Transfer tax
Missouri has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county recorder of deeds.
Donate a house, farm or Ozarks parcel in Missouri, counties and St. Louis City alike
Missouri property specialists: (888) 228-7320
Donate Real Estate in Missouri
Missouri is one of a small group of states with no real estate transfer tax, so a deed here costs the recording fee and little else. What complicates things instead is structure: St. Louis City sits outside any county, beneficiary deeds are widely used, and a great deal of Ozarks land was sold in recreational subdivisions to buyers who never saw it.
Fully IRS Compliant
We Handle the Paperwork
Form 8283 Done Right
501(c)(3) Recognized Charity
Missouri rules for a property donation
Federal tax rules are the same in every state. These three are set by Missouri and by the county where the property sits.
Beneficiary deeds and who owns it now
Missouri recognizes the beneficiary deed, which passes property at death outside probate. Families often discover one only when they start looking. It changes who has authority to sign, so we check the chain before drafting rather than after.
Recording
Deeds are recorded with the county recorder of deeds for the county where the property sits. You sign before a notary wherever you live, and we handle the filing.
What Missouri owners call us about
Four situations that recur across the state.
An Ozarks lot bought from a brochure
Recreational subdivisions platted across the southern counties and sold nationwide, many with unbuilt roads and no utilities.
A brick house in St. Louis or Kansas City
Solid masonry housing where the roof, mechanicals and tuckpointing exceed the finished value, leaving a cash-only market.
Farm ground held by heirs who left
North Missouri row crop and pasture, cash rented and owned in undivided shares among siblings in different states.
An estate with a beneficiary deed nobody knew about
Title that passed automatically at death, sometimes to several people, sometimes to someone who has since died as well.
Missouri property we accept
Each links to the full guide for that type, including how a donation compares with selling.
Houses in MissouriBrick bungalows, shotgun houses, post-war ranches and farmhouses.
Missouri landOzarks acreage, river parcels, timber and city lots.
Farm groundNorth Missouri row crop, pasture and hay, bootheel cotton and rice ground.
Commercial propertyCourthouse square buildings, storefronts and small offices.
Industrial buildingsWarehouse and manufacturing space in the river cities.
Land contractsProperty sold on terms years ago. We take over the payments and deliver the deed at payoff.
What a donation looks like by region
Six Missouris, and the reasons differ in each.
St. Louis City
An independent city outside any county, with its own recorder, sound brick housing that will not appraise, and vacant lots beside occupied houses.
St. Louis County and the suburbs
Post-war housing, inherited family homes and small commercial on corridors that were bypassed.
Kansas City and the west
Older city housing, small rental buildings and land on the development edge that stalled.
The Ozarks
Recreational subdivision lots, lake property, timbered acreage and cabins held by out-of-state families.
North Missouri
Cash-rented row crop and pasture owned by heirs who farm elsewhere, with farmhouses standing empty.
The Bootheel
Cotton, rice and soybean ground, and small-town buildings with no local buyer.
Missouri real estate donation questions, answered
Is a donated deed subject to Missouri transfer tax?+
Missouri has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county recorder of deeds.
I live outside Missouri. Do I have to travel there to sign?+
No. We prepare the deed in the form Missouri requires for the county where the property sits, you sign before a notary where you live, and we record it with the county recorder of deeds.
My property is in St. Louis City, not the county. Does that matter?+
Only for where the deed goes, which is exactly the kind of detail that stalls a filing when it is missed. The city is independent of any county and has its own recorder of deeds. We confirm the jurisdiction at the start.
Does Missouri give a state tax deduction for a property donation?+
Missouri has a state income tax, and how it treats a charitable contribution is set by Missouri law rather than by us. Your federal deduction follows the usual IRS rules. Take the state question to your own advisor.
My parent left the house by beneficiary deed. Can I donate it?+
Usually yes, once title has vested in you. A beneficiary deed passes property outside probate, so the chain can look different from what the family expected. Send us what you have and we will work out who signs.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. State and local transfer tax rules change; we confirm current requirements when we prepare each deed. Consult your own advisor.
Tell us about your Missouri property and we will review it
The county and a parcel number are enough to start.