Pittsburgh Transfer Tax Explained
Cross a borough line and the same house costs $9,000 more to transfer.
Pennsylvania transfer tax
Enter a sale price and a municipal rate to see the tax and each side's half.
Allegheny County has around 130 municipalities. Most of them levy the same realty transfer tax. A handful do not, and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest is large enough to change which house you buy.
What the county actually charges
- 2% total — the large majority. 1% Commonwealth, ½% municipality, ½% school district. Dormont, Brentwood, Wilkinsburg, Mt. Lebanon, Ross, Shaler and most boroughs and townships.
- 2.5% total — around a dozen, including Bethel Park, Monroeville, McCandless, Hampton, Pine and Upper St. Clair.
- 3% total — McKeesport City, Penn Hills, Mt. Oliver.
- 4.5% total — City of Pittsburgh, Baldwin-Whitehall school district.
- 5% total — City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh school district.
On a $300,000 sale
Dormont: $6,000. City of Pittsburgh: $15,000. A nine thousand dollar difference on an identical purchase price, for a property that might be two miles away.
Split conventionally, that is $3,000 a side against $7,500 a side.
Why the city is so much higher
The City of Pittsburgh levies 3% on its own — six times the ½% most municipalities charge — and the Pittsburgh school district adds 1% rather than the usual ½%. Stack the Commonwealth's 1% on top and you reach 5%.
Check before you write the offer
If you are comparing a city property against one in a neighbouring borough, run both through a calculator that carries the actual municipal rates. The tax difference alone can exceed what buyers typically budget for every other closing cost combined.
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Note: general information for Pennsylvania and Alabama property owners, not legal or tax advice. Rates, taxes, eligibility and deadlines are set by statute and by each state’s filed rate schedules and can change. Confirm the specifics with us and with a qualified professional before relying on them for a transaction.
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