If you’re buying or selling property in Massachusetts, you’re going to encounter the state’s deed excise tax. The number on your closing disclosure can feel like it appeared out of thin air. This guide explains exactly how the calculator arrives at that number — step by step, no jargon.
Massachusetts charges a deed excise tax on nearly every real estate transfer in the state. The rules come primarily from Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64D, Section 1, with additional guidance published by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR). A few special counties — Barnstable (Cape Cod), Dukes (Martha’s Vineyard), and Nantucket — have their own extra fees layered on top.
The calculator pulls all of these rules together so you can see your total closing cost before you get to the closing table. Here’s how each piece works.
Step 1 — Check Whether the Transfer Is Exempt
Before any math happens, the calculator checks whether the transaction qualifies for an exemption. Certain transfers are entirely free of deed excise tax under Massachusetts law. If any exemption applies, the tax is zero — though the standard $155 deed recording fee at the Registry of Deeds still applies.
The four main exemptions recognized by the calculator are:
Sale price of $100 or less. Under MGL c.64D §1, a transfer where the consideration (price paid) is $100 or less is simply not taxed. This most often covers nominal transfers like gifts between family members.
Government party. Any deed in which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a city or town, the federal government, or a government-sponsored entity like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is a party is exempt, per DOR Indexing Standards.
Divorce transfer. A transfer of property between spouses that takes place as part of a divorce proceeding is exempt under DOR guidance.
Partition with no excess value. When co-owners divide a property and nobody receives more than their original ownership share, there is no taxable event. Only the excess — the portion by which someone’s share grows — is taxable.
Example A
A nominal gift transfer
A parent transfers a vacation cabin to a child for a stated consideration of $1.00 to satisfy recording requirements.
Sale price: $1.00. Because this is ≤ $100, the transfer is exempt under MGL c.64D §1.
Deed excise tax: $0.00 | Recording fee: $155.00 | Total: $155.00
Example B
A town acquiring open land
A developer sells a 10-acre parcel to the Town of Concord for $1,200,000 as part of a conservation purchase.
Because the grantee is a Massachusetts municipality, the transfer is exempt under DOR Indexing Standards.
Deed excise tax: $0.00 | Recording fee: $155.00 | Total: $155.00
Step 2 — Identify the Taxable Amount
For a straightforward sale, the taxable amount is simply the agreed sale price. But for partition transfers, the taxable amount is only the value that exceeds one party’s original share — not the total property value.
This matters because a partition where two co-owners each receive exactly what they already owned is not really a “transfer” of value. The DOR Indexing Standards confirm that only the excess is taxed.
Example A
Standard sale — full price is taxable
A condo in Cambridge sells for $650,000. There is no partition involved.
Taxable amount: $650,000
Example B
Partition where one party receives more than their share
Two siblings co-own a property worth $400,000 equally (50/50). One buys the other out. The departing sibling’s share is worth $200,000, but the remaining sibling pays $250,000 — an excess of $50,000 over fair share.
Per DOR Indexing Standards, only the excess is taxed.
Taxable amount: $50,000 (not $400,000)
Step 3 — Round the Price Up to the Next $500
Massachusetts law requires that the sale price be rounded up to the nearest $500 before the excise rate is applied. This is confirmed by both the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds fee schedule and DOR guidance. Even if your sale price is exactly $501, it rounds up to $1,000 for purposes of the calculation.
Example A
Price already a multiple of $500
Sale price: $750,000. Divide by 500 → 1,500 exactly. No rounding needed.
Rounded price: $750,000
Example B
Price falls between $500 increments
Sale price: $450,300. Divide by 500 → 900.6. Round up to 901. Multiply by 500.
Rounded price: $450,500
Step 4 — Calculate the Base Deed Excise Tax
This is the core of the calculation. Massachusetts imposes a deed excise based on every $500 (or fraction thereof) of the sale price. The base rate under MGL c.64D §1 is $2 per $500, but the DOR applies a 14% surcharge, bringing the effective rate to $2.28 per $500 — which works out to 0.456% of the sale price. This rate applies everywhere in Massachusetts except Barnstable County.
