"Buying a Home in Arkansas: Who Pays the Real Property Transfer Tax at Closing?"

Your Loan Estimate lands in your inbox a few days after you apply for the loan on a home in Conway. You read down page two, one line at a time, and under "Taxes and Other Government Fees" there is a transfer tax with a dollar figure in your column. In the state you are moving from, that line was always on the seller's side of the page. In Arkansas, half of it is yours by default. Seeing it this early is the good news, because the contract can still change who pays.

In Arkansas, the real property transfer tax is paid half by the seller and half by the purchaser unless the two of you agree otherwise in the purchase contract. Arkansas Code § 26-60-106 sets that equal split as the default, and the same section lets the contract change it, so who pays what is settled when the offer is signed, well before closing.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation, licensed in fifteen states, including Arkansas.

What is the Arkansas real property transfer tax?

Arkansas puts a tax on the deed when a home sells. Ark. Code § 26-60-105 levies it on each deed that conveys sold real estate to the purchaser, whenever the consideration is more than $100. Consideration is the statute's word for the price you pay for the property. The tax is a set amount for every thousand dollars of that price, built from a base piece and an additional piece that are added together. Your Loan Estimate shows the exact dollar figure for your home. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration administers it, along with the affidavit and stamp that prove it was paid.

The statute charges for each thousand dollars "or fraction" of a thousand, which is why the arithmetic rounds up. Any part of a thousand left over at the end of the price counts as a full thousand, so the price is rounded up to the next thousand before the tax is figured. The base is the price of the real estate alone, so furniture or equipment sold with its own stated price is left out.

A document given only to secure a debt is exempt, which is why an ordinary refinance in Arkansas does not trigger this tax. The Arkansas mortgage page covers that exemption. Recording fees are a separate charge, paid to the county for putting the deed and the mortgage on record, and they are not transfer tax. Mortgage recording taxes and fees by state shows where Arkansas falls on that side of the ledger.

Who pays the transfer tax in Arkansas by default?

Half each, under Ark. Code § 26-60-106, the section titled "Payment of tax." It says the tax applies at the time of transfer and is computed on the full price of the real estate. Then it says the tax, "unless agreed upon otherwise, shall be paid one-half (1/2) by the grantor or seller and one-half (1/2) by the grantee or purchaser." The grantor is the seller signing the deed over, and the grantee is you.

You may notice that § 26-60-105 describes its additional piece as paid by the purchaser. The half-and-half default in § 26-60-106 covers the entire tax, so you pay half of the whole line unless your contract says otherwise. The Department of Finance and Administration's own rules on the tax are the state's administrative rules for it, and Arkansas law requires proof that the tax was paid or exempt before the county will record your deed. At closing, the transfer tax is one line on the settlement statement, the sheet your closing agent prepares showing what each side pays and receives, and your side of it matches Section E of your Closing Disclosure.

WACO Title Company's Seller's Netsheet calculator, run for Pulaski County on September 15, 2026, shows the same thing. It splits the transfer tax in half between the seller and the purchaser, matching the statute's default.

Moving the split in your purchase contract

The statute's own words, "unless agreed upon otherwise," are your opening, and the agreement lives in the purchase contract. The Arkansas Real Estate Commission says in its published guidance that the state requires no particular purchase form and that the Commission does not approve forms. Most Arkansas agents use the Arkansas REALTORS Association contract. Before you sign, it helps to have your agent show you where that contract assigns closing costs and walk you through the transfer tax line. If the form is silent on it, the statute's half applies, and if you want something different, your agent can write it in.

That conversation belongs before the offer is signed, because afterward moving the tax means both sides agreeing to a contract change in writing. While you are reading the contract that closely, it is also the moment to get the seller's property condition in writing, since Arkansas does not hand you a disclosure form the way most states do.

If the seller takes your half, your cash to close drops by that amount and the seller's net drops by the same figure. On the loan side, that is a seller concession. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, B3-4.1-02, Interested Party Contributions, defines those as contributions from a party with a vested interest in the sale, used to cover costs that are typically the purchaser's responsibility. They are capped as a percentage of the price. The percentage depends on your down payment and how you will occupy the home, and that section carries the current figure. Every seller-paid cost on your file counts toward the same cap, so your half of the transfer tax shares room with any other credit you negotiate. Whether a seller credit should lower your cash to close or buy down your rate is the decision that follows.

The transfer tax on your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure

Page two of both documents has Section E, "Taxes and Other Government Fees," where recording fees and transfer taxes appear on separate lines. The lender shows only the part you are paying, so if your contract puts the whole tax on the seller, your Section E shows nothing for it.

The figure in Section E is one the lender is held to. Under the federal rule at 12 CFR § 1026.19(e)(3)(i), transfer taxes are in the group of charges that cannot go up between the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure unless something about the transaction legitimately changed. So on an Arkansas purchase the Loan Estimate shows your statutory half unless the contract shows a different split. If the contract shifts the tax later, that is a changed circumstance, and a revised Loan Estimate follows it. Between two lenders, Section E ought to match to the penny, because both are reading the same statute and the same contract. Comparing two Loan Estimates line by line walks through the lines where two quotes usually differ.

Your closing agent collects both halves on the settlement statement, completes the state's Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance under § 26-60-107, and buys the stamp that goes on the deed. The county recorder will not record the deed without that affidavit and that stamp, under § 26-60-110. Since Act 656 of 2017, the duty to show the tax was paid, or that an exemption applies, is on you as the purchaser, or on your agent. In practice the closing agent handles all of it for you, and your deed does not go on record until it is done.

