The rate went up on July 1, 2025
Philadelphia’s realty transfer tax is 4.578% of the sale price. That’s 3.578% to the city and 1% to the Commonwealth. Before July 1, 2025 the total was 4.278%, and the city had a cut to 3.178% on the books for 2037. Council passed Bill 250211 in June 2025, raised the city’s share, and cancelled the future cut. The extra money is earmarked for the city’s $2 billion H.O.M.E. housing plan.
Nothing moved in the FY2027 budget that Council passed in June 2026. There is a state bill, SB 815, that would exempt first-time buyers from the 1% state share. It’s been sitting in Senate Appropriations since July 2025, and we checked again this week. Budget as if it never passes.
Who pays: custom, then the law
The city’s own guidance says the tax “is usually split evenly between the buyer and the seller, but this is not a legal requirement.” Both sides are jointly liable for the whole amount, and the city can collect from either one. The split goes in the Agreement of Sale, and it’s negotiable like the closing date or the washer and dryer.
In practice a Philadelphia buyer plans on 2.289% of the price and the seller plans on the other 2.289%. Sellers sometimes eat more of it when a house sits, and buyers sometimes offer to cover more of it in a bidding war on an East Passyunk block. The tax is due when the deed is recorded, with 30 days to pay, and the title company collects it at settlement.
The 50/50 split is custom, and both parties are on the hook for the full 4.578%. Get the split in writing in the Agreement of Sale before you sign. A contract that’s silent on it leaves you exposed.
What it costs in dollars
| Sale price | Total at 4.578% | Buyer’s half | Seller’s half | Total at the old 4.278% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $9,156 | $4,578 | $4,578 | $8,556 |
| $300,000 | $13,734 | $6,867 | $6,867 | $12,834 |
| $400,000 | $18,312 | $9,156 | $9,156 | $17,112 |
| $500,000 | $22,890 | $11,445 | $11,445 | $21,390 |
Here’s how it lands. You buy a $300,000 rowhome in Point Breeze with a 3% conventional down payment of $9,000. Your half of the transfer tax is $6,867. The tax is about three-quarters the size of your down payment, and it buys you no equity. The July 2025 increase added $450 to the buyer’s side of that same deal. Run your own numbers on the transfer tax calculator.
The exemptions that actually exist
The city taxes the consideration, meaning the price, and the list of exempt transfers is short. We checked it against the city’s transfer tax page, and this is the full list that applies to ordinary households:
- Transfers between spouses.
- Transfers between a parent and a child.
- Transfers between a grandparent and a grandchild.
- Transfers between siblings.
- Transfers under a will.
The catch on that last one: inheriting a house under a will is exempt, but buying a house from an estate is a normal taxable sale. There’s no first-time buyer exemption in Philadelphia, and no exemption for a low price. If someone tells you otherwise, ask them to show you the ordinance.
The suburbs: 2%, with a few exceptions
Cross City Avenue and the rate drops to 2%, which is 1% to the state and 1% split between the municipality and the school district. Custom splits that 1% and 1%, and under state law both parties are jointly liable, same as in the city. Bucks County and Montgomery County have no municipalities charging more, and we looked. Delaware and Chester counties have a handful.
| Municipality | County | Total rate |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Providence Township | Delaware | 3% |
| City of Coatesville | Chester | 3% |
| Radnor Township | Delaware | 2.5% |
| Upper Darby Township | Delaware | 2.5% |
| City of Chester | Delaware | 2.5% |
| Tredyffrin Township | Chester | 2.5% |
| Malvern Borough | Chester | 2.5% |
| Everywhere else in the four counties | 2% |
On a $300,000 house, that’s $13,734 in the city against $6,000 in Havertown. The buyer’s share is $6,867 against $3,000. Nobody’s telling you to move to Havertown. Plenty of people do it anyway, and the transfer tax is one of the reasons they give.
Refinancing: no transfer tax at all
A mortgage is not a taxable document in Pennsylvania. The tax applies to deeds that convey title, so a refinance where the name on the deed doesn’t change owes nothing to the city or the state. Pennsylvania also has no mortgage tax or mortgage stamps, so the only government charge on a new mortgage is the county recording fee.
This makes a refinance cheaper here than in states that tax mortgages, and it’s one reason Philly owners who paid 4.278% on the way in don’t feel the tax again when they refinance.
What can cover it
Your half of the transfer tax is a closing cost, and closing cost help can pay it. Philly First Home gives first-time buyers the lesser of $10,000 or 6% of the price for down payment and closing costs. Seller assist is normal in the city, and the lender will tell you the cap for your loan type. The closing costs guide puts the transfer tax next to every other line so you can see the whole cash-to-close number for a Philadelphia purchase.
Start with one call
Say the price and the ZIP code. The lender you get prices Philadelphia deals with the 4.578% already in the estimate, so the number on your pre-approval is the number at the table. Call us.