Selling your Riverside County home? You might want to know more about your closing costs, including transfer taxes. These are fees levied by local governments and municipalities when a property changes ownership, and can be an unexpected expense for homebuyers and sellers. Don’t worry. This guide on Riverside County transfer taxes will explain how they work: who pays for them, how much they are, and any possible exemptions you might qualify for. The Federal Trade Commission defines transfer taxes as a “state or local tax payable when title to property passes from one owner to another.” When you pass the title of your home — your legal right to own the property — to someone else, the government charges a tax on this exchange. Where your property is located will determine what you’ll owe in transfer taxes according to local state, county, or city guidelines. Like other taxes, transfer taxes are designed to generate revenue. They will vary in complexity based on the city, state, or county where the transaction takes place. Transfer tax liability depends on the municipality in which the transaction occurs. It can fall to the buyer or the seller in California, sometimes both. In Riverside County, transfer tax liability falls to the seller. Transfer taxes are generally divided into three categories: state, city, or county transfer taxes. These are sometimes called “documentary stamp taxes” or “recordation fees”, but they are all essentially the same thing. Here’s a brief look at how it works in Riverside County. State transfer taxes are the only one-size-fits-all tax for home sales in California. Everything is location-dependent. The Golden State levies a California transfer tax of $0.55 per every $500 of the home’s value. For example, a seller in Tahoe who sells their property for the median home price of $695,000 will pay the same tax rate as a seller in Orange who sells their home for the local median home price of $1,070,000. Riverside County transfer taxes are levied at a rate of $1.10 per $1,000 of the property’s value (or $0.55 per $500), essentially the same rate as the statewide tax. This is in addition to the state’s transfer tax rate.What are transfer taxes?
Who pays for transfer taxes?
What are the types of transfer taxes?
State transfer taxes
County transfer taxes
