Pine Township realty transfer tax is 2.5%.
Not the customary 2%. Pine Township levies a municipal share of 1%, so a transfer here costs more than the same transfer a few minutes away. Here is the split, what it costs at real prices, and where the numbers come from.
The rate, broken out
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 1.00% |
| Pine Township | 1% |
| School district | 0.5% * |
| Total | 2.5% |
* The school district share is the standard 0.50%, not a published figure. Allegheny County publishes only the municipal column, so the school component here is the rate the great majority of districts levy. The part that makes Pine Township unusual — its 1% municipal share — is published by the county. Confirm the school figure with the district before relying on it for a closing.
Municipal share for Pine Twp from Allegheny County, “Local Realty Transfer Tax Rates”. Rates are unofficial; confirm before relying on them for a closing.
What that costs
| Sale price | Tax here | At 2% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $3,750 | $3,000 | $750 more |
| $250,000 | $6,250 | $5,000 | $1,250 more |
| $400,000 | $10,000 | $8,000 | $2,000 more |
By custom the transfer tax is split evenly between buyer and seller, but the agreement of sale can allocate it differently. Each side pays half of the figures above unless the agreement says otherwise.
Why this catches people out
Most of Westmoreland and Allegheny comes to 2% — 1% to the Commonwealth, 0.5% to the municipality, 0.5% to the school district. Roughly twenty municipalities across the two counties do not, and a quote built on the 2% assumption is wrong by real money on every one of them. On a $250,000 sale in Pine Township the gap is $1,250.
It is the transfer tax line, not the title premium, that goes wrong on a Loan Estimate out here. The premium is a filed rate; the transfer tax depends on which side of a municipal line the property sits.
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