Original Research

Transfer tax & pre-sale requirements: every Cook & DuPage town

Compiled by Chris Powell, licensed Illinois real estate broker · Updated July 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

What a seller pays, and what each town demands before your sale can record. On a $400,000 sale the transfer tax alone ranges from $600 in 85 towns to $4,600 in Berwyn and Cicero — a difference of $4,000 on an identical transaction.

162municipalities
154require a water reading
87require an inspection
$1.50–$11.50per $1,000 range

Every municipality enforces its rules the same way: by withholding your transfer stamp. No stamp, no recording, no closing. An unpaid water bill or a forgotten fine can stop a sale that is otherwise ready. How point-of-sale requirements work →

Seller figures include the Illinois state transfer tax of $1.00 and the county transfer tax of $0.50 per $1,000, both paid by the seller. Buyer figures are the municipal transfer tax only. An asterisk marks a town that also charges a flat stamp fee, which does not change with sale price.

Dollar figures are for a $400,000 sale.

Transfer tax paid by seller and by buyer, and point-of-sale requirements, by municipality. Seller figures combine the Illinois state, county and municipal transfer taxes; buyer figures are municipal only.
Water reading Inspection Zoning cert.
Addison$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,000$2.50 / $1,000Yes——
Alsip$2,000$5.00 / $1,000—Yes——
Arlington Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Aurora$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Barrington$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Barrington Hills$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Bartlett$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Batavia$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Bedford Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Bellwood$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Bensenville$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Berkeley*$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Berwyn$4,600$11.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Bloomingdale$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Blue Island*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Bolingbrook$2,100$5.25 / $1,000$1,500$3.75 / $1,000YesYes—
Bridgeview$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Broadview*$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Brookfield$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Buffalo Grove$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Burbank$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Burnham$600$1.50 / $1,000$2,000$5.00 / $1,000Yes——
Burr Ridge$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Calumet City$2,200$5.50 / $1,000$1,600$4.00 / $1,000YesYes—
Calumet Park$600$1.50 / $1,000$2,000$5.00 / $1,000YesYes—
Carol Stream$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Chicago$1,800$4.50 / $1,000$3,000$7.50 / $1,000Yes—Yes
Chicago Heights$2,200$5.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Chicago Ridge$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Cicero$4,600$11.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Clarendon Hills$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Country Club Hills$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Countryside*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Crestwood$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Darien$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Deer Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Deerfield$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Des Plaines$1,400$3.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Dixmoor$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Dolton$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Downers Grove$600$1.50 / $1,000————
East Dundee$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
East Hazel Crest*$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Elgin$600$1.50 / $1,000————
Elk Grove Village$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Elmhurst$1,200$3.00 / $1,000—Yes——
Elmwood Park$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Evanston$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Evergreen Park$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Flossmoor$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Ford Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Forest Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Forest View$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Frankfort$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Franklin Park*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Glen Ellyn$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Glencoe$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Glendale Heights$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Glenview$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Glenwood$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Golf$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Hanover Park$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Harvey*$1,600$4.00 / $1,000$1,000$2.50 / $1,000Yes——
Harwood Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000$4,000$10.00 / $1,000YesYes—
Hazel Crest$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Hickory Hills$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Hillside$600$1.50 / $1,000$3,000$7.50 / $1,000YesYes—
Hinsdale$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Hodgkins$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Hoffman Estates$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Homer Glen$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Hometown$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Homewood$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Indian Head Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Inverness$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Itasca$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Justice$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Kenilworth$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
La Grange$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
La Grange Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Lansing$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Lemont$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Lincolnwood*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Lisle$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Lombard$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Lynwood$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Lyons$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Markham*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Matteson$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Maywood$2,200$5.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
McCook$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Melrose Park*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Merrionette Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Midlothian$600$1.50 / $1,000————
Morton Grove$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Mount Prospect$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,200$3.00 / $1,000YesYes—
Naperville$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,200$3.00 / $1,000———
Niles$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,200$3.00 / $1,000Yes——
Norridge*$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
North Riverside$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Northbrook$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Northfield$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Northlake$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Oak Brook$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Oak Forest$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Oak Lawn$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Oak Park$3,800$9.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Oakbrook Terrace$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Olympia Fields$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Orland Hills$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Orland Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Palatine$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Palos Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Palos Hills$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Palos Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Park Forest$2,600$6.50 / $1,000——Yes—
Park Ridge$1,400$3.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Phoenix$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Posen$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Prospect Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Richton Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
River Forest$1,000$2.50 / $1,000—Yes—Yes
River Grove*$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Riverdale$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Riverside$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Robbins*$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Rolling Meadows$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Roselle$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Rosemont$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Sauk Village$600$1.50 / $1,000——Yes—
Schaumburg$1,000$2.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Schiller Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Skokie$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
South Barrington$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
South Chicago Heights$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
South Holland$600$1.50 / $1,000————
St. Charles$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Steger$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Stickney$2,600$6.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Stone Park$2,200$5.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Streamwood$1,800$4.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Summit$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYesYes
Thornton$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Tinley Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
University Park$1,000$2.50 / $1,000——Yes—
Villa Park$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Warrenville$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Wayne$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
West Chicago$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Westchester$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Western Springs$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Westmont$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Wheaton$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,000$2.50 / $1,000Yes——
Wheeling$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Willow Springs$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——
Willowbrook$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Wilmette$600$1.50 / $1,000$1,200$3.00 / $1,000Yes——
Winfield$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Winnetka$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Wood Dale$600$1.50 / $1,000—YesYes—
Woodridge$1,600$4.00 / $1,000—YesYes—
Worth$600$1.50 / $1,000—Yes——

