What is the Nebraska transfer tax rate in 2026?
The rate is $3.32 for each $1,000 of value or fraction of $1,000, under Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-901. As a percentage that’s 0.332% of the price. The Nebraska Department of Revenue lists it as the rate from July 18, 2026 onward.
Nebraska calls it the documentary stamp tax because payment is shown by stamps attached to the deed. It applies to every deed that transfers legal title or a beneficial interest in Nebraska real estate, and the statute presumes every deed is taxable unless the deed shows an exemption on its face or you give the register of deeds documentary proof of one.
The base is the “full actual consideration,” paid or to be paid, including any liens the buyer assumes. For a gift or a deed with only nominal consideration, the base becomes current market value instead.
Two increases in eleven months
If you last sold in Nebraska a few years ago, your old closing statement will understate this line. The Department of Revenue’s rate history shows the rate was $2.25 per $1,000 from July 1, 2005 through September 2, 2025. It rose to $2.32 on September 3, 2025, and to $3.32 on July 18, 2026.
The 2026 change came through LB 1067. The amended statute sets the rate at $3.32 for transfers before January 1, 2032 and $2.32 for transfers on or after that date. So the higher rate is scheduled, by its own terms, to fall back in a little over five years.
On a large sale the timing is real money. A $5,000,000 deed costs $11,250 at the old $2.25 rate and $16,600 today. If you’re negotiating now, read how your purchase contract allocates the tax so a rate change between signing and closing doesn’t surprise either side.
| Effective period | Rate per $1,000 | Tax on $2,000,000 |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2005 – Sept. 2, 2025 | $2.25 | $4,500 |
| Sept. 3, 2025 – July 17, 2026 | $2.32 | $4,640 |
| July 18, 2026 – Dec. 31, 2031 | $3.32 | $6,640 |
| Jan. 1, 2032 onward (scheduled) | $2.32 | $4,640 |
Who pays the Nebraska documentary stamp tax?
The seller. Section 76-901 imposes the tax “on the grantor executing the deed,” so Nebraska is one of the states where the statute itself names the payer rather than leaving it to custom. A purchase contract can still shift the cost, but on most Nebraska commercial sales the seller sees it on the settlement statement.
The tax is collected by the register of deeds in the county where the property sits, at the time the deed is presented for recording. Your title company or closing agent normally pays it from the seller’s proceeds.
How it’s calculated, and Form 521
Divide the price by 1,000, round up to the next whole number, and multiply by $3.32. The Department of Revenue’s own worked example uses a $256,732 sale: 256.732 rounds up to 257, and 257 × $3.32 = $853.24. The rounding matters little on a large sale but it’s why a price of $2,000,001 costs $3.32 more than $2,000,000.
The buyer has a filing of its own. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-214 and the department’s Chapter 52 regulations, the grantee or the grantee’s agent must complete and file Form 521, the Real Estate Transfer Statement, with the register of deeds when the deed is presented. If it’s missing, the register won’t record the deed. Form 521 reports the total consideration and any part of it paid for things other than the real estate, and the register forwards it to the county assessor.
- Seller: pays the stamp tax at recording.
- Buyer: files Form 521 with the deed.
- Register of deeds: collects the tax and won’t record without Form 521.
- County assessor: receives Form 521 and uses it in valuation work.
County and city add-ons
There aren’t any for the documentary stamp tax. The rate in 76-901 is a single statewide figure, so a building in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island or a small town carries the same 0.332%. County registers charge separate recording fees by the document, which are small next to the tax on a multimillion-dollar deed.
Exemptions that matter to investors
Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-902 lists the deeds the tax doesn’t apply to. Most are narrow, and an ordinary sale of an apartment building to an unrelated buyer fits none of them. These are the ones investors run into most:
- Transfers into or out of a family-owned corporation, partnership or LLC, or a family trust, where the only consideration is the entity’s stock or interests. Family members are related within the fourth degree of kindred, and step-relations count.
