claimed on Form RTF-1EE: a property class outside the list, a buyer that the IRS has recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization, a merger where the property is under 20% of the assets exchanged, an intercompany transfer inside a combined group, or a full exemption from the realty transfer fee. A refund claim has to be filed within 90 days of paying the fee, per 46:15-7.2(c).

What a Seller Pays at Common Prices

Worked examples with no full or partial exemption, for a Class 2 home, computed from the rates above:

Watch the edges. At $2,000,000 the seller owes $41,675 in total. Add a dollar and the graduated fee doubles to 2%, for a total of about $61,681.

Reduced Fee for Seniors, Blind and Disabled Sellers

Form RTF-1 lets a qualifying seller skip the State portions of the basic, supplemental and general purpose fees. The categories are a seller aged 62 or over, a legally blind seller, a seller who is permanently and totally disabled, receiving disability payments and not gainfully employed, and low and moderate income housing under resale controls.

For the personal categories the form sets four more conditions: the home is “Owned and occupied by grantor(s) at time of sale,” the seller is a New Jersey resident, the property is a one- or two-family home, and owners holding as joint tenants must all qualify. A married couple or civil union partners holding as tenants by the entirety need only one qualifying spouse.

The reduced rates, per the Division’s FAQ:

On a $500,000 sale that brings the fee from $4,175 down to $1,925. The Division’s own example: a qualifying senior selling at $280,000 pays $475.00.

These are personal exemptions. The Division says a trust “is not entitled to the partial exemption,” and an estate can’t claim the decedent’s age.

Full Exemptions on Form RTF-1

Instruction 8 of Form RTF-1 lists the deeds that owe no fee at all. Among them:

• consideration of less than $100;
• a deed “Between husband and wife/civil union partners, or parent and child”;
• a deed recorded within 90 days after a divorce or dissolution decree between grantor and grantee;
• a deed from an executor or administrator to a devisee or heir to distribute the estate;
• a deed that confirms or corrects one already recorded;
• a sale for delinquent taxes or assessments.

The Division reads these narrowly. An adopted child qualifies. A stepchild does not. A deed into a trust for your children owes the fee. An executor’s sale to someone not named in the will owes it too. And the sheriff’s affidavit (RTF-8) “is not an exemption.”

The Sworn Affidavit and What Counts as Price

Form RTF-1, the Affidavit of Consideration for Use by Seller, goes with the deed whenever an exemption is claimed, the full price isn’t recited in the deed, the property is Class 4, or the home is new construction. Form RTF-1EE, the Affidavit of Consideration for Graduated Percent Fee, covers deeds whose price is in excess of $1,000,000.

“Consideration” includes the remaining balance of any prior mortgage the property stays subject to or the buyer assumes. Knowingly falsifying the price on the affidavit “is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree,” the form warns.

More on Selling in New Jersey

• How to Sell a Home in New Jersey: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
• How Much Are Closing Costs in New Jersey in 2026
• New Jersey Attorney Review Period
• Property Tax in New Jersey
• Closing cost calculator

Transfer taxes in nearby states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the buyer still pay the mansion tax in New Jersey?

Not by law, for transfers on or after July 10, 2025. P.L.2025, c.69 moved the fee to the grantor and made it graduated. The Division notes the parties can still shift who pays it in their contract.

Is the fee charged only on the amount above $350,000 or $1 million?

No. Crossing $350,000 moves the whole price to the higher per-$500 schedule, and the graduated percent fee is a percentage of “the entire amount of consideration recited in the deed.”

My parents are selling me their house. Do they pay the fee?

A deed between parent and child is on the RTF-1 full-exemption list, and the Division’s FAQ confirms a sale from parents to their daughter and son-in-law is exempt. If the buyer is a child plus a partner who isn’t a spouse, the Division treats half the price as taxable.

I’m 62 and selling my house. What do I file?

Form RTF-1, with every box in the senior citizen section checked. Missing a box “will void claim for partial exemption,” the form says. The home must be your one- or two-family residence, and you must be a New Jersey resident at the time of sale.

Does a sale above $1 million owe both fees?

Yes. Section 46:15-7.2 applies “In addition to all other fees imposed under P.L.1968, c.49.” A $1,250,000 Class 2 sale owes $12,600 in realty transfer fee plus $12,500 in graduated fee.