Frequently Asked Questions

As established by the Annotated Code of Maryland and local County law, recordation taxes are assessed at the rate of $6.60 per $1,000 value of recorded instruments filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harford County.

Of this assessed amount, $4.40 is dedicated for school debt service first, then new construction, major and capital improvements to existing school facilities and portable classrooms; $1.10 is dedicated to an open space land and recreational fund for the purchase of park lands and development of parks and recreation facilities; and $1.10 is dedicated for implementation of local watershed protection and restoration projects.

The voters of the county on a 1992 ballot question approved a transfer tax. County Council Bill No. 93-3 adopted the local transfer tax effective July 1, 1993. The transfer tax is imposed at the rate of 1% of the consideration payable for instruments of writing recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harford County or filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. The proceeds of the tax are distributed 50 percent to agricultural land preservation and 50 percent to school site acquisitions, school construction, or school debt.