How much is the transfer tax when you sell a house in Wayne or Oakland County?

How it’s figured

There are two taxes, and both are charged per $500 of the sale price:

• State: $3.75 per $500
• County: $0.55 per $500

Together that’s $4.30 per $500, or $8.60 per $1,000. A partial $500 counts as a whole one, so the price rounds up to the next $500 before the rate applies.

What it comes to

• $250,000 sale: $2,150 ($1,875 state, $275 county)
• $300,000 sale: $2,580 ($2,250 state, $330 county)
• $400,000 sale: $3,440 ($3,000 state, $440 county)
• $500,000 sale: $4,300 ($3,750 state, $550 county)

For your own price, the net sheet works it out along with your payoff, compensation, title and closing costs.

Who pays it

Michigan’s transfer tax laws put both taxes on the seller. The title company collects it at closing, and it shows up as a line on your settlement statement, taken out of your proceeds. You don’t write a separate check.

Is Oakland County different from Wayne?

No. Michigan sets the county rate at $0.55 per $500 for every county with fewer than 2 million people, and both counties are under that, as is every county in the state today. Both Registers of Deeds list the same rates. So a sale in Novi, Troy or Farmington Hills is figured the same way as one in Canton or Trenton.

When you may not owe the state part

A sale of your home can be exempt from the state part when all three of these are true:

1. It was your principal residence, the home you claimed Michigan’s principal residence exemption on.
2. Its state equalized value (SEV) now is no higher than it was when you bought it. For a house you had built, the starting point is the first tax day after its certificate of occupancy.
3. You sold it at market price to an unrelated buyer.

The second test is the one that decides most cases. When the home’s value has gone up since you bought, its SEV usually has too, and the state part is owed. Your SEV is on your tax bill and your assessment notice, so you can check both years.

If you qualify but the tax was collected at closing anyway, Michigan Treasury refunds it on Form 2796. There’s a filing deadline, so ask your title company about it at closing instead of later.

Where these numbers come from

Michigan’s State Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (MCL 207.521 and after) and County Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (MCL 207.501 and after), and the Wayne County Register of Deeds’ and Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds’ fee pages, checked October 2026. Your title company confirms the exact amount before closing.