Does Illinois have a real estate transfer tax?
Yes. 35 ILCS 200/31-10 imposes a tax on the privilege of transferring title to Illinois real estate at 50 cents for each $500 of value, or fraction of $500, stated in the transfer declaration. That works out to 0.10%, or $1 per $1,000.
Counties add their own layer. Under the Property Tax Code, a county may impose 25 cents per $500, and the state’s Form PTAX-203 computes it on the same line as the state tax. Cook County, a home-rule county, levies its own Real Property Transfer Tax at the same $0.25 per $500. In practice, the combined state and county rate is 0.15% across Illinois.
Home-rule cities can stack another tax on top. Chicago’s is by far the largest, and several suburbs have their own, so the address matters more than the state rate.
| Layer | Rate | As a percent | Customarily paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of Illinois | $0.50 per $500 | 0.10% | Seller |
| County (including Cook) | $0.25 per $500 | 0.05% | Seller |
| City of Chicago, city portion | $3.75 per $500 | 0.75% | Buyer |
| City of Chicago, CTA portion | $1.50 per $500 | 0.30% | Seller |
How the Illinois transfer tax is calculated
Start with the full actual consideration, then subtract personal property included in the price and the value of any other real estate the buyer hands you in a simultaneous swap. If the deed states that the property stays subject to an existing mortgage, the outstanding balance comes off too. Divide what is left by 500, round up to the next whole number, and multiply by $0.50 for the state and $0.25 for the county.
The mortgage rule is unusual and worth knowing. If a buyer takes your building subject to a $1,500,000 loan, only your equity above that balance is taxed at the state and county level, provided the deed says so on its face. An assumed loan is the exception, though. A normal sale where your lender is paid off at closing is taxed on the full price.
Who pays the transfer tax in Illinois?
By custom the seller pays the state and county tax, and Chicago Title’s 2026 transfer tax chart lists the seller as primarily liable for both. In Chicago, the buyer normally pays the $3.75 city portion and the seller pays the $1.50 CTA portion, which is how the City of Chicago Department of Finance describes the split. A purchase contract can move any of these costs.
Payment happens at recording. Counties sell revenue stamps, and most of the state, including Cook County and Chicago, now runs the declaration through the MyDec electronic system. Buyer and seller, or their agents, both sign Form PTAX-203, the Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration.
Apartment sellers have one extra form. When the price is over $1,000,000 and the property is marked as an apartment building over six units, office, retail, commercial, industrial or other, you also file Form PTAX-203-A, a supplemental form that asks for more detail about the sale.
Chicago transfer tax rates in 2026
Chicago still uses a flat rate. The Department of Finance’s current page sets the city portion at $3.75 per $500 and the supplemental CTA portion at $1.50 per $500, a total of $5.25 per $500, or 1.05% of the transfer price. There are no price tiers.
That is not for lack of trying. In March 2024 Chicago voters rejected the Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would have raised the rate on sales above $1,000,000, and no tiered rate has been adopted since. Chicago Title’s chart dated July 1, 2026 still shows the flat $3.75 buyer and $1.50 seller rates.
Chicago taxes transfers of title and of beneficial interests in land trusts, and its Form 7551 declaration lists controlling interests in real estate entities as a type of interest transferred. Late payment draws a 5% penalty plus interest under the city’s rules. Outside Chicago, several Cook County suburbs and other home-rule towns charge their own transfer taxes, often paid by the seller, so check the municipality before you price a deal.
Controlling interests, LLC transfers and exemptions
Selling the LLC instead of the building does not get around Illinois’s tax. The state tax applies to transfers of a controlling interest in an entity that owns Illinois real estate, as well as to transfers of beneficial interests in land trusts, and it applies whether or not a document is ever recorded. It also reaches a transfer made through one or more related transactions.
