A tax on the transfer of realty
Georgia taxes the conveyance itself. O.C.G.A. 48-6-1 imposes $1.00 for the first $1,000 of consideration or fractional part, plus 10 cents for each additional $100 or fractional part. That works out to the familiar $1 per $1,000. The seller is liable under 48-6-3, though contracts often shift the cost to the buyer.
Worked example
A home sells for $350,000. The first $1,000 costs $1.00. The remaining $349,000 ÷ $100 = 3,490 increments × $0.10 = $349.00. Total: $1.00 + $349.00 = $350.00.
Do not reach for $1.50 per $500 — that is the intangible recording tax, which belongs on the security deed, not the warranty deed.
Assumed loans come off the top
The tax is measured on consideration net of "any lien or encumbrance existing prior to the sale and not removed thereby." An assumed loan is subtracted, not added.
Worked example: price $300,000, buyer assumes an existing $120,000 loan. Taxable consideration is $300,000 − $120,000 = $180,000. Tax = $1.00 + ($179,000 ÷ $100 = 1,790 × $0.10 = $179.00) = $180.00. Taxing the full $300,000 gives $300.00, and adding the assumed loan to the price gives $420.00; both miss the deduction.
The PT-61
O.C.G.A. 48-6-4 bars recording "until the tax imposed by this article has been paid," and requires disclosure of the tax and the actual consideration on the commissioner's form. That form is the PT-61, completed online through the GSCCCA eFiling portal, printed and filed with the deed — one form per applicable deed conveying realty, and the deed may not be recorded until the transfer tax is paid.
It is not filed with every recorded instrument: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-11-2-.16 excludes security deeds, releases and identified correction deeds. It does not go to the county tax commissioner, and there is no 30-day-after-closing deadline; the form travels with the deed at recording. Nor is it optional because the parties agreed the buyer would pay the tax — who pays is a contract question, whether the form is required is not.