- Transfers into a corporation or LLC wholly owned by one person when the grantor is that owner, and transfers by spouses or family members to an entity owned by one of them.
- Deeds conveying partnership or LLC property to a partner, member or the member’s spouse, for entities not covered by the family-entity exemption.
- Deeds of corporate mergers and consolidations under plans filed with the Secretary of State, and deeds from a subsidiary to its parent for no consideration other than cancellation of stock.
- Deeds of distribution from a personal representative to heirs or devisees, and transfer on death deeds.
- Transfers into a trust if the same transfer would be exempt going straight to the beneficiaries, and deeds from a trustee to a beneficiary.
- A trustee’s deed to the beneficiary after a power-of-sale foreclosure under a trust deed.
- Transfers between spouses, and parent-to-child transfers with no actual consideration.
What isn’t exempt
Several common investor transactions aren’t on the list. A deed in lieu of foreclosure isn’t named as an exemption, so expect the tax to apply unless another exemption fits. A gift to someone outside the listed family relationships is taxed on market value. And there’s no exemption for a 1031 exchange: the relinquished property’s deed and the replacement property’s deed are each a taxable transfer, and each grantor pays.
Selling the LLC that owns the building is a different question. The tax is imposed on the grantor executing a deed, and a sale of membership interests usually involves no deed at all. We didn’t find a Nebraska provision that taxes the sale of an entity holding real estate the way New Jersey, Maine or Vermont tax controlling-interest transfers. Have your title company confirm the treatment for your structure before you rely on it.
Worked example: a $2,000,000 and a $5,000,000 Nebraska apartment sale
Say you sell a 30-unit building in Lincoln for $2,000,000 in November 2026. Divide by 1,000 to get 2,000 units of value, then multiply by $3.32. The documentary stamp tax is $6,640, or 0.332% of the price, and you pay it at recording.
Now a 75-unit Omaha property at $5,000,000. That’s 5,000 units at $3.32, or $16,600. If the same sale had closed in August 2025, before both increases, the tax would have been $11,250, so the 2026 rate adds $5,350 to the seller’s cost.
There’s no county or city line to add. On both deals, the only other government charge tied to the deed is the register of deeds’ recording fee.
| Line item | $2,000,000 sale | $5,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable units ($1,000 each) | 2,000 | 5,000 |
| Documentary stamp tax at $3.32 | $6,640 | $16,600 |
| County or city add-on | $0 | $0 |
| Same sale at the pre-Sept. 2025 rate of $2.25 | $4,500 | $11,250 |
| Effective rate today | 0.332% | 0.332% |
Nebraska compared with neighboring states
Even after the increase, Nebraska is a moderate transfer tax state for its region. Iowa’s tax is about half Nebraska’s, South Dakota’s is less than a third, and Colorado’s documentary fee is a token amount. The figures below come from each state’s statute and leave out local add-ons.
| State | Rate on a deed | Tax on $2,000,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | $3.32 per $1,000, grantor pays (0.332%) | $6,640 |
| Iowa | 80 cents per $500 above the first $500 (0.16%) | $3,199.20 |
| South Dakota | 50 cents per $500, grantor pays (0.1%) | $2,000 |
| Colorado | 1 cent per $100 documentary fee (0.01%) | $200 |
How the stamp tax fits into your total selling costs
At 0.332%, the documentary stamp tax is noticeable but rarely the largest line. Federal capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, taxed at up to 25% as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain, usually dwarf it, and Nebraska taxes the gain through its individual income tax as well.
A 1031 exchange can defer those income taxes, though as noted it won’t avoid the stamp tax on either deed. Seller financing can spread the gain over several years on an installment basis. Run both against your expected net before you pick a price, and have your CPA confirm the Nebraska income tax piece.
Selling your Nebraska apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Nebraska, from Omaha and Lincoln to smaller markets, as a direct buyer. We can offer seller-carry terms and we work with 1031 timelines if you’re exchanging into something larger.
Send the property address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours, and we’ll spell out how the stamp tax and other closing costs fall on the settlement statement.