Barnstable County (Cape Cod) is different. The statute sets a higher base rate there, and with the same DOR surcharge, the combined rate becomes $3.24 per $500 — or 0.648% of the sale price. This is confirmed by the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds fee schedule, which lists the combined rate as $6.48 per $1,000.
Key rate reference The $2.28 and $3.24 figures come directly from DOR Registry of Deeds Indexing Standards and are the operative rates for 2026. The underlying statute (MGL c.64D §1) states $2 and $1.50 per $500 respectively; the 14% add-on is applied by the DOR on top of those statutory amounts.
| Jurisdiction | Rate per $500 | Equivalent % |
|---|---|---|
| All Massachusetts counties (except Barnstable) | $2.28 | 0.456% |
| Barnstable County (Cape Cod) | $3.24 | 0.648% |
Example A
Standard sale in Suffolk County (Boston)
Rounded price: $750,000. Divide by 500 → 1,500 units. Multiply by $2.28.
Base excise tax: 1,500 × $2.28 = $3,420.00
Example B
Sale in Barnstable County (Cape Cod)
Original price: $450,300 → rounded to $450,500. Divide by 500 → 901 units. Multiply by $3.24.
Base excise tax: 901 × $3.24 = $2,919.24
Step 5 — Add the CPA Recording Surcharge (If Applicable)
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) allows Massachusetts municipalities to adopt a local surcharge on property taxes, but it also comes with a flat fee at the Registry of Deeds. Under DOR Technical Information Release 19-14 (effective 2020), a flat $50 surcharge is added to deed recordings statewide to fund the Community Preservation Trust Fund. This is a fixed amount — it has nothing to do with the sale price.
The calculator applies this when you indicate the deed is being recorded in a CPA-participating town.
Example A
Deed recorded in a CPA-participating town
A home in Lexington (a CPA-adopting town) sells for $900,000.
CPA surcharge added: $50.00 (flat fee, regardless of price)
Example B
Deed recorded in a non-CPA town
A property in a town that has not adopted the CPA changes hands for $1,200,000.
CPA surcharge: $0.00
Step 6 — Calculate the Land Bank Fee (Dukes & Nantucket Only)
Martha’s Vineyard (Dukes County) and Nantucket County each have their own land bank programs that fund open-space preservation. Both impose a 2% fee on the full sale price, paid by the buyer. This is separate from the deed excise paid by the seller.
Martha’s Vineyard’s land bank fee is authorized under its enabling act and confirmed by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission regulations. Nantucket’s is confirmed by the Nantucket Land Bank FAQ.
Both programs offer a first-time homebuyer exemption: on Martha’s Vineyard, the first $1,700,000 of the purchase price is exempt from the land bank fee. On Nantucket, the first $1,200,000 is exempt. If the sale price falls entirely below the exemption threshold, the buyer owes no land bank fee at all.
Example A
Martha’s Vineyard sale — no exemption
A buyer purchases a home in Edgartown for $500,000. No first-time buyer exemption is claimed.
Land bank fee: $500,000 × 2% = $10,000.00, paid by the buyer at closing.
Land bank fee: $10,000.00
Example B
Nantucket sale — first-time buyer exemption applies
A first-time homebuyer purchases a property in Siasconset for $1,500,000.
First $1,200,000 is exempt. Taxable amount: $1,500,000 − $1,200,000 = $300,000.
Land bank fee: $300,000 × 2% = $6,000.00
Land bank fee: $6,000.00 (instead of $30,000 without the exemption)
Step 7 — Add the Recording Fee
Every deed must be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. The standard recording fee, set under Massachusetts law and published by the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds (and applicable statewide), is $155 for a deed. This fee applies to every transfer — even exempt ones. It is not a tax; it is the administrative cost of officially recording the change of ownership in the public land records.
Example A
Standard taxable sale
Any property sale anywhere in Massachusetts, regardless of price or county.
