Missouri Cannot Add a Transfer Tax, and That Is Written Into the Constitution
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A VA loan removes the down payment. It does not remove what it costs to transfer a deed, which is exactly why the state you buy in matters more than most buyers expect.
The provision, in full
Mo. Const. art. X, § 25, headed "Sale or transfer of homes or other real estate, prohibition on imposition of any new taxes, when":
"After the effective date of this section, the state, counties, and other political subdivisions are hereby prevented from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate."
Adopted 2 November 2010; effective 2 December 2010.
★★ Saying this precisely, which most sites do not
The provision bars imposing a new tax after that date. It is not phrased as "Missouri has no transfer tax", and we are not going to paraphrase it into that.
★★ Why the distinction is worth keeping: it tells you the right thing about the future. In a state with no transfer tax and no constitutional bar, one can appear in any legislative session. In Missouri it cannot, not at state level, not at county level, not by a city. ★ Undoing that would itself take a constitutional amendment and a public vote, the same high bar that keeps the veteran exemption stuck. The same mechanism, working the other way.
★★ What that is worth, against the states next door
| Where | On transferring a deed |
|---|---|
| ★★★ Missouri | ★★★ a new transfer tax is constitutionally barred |
| Ohio | mandatory auditor fee plus county tax, capped at 0.40% |
| Philadelphia | 4.578% combined city and Commonwealth |
★★ Ohio's is already low by national standards and Missouri's position is better still. The two states compared across every tax that touches a purchase.
★★ Why this matters more to a VA buyer than to anyone else
A conventional buyer arriving with a deposit has cash at the table and absorbs transfer costs out of it. ★★ A VA buyer with full entitlement arrives with no deposit, which is the point, so closing costs are a much larger share of the cash they actually need.
★★ In a high-transfer-tax jurisdiction "nothing down" and "nothing at closing" are very different sentences. In Missouri they are closer together than almost anywhere. That is a genuine, under-stated reason this state suits a cash-light veteran buyer, and it compounds with house prices that run from $95,780 in Kennett to $327,320 in Kansas City. The whole market.
★ What you will still pay, and what we are not quoting
No transfer tax does not mean no closing costs. There are recording fees at the county recorder of deeds, title work, and the usual third-party charges.
★ We publish no county recording-fee schedule. Those are county-administered and we did not read all of them at a primary source, so we publish the constitutional position and stop rather than printing a figure we cannot stand behind. Your title company has the number for your county, and it is worth asking for while you are under contract rather than at the table. Our sourcing rules.
★ And nothing on this site is a rate, an annual percentage rate or a payment figure. We do not publish those.
★ Allocation is a contract question, not ours
Who pays which closing cost is negotiated between buyer and seller. We are the lender; we do not advise on purchase-contract terms, and we are not your attorney or your tax adviser.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Does Missouri have a real estate transfer tax?
Article X, section 25 of the Missouri Constitution, adopted 2 November 2010 and effective 2 December 2010, prevents the state, counties and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate. The provision bars new taxes from that date rather than repealing an existing one.Can a Missouri city add a transfer tax on home sales?
No. Article X, section 25 reaches the state, counties and other political subdivisions alike, so a city cannot impose one either. Changing that would require amending the constitution, which means a joint resolution through both chambers and approval by the voters.How does Missouri's transfer tax position compare with Ohio?
Ohio charges a mandatory county auditor fee plus a permissive county tax, capped at 0.40 percent combined, and Philadelphia charges 4.578 percent. Missouri is constitutionally prevented from imposing any new tax on the transfer of real estate at all.Does the transfer-tax bar mean no closing costs in Missouri?
No. Recording fees at the county recorder of deeds, title work and the usual third-party charges still apply. We publish no county recording-fee schedule because those are county-administered and we did not read them at a primary source; your title company can confirm the figures for a specific county.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Missouri's property tax exemption for former prisoners of war is established by article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution, and the Missouri Property Tax Credit is governed by sections 135.010 to 135.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue, not by Cornerstone. Proposed constitutional amendments described on this site are proposals and are not law. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.