The exemptions are listed in 35 ILCS 200/31-45, and the Department of Revenue’s PTAX-203 instructions repeat them. A deed to your own LLC with less than $100 of actual consideration usually fits exemption (e), but the exemption has to be noted on the deed. A 1031 exchange is not exempt. Illinois exempts only a direct swap of real estate between two parties, and even then any cash difference is taxed. In a deferred exchange the instructions tell you not to deduct the replacement property, so your sale is taxed in full.
- (e) Deeds or trust documents where the actual consideration is less than $100.
- (l) Deeds to a mortgage holder in a foreclosure or a transfer in lieu of foreclosure.
- (k) Actual exchanges of real estate between the parties, except for any money difference.
- (i) and (j) Transfers in tax-free corporate reorganizations, and subsidiary-to-parent deeds for cancellation of the subsidiary’s stock.
- (d) Deeds that only confirm, correct or supplement an earlier deed, with no added consideration.
- (h) Deeds of partition, and (b) transfers to or from government bodies and qualifying charities.
Worked example: transfer tax on a $2,000,000 and $5,000,000 Chicago apartment sale
Assume a 16-unit courtyard building in Chicago sells for $2,000,000 and a 40-unit building sells for $5,000,000. The seller’s loans are paid off at closing, and there is no personal property in the price.
At $2,000,000, the price divided by 500 is 4,000 units. The state tax is 4,000 × $0.50 = $2,000, Cook County is 4,000 × $0.25 = $1,000, the Chicago city portion is 4,000 × $3.75 = $15,000 and the CTA portion is 4,000 × $1.50 = $6,000. The seller pays $9,000 and the buyer pays $15,000, for $24,000 in total.
At $5,000,000, there are 10,000 units. The state takes $5,000, the county $2,500, the city portion $37,500 and the CTA portion $15,000. The seller’s share is $22,500 and the buyer’s is $37,500, a total of $60,000. The same $5,000,000 building in a county with no municipal tax would owe only the $7,500 of state and county tax.
| Line item | Paid by | $2,000,000 sale | $5,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois state tax (0.10%) | Seller | $2,000 | $5,000 |
| Cook County tax (0.05%) | Seller | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| Chicago CTA portion (0.30%) | Seller | $6,000 | $15,000 |
| Chicago city portion (0.75%) | Buyer | $15,000 | $37,500 |
| Seller’s total | Seller | $9,000 | $22,500 |
| Total transfer tax | Both | $24,000 | $60,000 |
Illinois compared with neighboring states
Outside Chicago, Illinois is in the middle of its region. The combined 0.15% state and county rate is a little below Iowa’s and above Kentucky’s, while Indiana has no transfer tax at all. Chicago is the outlier: its 1.05% city tax is several times the statewide rate on its own.
| State | Statewide tax | $2,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois (outside Chicago) | 0.10% state + 0.05% county | $3,000 |
| Illinois (Chicago) | 1.20% all layers | $24,000 |
| Iowa | $0.80 per $500 over the first $500 (0.16%) | $3,199.20 |
| Kentucky | $0.50 per $500 (0.10%) | $2,000 |
| Indiana | No transfer tax | $0 |
How transfer tax fits into your total selling costs
For most Illinois sellers outside Chicago, the transfer tax is one of the smaller closing lines. The larger bills are federal capital gains tax, the up-to-25% federal rate on unrecaptured depreciation, and Illinois income tax on the gain at the flat 4.95% individual rate. If the building sits in a partnership or S corporation, Illinois also charges a 1.5% personal property replacement tax on the entity’s net income.
A 1031 exchange can defer the federal and Illinois income tax, but the transfer tax is still due at closing. In Chicago the seller’s share is 0.45%, and the buyer’s 0.75% city portion is something buyers price into their offers, so the full 1.20% affects your net either way.
Selling your Illinois apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Chicago, the suburbs and downstate Illinois. We buy directly, can offer seller-carry terms and can close inside a 1031 timeline.
We price the state, county and city transfer taxes into the offer up front, so the net number you see is the one you get. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page, or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