Recording fee: $155.00
Example B
An exempt transfer (government purchase)
A city acquires a building for $2,000,000. The transfer is exempt from excise tax — but the deed still has to be recorded.
Recording fee: $155.00 (still applies even though excise = $0)
Step 8 — Add It All Up
The calculator totals four components:
Total transfer tax = Base excise + CPA surcharge + Land bank fee
Grand total at closing = Total transfer tax + Recording fee
Here’s how a complete Nantucket transaction looks when everything comes together:
Full Example — Nantucket, with CPA and first-time buyer exemption
$1,500,000 sale in Nantucket
Base excise: ($1,500,000 ÷ 500) × $2.28 = $6,840.00 (seller pays)
CPA surcharge: $50.00
Land bank fee (first-time buyer): ($1,500,000 − $1,200,000) × 2% = $6,000.00 (buyer pays)
Recording fee: $155.00
Grand total: $13,045.00
Full Example — Cape Cod, no land bank
$450,300 sale in Barnstable County, CPA town
Rounded price: $450,500
Base excise: (901 × $3.24) = $2,919.24 (seller pays)
CPA surcharge: $50.00
Land bank fee: $0 (Barnstable is not Dukes or Nantucket)
Recording fee: $155.00
Grand total: $3,124.24
Why Does This Matter for Your Closing Costs?
For most Massachusetts sales, the deed excise is paid by the seller and is deducted from the seller’s proceeds at closing. The land bank fee — unique to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket — is paid by the buyer and adds meaningfully to closing costs on those islands, where sale prices are often well above $1 million.
Because the excise is applied to every $500 of the rounded sale price, even a small increase in the sale amount can nudge the rounded price into the next $500 bracket. On a $450,300 sale, for example, you’re paying excise on $450,500 — that extra $200 of rounding costs about $1.30 in most counties, or about $1.95 in Barnstable. It’s not dramatic on its own, but it’s worth knowing the mechanic.
The calculator is designed to give you a complete, itemized picture so there are no surprises on closing day. As always, these figures reflect the law as it stands in 2026, and individual transactions may have nuances — particularly around partition transfers, trust assignments, or first-time buyer eligibility — that warrant advice from a real estate attorney.
Sources & Legal References
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 64D, Section 1 — Primary statute governing the Massachusetts deed excise tax. Defines the base rate ($2 per $500), the Barnstable County rate ($1.50 per $500), and the parties and transactions that are exempt from the tax.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) — Registry of Deeds Indexing Standards — Official DOR guidance clarifying the operative rates after the 14% surcharge ($2.28 per $500 statewide; $3.24 per $500 in Barnstable County), exempt transfers, and partition transfer rules.
- Barnstable County Registry of Deeds — Fee Schedule — Confirms the combined Barnstable County excise rate of $6.48 per $1,000 (i.e., $3.24 per $500) and the rounding-up requirement for the sale price.
- Middlesex North Registry of Deeds — Fee Summary — Source for the standard $155 deed recording fee applicable statewide at all Massachusetts Registries of Deeds.
- Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission — Regulations — Confirms the 2% land bank transfer fee for Dukes County (Martha’s Vineyard) and the first-time homebuyer exemption on the first $1,700,000 of the purchase price.
- Nantucket Land Bank Commission — Frequently Asked Questions — Confirms the 2% land bank transfer fee for Nantucket County, the buyer’s responsibility to pay it, and the first-time homebuyer exemption on the first $1,200,000 of the purchase price.
- Massachusetts DOR Technical Information Release 19-14 (TIR 19-14) — Establishes the Community Preservation Act recording surcharge of $50 on deeds and $25 on other documents, effective January 1, 2020, collected at all Massachusetts Registries of Deeds.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 44B — The Community Preservation Act, which authorizes the local surcharge and the state matching fund that the recording surcharge supports.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Rates and rules reflect Massachusetts law as of 2026. Consult a licensed Massachusetts real estate attorney for guidance on specific transactions.