Free Georgia Residential Purchase Agreement Template

A Georgia residential purchase agreement is the signed deal between a home buyer and seller. It settles the price and timeline, and in Georgia it can also decide who pays the state’s real estate transfer tax.

Georgia’s closing rules center on one tax and one form. Plan for both when you write your Georgia residential purchase agreement.

The Transfer Tax Rate

Georgia taxes each deed or other writing that conveys realty sold, when the value conveyed exceeds $100 (O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1). The rate is $1.00 for the first $1,000, or fraction of it, plus 10 cents for each additional $100 or fraction.

Georgia excludes from the value any lien or encumbrance that existed before the sale and isn’t removed by it. As an example, a $300,000 sale with no such lien works out to $300. Rates can change, so confirm the amount with the clerk’s office before closing.

Pay Before Recording

The Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) runs the filing system. It says you must pay the transfer tax before the Clerk of the Superior Court will record a deed.

File the PT-61

The transfer tax is reported on the PT-61 form. GSCCCA describes the tax as an excise tax on sales that move title from seller to buyer, not a property tax. Deeds need the form, and so does an instrument transferring an estate for years. An affidavit in aid of title doesn’t, because it isn’t a conveyance.

The seller does, unless the contract says otherwise. GSCCCA states that the seller pays the real estate transfer tax unless the parties agree otherwise by contract.

That makes the purchase agreement the place to change the default. If the buyer will cover it, or the parties will split it, spell that out in writing.

Georgia sales typically close in this sequence.

1. Put the deal in writing. Buyer and seller sign the Georgia residential purchase agreement, including who pays the transfer tax.
2. Have the deed drafted. Your closing attorney or agent prepares it for signing.
3. File the PT-61. Submit the transfer tax form electronically through GSCCCA’s PT-61 system.
4. Pay the tax. Settle the transfer tax ahead of recording.
5. Record with the Clerk of the Superior Court. Recording follows once the tax is paid.

Keep these terms in the agreement:

• Legal names of every buyer and seller
• Street address, parcel number, and legal description
• Purchase price, earnest money, and financing
• Who pays the transfer tax, if not the seller
• Due diligence or inspection period
• Closing and possession dates