Deep Dive
The 1% Land Transfer Tax
One of only seven North Carolina counties charges this, and Perquimans is one of them
What it is
Perquimans County publishes a local land transfer tax of "$1.00 per $100.00 or fraction thereof (1% rounded up to the next dollar)", paid to the Register of Deeds at the time the deed is recorded.
And it is in addition to North Carolina's statewide excise tax on conveyances. Under N.C.G.S. § 105-228.30, that tax is $1.00 on each $500 or fractional part of the consideration, payable by the transferor to the register of deeds before recording.
1%
Perquimans County local land transfer tax, at recording
0.2%
NC statewide excise tax ($1.00 per $500), paid by the transferor
7
NC counties that levy a local land transfer tax
The county's own page names the other six: Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank and Washington. If you are moving here from anywhere else in North Carolina, this line did not exist on your last settlement statement.
What it applies to
Per the county, the transfer tax applies to regular sales and exchanges of property, deeds from nonprofit or religious organisations, leases exceeding ten years or carrying renewal options beyond ten years, and timber deeds.
What is exempt
The county lists exemptions including deeds of gift; foreclosure deeds and deeds in lieu of foreclosure; transfers to or from government; short-term leases; transfers requiring no consideration; and transfers by operation of law, by will, by intestacy, or by merger.
One thing the county page does not say
It does not cite the authorising local act or give an effective date. I am not going to supply one, because I could not verify it. If the legal basis matters to your transaction — and in an unusual conveyance it might — that is a question for your closing attorney, not for a website.
Why this belongs in your offer, not your settlement statement
Here is the part that actually costs people money.
Who pays the local transfer tax is a matter of contract, not law. It is negotiable between buyer and seller like any other closing cost. Which means it should appear as an explicit term in the offer you write, negotiated deliberately, rather than surfacing as a line item three days before closing when nobody has any leverage left.
At the price points this county actually transacts at, the local tax alone is a four-figure number. On a $250,000 purchase it is $2,500; on $300,000 it is $3,000. That is real money, and it is money that buyers coming from the ninety-three North Carolina counties without a local transfer tax have not budgeted, because they have never encountered it.
The three-question version
Ask your agent and your closing attorney, in writing, before you go under contract: (1) Is the local transfer tax being charged on this transaction, or does an exemption apply? (2) Who is paying it under the terms of this offer? (3) What is the total of the local transfer tax plus the state excise tax on this purchase price? Three questions, one email, and it removes the single most common closing-cost surprise in this county.
The rest of your cash-to-close picture
The transfer tax is not the only thing worth pricing before you commit. Property tax runs $0.55 per $100 of valuation county-wide (NC Department of Revenue, FY2026–27; last revaluation 2024) and roughly doubles to a combined $1.07 inside the town of Hertford or Winfall, using the prior year's municipal add-on since it has not been independently reverified for the current year. Flood and hazard insurance need bindable quotes rather than estimates, and there is no Community Rating System discount here. And if you are financing with USDA at zero down, remember that zero down is a statement about the loan, not about the cash you bring to the table.
The full stack is on the financing page, and Chapter 7 puts it in the context of the rest of the market.
Sources. Rate, application, exemptions and the list of levying counties: Perquimans County's published land transfer tax page. Statewide excise tax: N.C.G.S. § 105-228.30. Property tax rates and revaluation year: NC Department of Revenue, 2025–2026 County and Municipal Tax Rates and Effective Tax Rates. No authorising local act or effective date is asserted here because the county does not publish one.
Want the whole cash-to-close number before you offer?
Send me the address and the price you are thinking, and I will work it out including this line.