County Transfer Tax Claim for Refund – Anne Arundel County

The County Transfer Tax Claim for Refund is the Anne Arundel County Office of Finance form on which a person who paid County transfer tax asks the county to refund it. County transfer tax is imposed on instruments that transfer an interest in real property.

The Office of Finance handles these taxes through its Recordation and Transfer Tax Division. That division reviews and collects Recordation and Transfer Taxes due on land record instruments that convey, create or give a security interest in real property. The county describes both taxes as excise taxes imposed under State and Public Local Law for the privilege of recording an instrument in the County land records or, in some cases, with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Instruments that may be subject to them must be endorsed by the division before they are recorded in the County land records.

This form concerns only the County transfer tax. That tax applies only to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, such as a deed, lease, easement or contract, and the rate depends on the amount of the transaction. It is not the Recordation Tax, which also applies to instruments that create a security interest in real or personal property, such as a mortgage, deed of trust or financing statement. State Transfer Tax and recording fees are handled separately, through the Anne Arundel County Land Records Office.

The main group is anyone who paid County transfer tax to Anne Arundel County on an instrument transferring an interest in real property and who now wants that tax refunded. The form's title identifies it as the claim for that refund.

Points to check before you use it:

• The County transfer tax applies only to instruments that transfer an interest in real property, for example a deed, lease, easement or contract. If your instrument only created a security interest, such as a mortgage, deed of trust or financing statement, the tax involved is the Recordation Tax, not the County transfer tax.
• State Transfer Tax and recording fees are not collected by the Recordation and Transfer Tax Division. The county directs questions about them to the Anne Arundel County Land Records Office at (410) 222-1425.
• The county's page does not say who may sign or file a claim for someone else. Ask the Division through Customer Service before sending a claim on another person's behalf.

The trigger is having paid County transfer tax that you believe should be refunded: the form is a claim for money already paid to Anne Arundel County, so it follows the payment and the recording of the instrument. The county's Recordation and Transfer Tax page states no filing window for refund claims. To confirm whether a time limit applies to your situation, call the Office of Finance Customer Service at 410-222-1144, from 8:00am to 4:00pm, and read any deadline printed on the form itself before you submit it.

The county's Recordation and Transfer Tax page does not list a channel specifically for refund claims, so confirm how to deliver the completed claim with the Office of Finance before sending it. These are the contact points the page gives:

• Phone: Customer Service, 410-222-1144, from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
• In person: the Office of Finance offices at 2664 Riva Road and at the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert Street, in Annapolis, between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM.
• State Transfer Tax and recording fees: these are not part of this claim; call the Anne Arundel County Land Records Office at (410) 222-1425.

The page also describes a yellow drop-off box, online payment at aacounty.org and a payment phone line at 1-833-277-8723, but it presents those for making payments, not for refund claims. The page also carries a notice about the Glen Burnie Cashier's Office, so check the current notice before visiting. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the county's channels.