Potential Chicago Transfer Tax Increase—Bring Chicago Home Proposal

Under a proposal being called Bring Chicago Home, the City of Chicago transfer tax would more than triple for Chicago properties that sell for $1,000,000 or more. The increased tax revenue from the proposal would be used to fund homeless programs.

This potential transfer tax increase would apply to both residential and commercial properties and would be paid by the buyer. The current Chicago transfer tax rate is $10.50 per $1,000 of transfer price, of which $7.50 is paid by the buyer to the City of Chicago and $3.00 is paid by the seller to the Chicago Transit Authority. The Bring Chicago Home proposal would increase the buyer’s transfer tax from $7.50 to $26.50 per $1,000 of transfer price; the seller’s rate of $3.00 would not increase. These transfer tax rates are in addition to the $1.50 per $1,000 of transfer price typically paid to the state/county by the seller.

The Chicago City Council has not formally taken up this proposal yet. We will provide an update as additional information becomes available.