How much is the transfer tax in Nevada?
Nevada stacks two statewide statutes and lets the rate vary with county population. NRS 375.020 imposes a base tax of 65 cents per $500 of value in counties under 700,000 people and $1.25 per $500 in counties of 700,000 or more, which today means Clark County. NRS 375.023 adds $1.30 per $500 everywhere. NRS 375.026 lets smaller counties add up to 5 cents more.
The Nevada Department of Taxation publishes the combined result. Clark County pays $2.55 per $500 ($1.95 base plus $0.60). Washoe and Churchill counties pay $2.05 ($1.95 plus $0.10). Every other county pays the $1.95 base rate.
As percentages, that’s 0.51% in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, 0.41% in Reno, Sparks and Fallon, and 0.39% in Carson City, Elko, Douglas County and the rest of the state. Every partial $500 counts as a full $500.
| County | Rate per $500 | Share of price |
|---|---|---|
| Clark (Las Vegas area) | $2.55 | 0.51% |
| Washoe (Reno, Sparks) | $2.05 | 0.41% |
| Churchill (Fallon) | $2.05 | 0.41% |
| All other counties, including Carson City | $1.95 | 0.39% |
What value is taxed
For an ordinary sale, NRS 375.010 defines value as the full purchase price paid or to be paid for the real property. On an apartment building that typically means the contract price, so if part of your price is for furniture, appliances or other personal property, make sure the allocation is documented before closing.
For a gift or a deed with nominal or no stated consideration, the tax is based on estimated fair market value instead. Under the same section, that can be the assessor’s taxable value or the price paid in a purchase within the prior five years, whichever is higher. Washoe County’s recorder applies the same rule in its own guidance.
Who pays transfer tax in Nevada?
NRS 375.030 says the buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for the tax. The escrow holder isn’t liable. In practice that means the county recorder can look to either party if the tax goes unpaid, and the purchase agreement is where you decide who bears it.
On a negotiated apartment sale, treat the transfer tax as an open term. Some sellers absorb it to keep the deal simple, some split it, and some buyers take it on as part of the price. Whatever you agree, write it into the contract and the escrow instructions so there’s no question at the recording window.
Mechanically, the tax is paid through escrow. If the seller pays, it comes out of the seller’s proceeds on the closing statement. If the buyer pays, it’s added to the buyer’s cash to close. Either way the money has to be in escrow before the deed goes to the recorder, because the recorder won’t record without it.
When it’s paid and what you file
The county recorder collects the tax when the deed is recorded and sends the state’s share to the Department of Taxation. Under NRS 375.060, every deed presented for recording must come with a Declaration of Value on the form prescribed by the Nevada Tax Commission, form LGS-F049. The recorder uses the declared value to compute the tax, and also reviews any exemption claimed on the form.
NRS 375.100 bars recording without payment, and NRS 375.110 penalizes a false declaration of value. Your title or escrow company prepares the declaration, but both parties sign it, so read the value and exemption line before you do.
Nevada exemptions that matter to investors
NRS 375.090 lists 14 exemptions. A sale of an apartment building to an unrelated buyer fits none of them, but these come up often in investor planning:
- A mere change in identity, form or place of organization, such as a transfer between a business entity and its parent, subsidiary or a commonly owned affiliate. This doesn’t apply if the entity was formed to avoid the tax.
- A conveyance to a corporation or other business organization when the person conveying owns 100% of it. Deeding the building to your single-member LLC is the classic case.
- Transfers to or from a trust without consideration, if a certificate of trust is presented.
- Transfers to a person related within the first degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity, which covers parents and children.
- Transfers between former spouses under a divorce decree, and transfers without consideration between joint tenants or tenants in common.
- Deeds that take effect on the grantor’s death, with the required affidavit recorded.
- Conveyances under a confirmed bankruptcy reorganization plan, if made within five years of confirmation.
What Nevada doesn’t exempt
Foreclosure deeds and deeds in lieu of foreclosure aren’t on the 375.090 list, so expect them to be taxed. A gift to anyone outside the first-degree relationships, such as a sibling or a grandchild, is taxed on estimated fair market value. And a 1031 exchange has no exemption: the deed for the property you give up and the deed for your replacement property are each taxed in their own county.
Selling the entity is different. Chapter 375 taxes deeds, and we found no provision that taxes the sale of membership interests or shares in a company that owns Nevada real estate. If you own the building in an LLC and the buyer acquires the LLC, no deed is recorded and the transfer tax doesn’t apply. Buyers and lenders don’t always want to inherit an entity, so this is a negotiating point, not a default.
Worked example: a $2,000,000 and a $5,000,000 Nevada apartment sale
Take a 24-unit building priced at $2,000,000. That’s 4,000 units of $500. In Clark County the tax is 4,000 × $2.55, or $10,200: $5,000 under NRS 375.020 at $1.25 and $5,200 under NRS 375.023 at $1.30. The same price in Washoe County costs $8,200, and in Carson City or Elko $7,800.
At $5,000,000 there are 10,000 units of $500. Clark County comes to $25,500, Washoe to $20,500 and the base-rate counties to $19,500. A 60-unit property in Las Vegas carries $6,000 more transfer tax than the same property in Carson City.
If the contract splits the tax evenly, each side of the $2,000,000 Clark County deal pays $5,100. If the seller agrees to pay it all, the full $10,200 comes out of the seller’s proceeds.
| County | $2,000,000 sale | $5,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Clark ($2.55 per $500) | $10,200 | $25,500 |
| Washoe or Churchill ($2.05) | $8,200 | $20,500 |
| Other counties ($1.95) | $7,800 | $19,500 |
| Clark split 50/50, each side | $5,100 | $12,750 |
Nevada compared with neighboring states
Nevada sits in the middle of the West. California’s county documentary transfer tax is lower, but several California cities add their own taxes on top, some of them steep. Arizona charges only a flat affidavit fee, and Oregon bars new local transfer taxes. The table shows what we confirmed in each state’s statute or official guidance.
| State | Transfer tax on a deed | On a $2,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | $1.95–$2.55 per $500 (0.39%–0.51%) | $7,800–$10,200 |
| California | County tax of 55 cents per $500 (0.11%), plus city taxes in some cities | $2,200 before any city tax |
| Arizona | $2 affidavit of property value fee | $2 |
| Oregon | Local transfer taxes barred since 1997, except grandfathered ones such as Washington County’s | Varies |
Where transfer tax fits in your total selling costs
Nevada has no state personal income tax, which changes the math for a seller. Federal capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, taxed at up to 25% as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain, are the big lines, and there’s no state income tax layered on top for an individual owner.
That makes the transfer tax a larger share of the state-level cost than it would be in California or Oregon. On a $5,000,000 Clark County deal, $25,500 is the main Nevada government charge tied to the sale. A 1031 exchange can defer the federal tax but won’t remove the transfer tax on either deed, and seller financing can spread the federal gain over time on an installment basis.
Add title insurance, escrow fees, any brokerage commission and prorations for rents, deposits and property tax, and you have the full picture. Have your escrow officer quote the transfer tax for your county before you counter on price.
Selling your Nevada apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Clark County, Washoe County and the rest of Nevada as a direct buyer. We can offer seller-carry terms and we work inside 1031 exchange timelines.
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 put the transfer tax split in writing in our offer so you know your net.