* Also charges a flat municipal stamp fee on top of the rates above. Evanston's municipal rate is graduated, so its figures change with the sale price you enter. Where a town's own page advises confirming with the municipality, do that before closing.

What the numbers show

Three patterns stand out once the whole region is in one table.

  • DuPage is the cheapest place to sell. Nearly every DuPage town charges only the $1.50 state-and-county minimum, so a seller keeps roughly $4,000 more than an identical seller in Berwyn. Full DuPage cost breakdown →
  • Chicago is cheaper than several of its suburbs. Because the buyer absorbs the city's $7.50 portion, a Chicago seller pays $4.50 per $1,000 — less than Oak Park ($9.50), Evanston ($6.50), or Berwyn and Cicero ($11.50). Full Cook County breakdown →
  • Inspections cluster in near-west Cook. The 87 towns requiring a point-of-sale inspection are concentrated in the near-west and near-south suburbs. Most DuPage towns require none.

Want this applied to your address?

The seller's checklist fills in your town's actual requirements — rates, deadlines, and who to call — and you can print it.

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Common questions

Which town has the highest transfer tax?

Berwyn and Cicero, at $11.50 per $1,000 combined. Oak Park is next at $9.50.

How many towns require an inspection before you can sell?

87 of the 162 here require some form of point-of-sale or pre-transfer inspection. 154 require a final water reading.

Who pays the transfer tax in Chicago?

It is split: the buyer pays the $7.50 city portion, the seller pays $3.00 for the CTA, plus $1.50 state and county — $4.50 total for the seller.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes. Please link back to this page so readers can reach the current version — rates change, and this table is reviewed quarterly.

Sources & notes: Rates and requirements compiled from each municipality's published schedule and reviewed quarterly; each town's own page cites its source and contact number. Figures shown are the seller's combined obligation (Illinois state $1.00 + county $0.50 per $1,000, plus any municipal transfer tax the seller pays); several towns also levy a buyer-paid portion that is not shown here. Requirements change — always confirm current rules with your municipality before closing. General information for Illinois home sellers, not legal or tax advice.

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