Cook County Transfer Tax Calculator

Published on July 16th, 2025

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Cook County Transfer Tax Calculator: What to Expect

This simple calculator can help home sellers in Cook County estimate their transfer taxes. To get a ballpark idea of the transfer fees you might pay in the [location nickname], enter your home’s estimated selling price above.

Need a selling price? Try HomeLight’s free Home Value Estimator to see what your house might be worth. To receive a more accurate listing price, contact a top Cook County real estate agent and request a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), a report that will compare your home against nearby listed and recently sold properties.

A top real estate agent can provide you with a Seller’s Net Sheet that breaks down all the costs of selling your home, along with an estimate of the proceeds you can expect. Use HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform to find a trusted local agent with excellent reviews and a proven track record.

How the Cook County Transfer Tax is Calculated

Cook County’s transfer tax, known as a Real Estate Transfer Tax, is calculated at a rate of $0.50 per $1,000 of the property’s sale price.

For example, if you sold your home for $350,000 (Cook County’s median home price), you could expect to pay $175 in county transfer taxes.

Another Transfer Tax Cook County Sellers Typically Pay

Cook County sellers will also have to pay any state transfer taxes. Illinois charges $0.50 per $1,000 of the property’s sale price.

»Learn more: Understanding Cook County’s Transfer Tax

See the bigger home sale picture: To see what your entire home sale might cost, try HomeLight’s Illinois Seller Closing Cost Calculator. You’ll also get a preliminary look at your estimated net proceeds.

Does the Seller Always Pay the Cook County Transfer Tax?

While it’s customary for the seller to pay the Cook County transfer tax, who pays can sometimes be a point of negotiation between the buyer and seller during the closing process.

Some Cook County home sales may be exempt, such as:

Transfers made before 1968
Property acquired by or transferred to a government entity
Deeds used to secure a debt or other obligation
Deeds that simply confirm, correct, or modify an earlier recorded deed
Transfers where the sale price is under $100
Deeds of partition between co-owners
Tax deeds issued through a government sale

Make Buying and Selling Easier: Most Cook County sellers are also buyers looking to purchase a new home. With HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell program, you can make a non-contingent offer on your new home and only move once. Watch this short video to learn more.

More Resources to Plan Your Cook County Home Sale

Here are some additional tools to help you plan your Cook County home sale:

Sell fast without paying fees or commissions: Get a cash offer today.

With HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform, you can receive a no-obligation, all-cash offer for your Cook County home in 24 hours. If you accept the offer, you can close in as few as 10 days. Answer a few questions about your Cook County home to get started. Along with your cash offer, you’ll also receive an expert estimate of what a top Cook County agent might be able to get for your home. Receive both selling options with one tool.

As you look ahead to your next home purchase, here are some helpful buyer tools:

At HomeLight, our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying. Therefore, we promote strict editorial integrity in each of our posts.