Georgia Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

A Georgia home sells for $415,000 and the seller executes a warranty deed. What Georgia real estate transfer tax is due when the deed is recorded?

• a.$41.50
• b.$830.00
• c.$415.00✓
• d.$2,075.00

O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 imposes the tax “at the rate of $1.00 for the first $1,000.00 or fractional part of $1,000.00 and at the rate of 10¢ for each additional $100.00 or fractional part of $100.00” of the consideration. Work it the way the statute is written: $1.00 covers the first $1,000, leaving $414,000, which is 4,140 increments of $100 at 10¢ each, or $414.00. Total $415.00. On any price that is a whole multiple of $1,000 this reduces to $1.00 per $1,000, so $415,000 produces $415.00 — not a tenth of that, not double it, and not the half-percent figure some other states charge. Section 48-6-3 puts the tax on “the person who executes the deed … or by the person for whose use or benefit” it is executed, which in a normal sale is the seller, and § 48-6-5 makes the clerk of the superior court the collecting officer.

A buyer of Georgia real estate signs a 30-year note for $276,000 secured by a deed to secure debt. What Georgia intangible recording tax is due on the security instrument?

• a.$276.00
• b.$552.00
• c.$1,380.00
• d.$828.00✓

O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61 imposes “an intangible recording tax at the rate of $1.50 for each $500.00 or fraction thereof of the face amount of the note secured by the recording of the security instrument.” Divide the face amount by $500 and multiply by $1.50: $276,000 ÷ $500 = 552 increments, and 552 × $1.50 = $828.00. The distractors come from mis-set rates — $1.00 per $1,000, $1.00 per $500, and $2.50 per $500. The tax is capped: “the maximum amount of any intangible recording tax payable … with respect to any single note shall be $25,000.00.” Section 48-6-61 collects it from the holder of the instrument, though “the holder may pass on the amount of such tax to the borrower or mortgagor,” in which case it may not be treated as part of the finance charge. The security instrument must be recorded within 90 days of the date of the instrument.

A Georgia commercial borrower signs a note secured by real estate in which the entire principal falls due 60 months after the date of the note. What intangible recording tax is due when the deed to secure debt is recorded?

• a.None, because a note maturing in 60 months is a short-term note under the current definition✓
• b.$1.50 for each $500 of the face amount, the same as any other note secured by realty
• c.$1.50 for each $500 of the face amount, reduced by half because the term is under five years
• d.None, because the tax applies only to notes secured by owner-occupied residential property

The intangible recording tax at O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61 reaches only long-term notes. House Bill 586 (Act 77, 2025), effective July 1, 2025, amended the definition at § 48-6-60(3) by replacing “three years” with “62 months,” so a note is long term only “when any part of the principal of the note falls due more than … 62 months from the date of the note.” Sixty months is inside that window, making this a short-term note under § 48-6-60(4), and no recording tax applies. There is no reduced rate, and nothing in the article limits the tax by property type — this note is commercial and would be taxable had it run longer. The former ad valorem tax on short-term notes secured by real estate, § 48-6-63, was repealed effective January 1, 1997, so no substitute levy waits behind it. The same Act carried the 62-month figure into §§ 48-6-66 and 48-6-68.

A Georgia home has a fair market value of $310,000 and no exemptions apply. The county millage rate is 30.0 mills. The parties agree the seller pays the calendar-year county tax through June 30. What is the seller’s share?

• a.$3,720.00
• b.$1,860.00✓
• c.$4,650.00
• d.$9,300.00

Georgia assesses in two steps. O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7(a) provides that “taxable tangible property shall be assessed at 40 percent of its fair market value and shall be taxed on a levy made by each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property’s fair market value,” so the assessed value is $310,000 × 0.40 = $124,000. A mill is one dollar per thousand of assessed value, so 30.0 mills produces $124,000 × 0.030 = $3,720.00 for the year. Six months of that is $1,860.00. The distractors show what happens if you stop early or skip the assessment ratio: $3,720 is the full year, $9,300 is a full year computed on 100 percent of fair market value, and $4,650 is half of that. Note the assessment date — § 48-5-10 fixes liability on property “held and subject to taxation on January 1,” which is why the annual bill is prorated at closing.

A Georgia seller closes at $380,000, pays off a $246,500 loan balance, owes a 6 percent brokerage commission and the state transfer tax, and has $1,850 in other seller charges. What are the seller’s net proceeds?

• a.$105,050.00
• b.$108,090.00
• c.$108,470.00✓
• d.$108,850.00

Take the deductions in order. The commission is 6 percent of $380,000, or $22,800. The Georgia transfer tax under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 runs $1.00 per $1,000 on a price that is a whole multiple of $1,000, so $380,000 produces $380.00, and § 48-6-3 charges it to the party executing the deed. Then $380,000 − $246,500 − $22,800 − $380 − $1,850 = $108,470.00. Each distractor drops or mis-rates the transfer tax: $108,850 omits it, $108,090 applies $2.00 per $1,000, and $105,050 applies $1.00 per $100. The intangible recording tax is not in this column — § 48-6-61 collects it from the holder of the new note, who may pass it to the borrower, so it belongs on the buyer’s side of a purchase closing.