Virginia Real Estate Transfer Tax Calculator

Virginia's state-level transfer tax on deeds is itself two combined levies: a recordation tax of $0.25 per $100 (0.25%) under Va. Code Section 58.1-801, plus a grantor's tax of $0.50 per $500 (0.10%) under Section 58.1-802, totaling 0.35% state tax. Localities may separately add a recordation tax equal to one-third of the state recordation tax, roughly 0.083%, and Northern Virginia carries a further regional congestion-relief recordation tax of 0.15% in certain localities that is not modeled in this calculator's statewide baseline.

Allocation between buyer and seller is a matter of local custom and the purchase contract rather than a fixed statutory rule; in many Virginia transactions, the grantor's tax is customarily associated with the seller and the recordation tax with the buyer, but this can be negotiated. A Northern Virginia transaction specifically should budget for a higher combined rate than the statewide baseline shown here, once the regional congestion-relief tax is included.

Virginia's combined tax is a flat rate applied to the entire sale price, made up of two distinct state components plus a modeled local component:

$$\text{Transfer Tax} = \text{Sale Price} \times (0.0035 + 0.0008)$$

The calculator's engine runs this through the calculateStateRealEstateTransferTax primitive using Virginia's combined statutory state rate of 0.35% (0.25% recordation tax plus 0.10% grantor's tax) and an average local rate of 0.08%, approximating the typical county recordation tax add-on of about one-third the state recordation tax rate. Because both components are flat rather than bracketed, the primitive simply multiplies the sale price by the combined 0.43% rate to produce total tax due.

Using the calculator's baseline $380,000 sale price:

• Sale Price: $380,000
• Combined state and average local rate: 0.43% (0.35% state plus approximately 0.08% typical local recordation tax)
• Transfer Tax Due: $380,000 × 0.0043 = $1,634.00
• Net Proceeds After Tax: $380,000 minus $1,634 = $378,366.00
• Effective Rate: 0.430%

At the higher-value scenario of $1,500,000, the same flat combined rate applies: $1,500,000 × 0.0043 = $6,450.00 in tax due. Because both the state and local components modeled here are flat rather than marginal, the effective rate holds steady at 0.43% across every sale price, from a modest starter home to a high-value estate, outside of Northern Virginia's additional congestion-relief tax.

• The Northern Virginia congestion-relief regional recordation tax. Several Northern Virginia localities impose an additional recordation tax of roughly 0.15% dedicated to regional transportation funding, which would raise the effective total rate above this calculator's 0.43% baseline for sales in those specific counties and cities.
• Variation in local recordation tax rates across counties. The 0.08% average local rate modeled here approximates a typical Virginia county's add-on; actual local rates can differ modestly from county to county, and buyers should confirm the exact local rate with the circuit court clerk in the relevant jurisdiction.
• Exemptions for certain transfer types. Virginia exempts certain transfers, including those between spouses, into revocable trusts, and by operation of law, from some or all of the recordation and grantor's taxes. This calculator assumes a standard taxable arm's-length sale.
• Deed of trust (mortgage) recordation tax. Virginia separately taxes the recording of a deed of trust securing a loan, a distinct tax from the deed transfer taxes modeled here and based on the loan amount rather than the sale price.

• Treating Virginia's tax as a single line item. Virginia's transfer costs are actually two separate state taxes (recordation tax and grantor's tax) plus a local add-on; understanding the components helps when a closing statement itemizes them separately rather than as one combined figure.
• Forgetting the Northern Virginia regional tax. Buyers and sellers in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, or other Northern Virginia localities subject to the congestion-relief tax often underestimate total transfer costs by using a statewide average rate instead of the higher regional figure.
• Confusing the grantor's tax with a seller-only obligation implied by its name. Despite the name, Virginia's grantor's tax and recordation tax allocation between buyer and seller is a matter of local custom and contract, not a strict statutory assignment tied to the tax's label.
• Mixing up the deed transfer taxes with the deed of trust recordation tax. The taxes modeled in this calculator apply to the property's sale price; a separate tax applies to any loan secured by a deed of trust recorded at the same closing, based on the loan amount instead.

• Code of Virginia Title 58.1, Chapter 8: State recordation tax (Section 58.1-801) and grantor's tax (Section 58.1-802)
• Engine table: engine/tables/2026/state-real-estate-transfer-tax.json, Virginia entry, verified 2026-08-21