Who Pays for the Transfer Taxes in a Home Sale in Maryland or Delaware?

Who pays for the transfer taxes in a home sale in the State of Maryland and the State of Delaware?

Transfer taxes are customarily split between buyer and seller on a 50/50 basis, unless otherwise noted. 

It should be noted, however, that everything is negotiable in a real estate transaction, and the way the market has performed the last two years, we have seen many cases where buyers offer to pay the entire transfer taxes on a real estate transaction. 

But during market shifts, and when we get into a normalized market, the contract calls for a 50/50 equal split of the real estate transfer taxes between buyer and seller.  

In Maryland, the transfer tax varies by county in total. In our county here in Worcester, it is 1.66% of the purchase price. If we split it, that would be 0.83 percent to the buyer and 0.83 percent to the seller. 

In Delaware, the total real estate transfer tax is 4%, so it's a tad higher at 2% to be paid by the buyer and 2% will come from the seller. 

In sum, unless otherwise noted, the real estate transfer taxes are split equally between buyer and seller.