Maryland homeowners can now name who gets their house at death with a recorded deed, no probate court needed for that property, under a law that took effect Oct. 1, 2026. The deed carries no state recordation tax, no state transfer tax and no county transfer tax when the property is the owner’s primary or secondary residence. The General Assembly passed the change as House Bill 738, and it became Chapter 751 of the 2026 laws.
What the Maryland transfer-on-death deed does
The new deed lets an owner name a beneficiary who receives the property when the owner dies. The statute calls it nontestamentary, meaning it works outside a will, and it can be changed by the owner at any time. According to the enacted text of Chapter 751, the deed is revocable “even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary provision.”
Nothing changes while the owner is alive. The beneficiary does not have to be told, does not have to accept, and gains no ownership rights during the owner’s life. The deed also does not affect the rights of the owner’s creditors, and it does not change the owner’s or the beneficiary’s eligibility for public assistance.
The form, the notary and the recording that make the deed work
A deed that is signed but never recorded does nothing. The statute makes the deed effective only if, before the owner’s death, it is recorded in the land records of the county, or Baltimore City, where the property sits. The form’s own notice says the deed “must be notarized and recorded in each county (or Baltimore City) in which the property is located,” so an owner with land in two counties needs a recording in each.
Homeowners who plan to use the deed have three things to get right. The deed has to state that the transfer to the named beneficiary occurs at the owner’s death. It has to be executed and acknowledged under the state’s usual deed rules, and the form notice says witnesses and the notary cannot be relatives or beneficiaries. And it has to be recorded under the clerk’s procedures, since a clerk may refuse a deed that arrives without the required intake sheet.
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Which taxes the deed skips, and which homes qualify
The tax relief is written into three places in the law. Section 12-108 of the Tax-Property Article says a transfer-on-death deed is not subject to recordation tax if the property is a primary or secondary residence of the person making the deed. Section 13-207 exempts the instrument from state transfer tax to the same extent, and Section 13-414 says an instrument exempt under the recordation rule is not subject to county transfer tax.
The exemption is tied to the home. The statute does not extend it to rental property, vacant land or other real estate, so an owner recording a deed on those parcels should expect the ordinary taxes to apply. The law’s text, rather than a summary of it, is the place to confirm how a particular property is classified, and the General Assembly’s page for HB 738 links the full chapter.
Where the deed wins, and where a will or joint tenancy still decides
Once a deed is recorded, a will cannot undo it. The statute says a recorded deed may not be revoked by a testamentary document, and a later will cannot revoke it. A homeowner who changes a will to leave the house to someone new, while the old deed stays on record, has changed nothing about who gets the house. Revoking the deed requires recording a revocation in the same county land records.
Joint ownership works the other way. When an owner who is a joint tenant dies and other joint owners survive, the statute says the property belongs to the surviving joint owners with right of survivorship, and the deed does not take it from them. A deed made by joint owners is revoked only if all living joint owners revoke it. Married couples who hold a home together should treat the survivorship language on their existing deed as the first thing to read.
What a beneficiary inherits with the house
The beneficiary takes the property subject to mortgages, liens and other security interests that exist at death, and the deed transfers it without any covenant or warranty of title. The statute also says a beneficiary who does not survive the owner loses the interest, and the share lapses. A beneficiary can disclaim all or part of the interest under Maryland’s disclaimer law.
An owner who names several beneficiaries can choose the form of tenancy in the deed. If the deed is silent, the statute says concurrent interests pass as joint tenants with right of survivorship. The law applies to a deed made before, on or after Oct. 1 when the owner dies on or after that date, according to Section 3 of the chapter.
The open question for a house already in a will
The statute leaves the sequencing to the owner. A house that is named in a will, held in joint tenancy and carrying a recorded deed can send the same property to three different places on paper, and only the order of the documents decides who gets it. Owners with a will drafted before Oct. 1 are the ones most likely to find that the new deed, once recorded, outranks the plan they wrote years ago.
Does the house deed match the will in the drawer?
A recorded deed beats a will, and a surviving joint owner beats both, so a house can quietly go to someone the owner never meant. The mistake usually surfaces only after the death, when the paperwork cannot be changed.
The “Pass It On Checklist” walks through a transfer-on-death deed so the house can skip probate in many states, and through every beneficiary form checked with a primary and a backup named. Its beneficiary audit worksheet lines up each account, deed and form beside the name on it, so a mismatch shows before it costs the family.
Audit every beneficiary against the deed with the Pass It On worksheet →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