The steps, in the order I would take them

1. Your default share, before you write the offer. Your default share is half of the transfer tax line. Your Loan Estimate shows the exact dollar figure for your home, or you can ask your title company or lender to run it before you write the offer. That is the figure that belongs in your cash-to-close estimate from day one.
2. The contract line that assigns it. You'll want to ask your agent to show you where the contract assigns the transfer tax. If the form is silent, the statute's half applies, and if you want a different split, your agent can write it in before anyone signs.
3. The split, on your Loan Estimate. Please let me know which way the contract went, so the Loan Estimate carries the right figure in Section E the first time rather than being revised after a changed circumstance.
4. The seller's half and the rest of the credit, together. If you are asking the seller to pay your half, it helps to settle that alongside every other credit, because the concession cap counts all of them at once.
5. Section E against the contract. It is worth comparing Section E of the Closing Disclosure with what the contract says before closing day. After closing, a separate errand starts at the county assessor: registering the Arkansas homestead credit in your own name and reporting the new use of the property.

The mistakes that cost money on this line

Assuming the seller pays, because that is how it worked in the state you came from. In Arkansas the default is half, and the statement shows it unless your contract says otherwise.

Treating the transfer tax and the recording fee as the same charge. The transfer tax goes to the state on the deed and is figured on the price, while the recording fee goes to the county for recording the deed and the mortgage and is figured by the page.

Leaving the allocation out of the contract and meeting it on the Closing Disclosure. By then the deed is drawn and the stamp is about to be bought with the money on that statement. Changing the split at that point means re-signing a contract term with three days to go.

Figuring the tax on the loan amount. The statute says consideration, which is the price. A larger down payment does not lower this tax.

An illustration

Say you are under contract on an Arkansas home. Your closing agent rounds the price up to the next thousand and figures the full transfer tax line from it. Under the statutory default, you owe half of that line and the seller owes the other half.

Now the same home under three contracts.

Contract one says nothing about the transfer tax. You bring half of the transfer tax line to closing, and Section E of your Closing Disclosure shows that half.

Contract two says the seller pays the transfer tax in full. Your Section E shows nothing for it, and your cash to close is lower by your half. That half counts toward the seller concession cap on your loan, alongside any other credit you negotiated.

Contract three says you pay the transfer tax in full. Section E shows the full transfer tax line, and the seller's net is higher by the half the seller would have paid under the default.

Across the three, the only thing that changed was the contract line, and it was settled before anybody signed.

Your next step in Arkansas

If you are shopping in Arkansas, the transfer tax belongs in your cash-to-close number before the first offer. You can see pricing for your own scenario with no credit pull, no account and nobody calling you, including closing costs priced for Arkansas rather than a national average. You choose the rate option that works best for you, and the selection can change as your situation does.

Once you are ready to put an offer in front of a seller, get pre-approved for an Arkansas mortgage. I will review your income, debts, credit and available funds from the documents you provide, so the price range you shop in comes from a reviewed file rather than an estimate.

Nothing here is a loan approval, a denial, a commitment to lend, or legal or tax advice. The Arkansas real property transfer tax is administered by the Department of Finance and Administration under Title 26, Chapter 60 of the Arkansas Code. Applying the allocation to your own contract is a question for your agent and your attorney.

Common questions

Who pays the real estate transfer tax in Arkansas, the buyer or the seller?

Both, in equal halves, unless the purchase contract says otherwise. Ark. Code § 26-60-106 provides that the tax, "unless agreed upon otherwise, shall be paid one-half (1/2) by the grantor or seller and one-half (1/2) by the grantee or purchaser." The grantor is the seller and the grantee is the purchaser. The same sentence makes the split negotiable, so a contract can place the whole tax on either side, and the settlement statement follows the contract.

How is the Arkansas real property transfer tax calculated?

Ark. Code § 26-60-105 charges a set amount for every thousand dollars of the sale price, built from a base piece and an additional piece that are added together. Any part of a thousand counts as a full thousand, so the price is rounded up to the next thousand before multiplying. The tax is figured on the price of the real estate alone, and personal property sold with its own stated price is left out. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration administers the tax, along with the affidavit and the stamp on the deed that prove it was paid.

Can the seller pay the buyer's half of the Arkansas transfer tax?

Yes. The statute's default applies only "unless agreed upon otherwise," and the purchase contract is where the parties agree. If the seller takes your half, it comes off your cash to close and it is treated as a seller concession on the loan. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide B3-4.1-02 counts seller-paid costs that are typically the purchaser's responsibility toward a cap that depends on the down payment and occupancy, so the transfer tax shares that cap with any other seller credit on the file.

Is the Arkansas transfer tax the same as the recording fee?

No. The transfer tax is a state tax on the deed, figured on the sale price under Ark. Code § 26-60-105. Recording fees are what the county recorder charges to put the deed and the mortgage on record, and they are a separate line. Both appear in Section E, "Taxes and Other Government Fees," of the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, which is why they get confused.

Where does the Arkansas transfer tax appear on my Loan Estimate?

On page two, in Section E, "Taxes and Other Government Fees," on its own line next to recording fees. The lender lists only the portion you are paying under the contract: your half under the statutory default, the whole amount if your contract puts it all on you, and nothing if the seller is paying it. Under 12 CFR § 1026.19(e)(3)(i), transfer taxes are among the charges that cannot increase between the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure without a valid changed circumstance, and a contract change that moves the tax is one.