Quitclaim Deeds and Deed Transfers in Illinois

1. How to file a quitclaim deed in Illinois in five steps

A quitclaim deed in Illinois is recorded in the county where the property sits. These are the Cook County steps; other counties use the same PTAX-203 declaration without the county and city forms and record with the county recorder.

Step 1 of 5 Prepare the deed

Use the statutory form in 765 ILCS 5/10 and add the parcel number, the property address, the grantee's tax-bill address (55 ILCS 5/3-5020(a)), the "This instrument was prepared by" statement (55 ILCS 5/3-5022) and the form of co-ownership if there is more than one grantee. The grantor signs before a notary, the names are typed below the signatures, and the first page carries a blank space of at least 3 inches by 5 inches in its upper right corner for the recorder's stamp (the Cook County Clerk's document standard, and 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2 elsewhere in Illinois); a deed without it is recorded as an irregular document at a higher fee.

Step 2 of 5 Complete the transfer declaration through MyDec

Unless the transfer is exempt under section 31-45, state law requires a transfer declaration signed by a party on each side or their attorneys (35 ILCS 200/31-25); in Cook County the Clerk requires one for every conveyance, taxable or not, and the PTAX-203, county and Chicago declarations are all completed through the Department of Revenue's MyDec system.

Step 3 of 5 Claim the exemption, if any

Transfers with actual consideration under $100 (31-45(e)), corrective deeds (31-45(d)), deeds of partition (31-45(h)) and deeds securing or releasing a debt (31-45(c) and (g)) are exempt from the state and county tax. An exempt Cook County deed also needs the sworn grantor and grantee statements under 55 ILCS 5/3-5020(b), and a Chicago deed needs the city's "exempt" stamp, which the city issues only after a water Full Payment Certificate (Chicago Municipal Code 11-12-530).

Step 4 of 5 Pay the transfer tax if the transfer is not exempt

The state, county and Chicago rates are in the table at the top of this page; stamps are purchased through MyDec before recording.

Step 5 of 5 Record with the Cook County Clerk

Submit the deed, the MyDec confirmation and the statements to the Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago, in person, by mail or through an e-recording submitter; the fee is $107. The Clerk returns the recorded deed stamped with a document number; keep it with your title policy.

2. What a quitclaim deed does, and does not do

A quit claim deed in Illinois (the statute spells it as two words; most people write "quitclaim") is the simplest deed the state recognizes. Under section 10 of the Conveyances Act, a deed in the statutory form "conveys and quit claims" whatever rights the grantor has to the grantee. It carries no covenant that the grantor owns the property or that the title is free of liens, no promise to defend the title, and no after-acquired title unless the deed says so. If the grantor owns nothing, the grantee receives nothing, and the deed is still valid.

That makes a quitclaim deed appropriate when the parties already know the state of the title and no one is paying full value. Typical examples: spouses, parents and children, a person and that person's own trust, former spouses dividing property under a judgment, or co-owners cleaning up a prior mistake. It is the wrong deed for a sale to a stranger, where the buyer and the title insurer expect the warranties of a warranty deed.

3. Quitclaim deed versus warranty deed in Illinois

Title insurance is the practical difference. A buyer who receives a quitclaim deed can still buy an owner's policy, but the insurer underwrites the grantor's title from scratch, and a lender financing the purchase will want a warranty deed. For the full comparison, including special warranty deeds, read quitclaim deed vs warranty deed in Illinois; our article on reading a title commitment explains what the policy covers.

4. When a quitclaim deed makes sense

• Adding or removing a spouse after marriage, or dividing property under a judgment of dissolution.
• Funding a revocable living trust or a land trust with a home you already own; see our trust attorney page.
• Transferring a rental to an LLC you own, with the lender's written consent, since this transfer is not protected by the Garn-St Germain exceptions.
• Correcting a deed: a misspelled name, a wrong marital status, an incomplete legal description (exempt from transfer tax under 35 ILCS 200/31-45(d)).
• Clearing a cloud on title when a former co-owner, heir or ex-spouse agrees to release an interest.
• Family transfers between parents and children, with the gift-tax and basis consequences described below understood first.

5. Transfer tax exemptions, municipal stamps and reassessment

The state and county exemptions are claimed in step 3 above. One detail trips people up: if the deed states that the transfer is subject to a mortgage, the outstanding balance is excluded from the tax base (35 ILCS 200/31-10), but a child who takes over a parent's loan payments can still be giving consideration, so the declaration has to be completed carefully. Chicago has its own list (Municipal Code 3-33-060): its floor is $500 rather than $100, it exempts transfers of a primary residence between spouses under a court order, and it requires the exempt stamp and the water certificate on every transfer. Suburban ordinances differ, and some villages require a stamp even where no tax is due, so we check the ordinance before recording.

A deed transfer does not reassess the property. Illinois has no sale-triggered reassessment; the Cook County Assessor revalues every parcel on a three-year cycle by district, whatever the deed says. What a transfer does change is the exemptions. The Homeowner Exemption belongs to the owner who occupies the home and does not carry over; the grantee applies to the Assessor. The Senior Exemption likewise requires the new owner to qualify, and the Low-Income Senior Assessment Freeze must be applied for every year. When a parent deeds a home to an adult child who does not live there, the exemptions end and the next bill rises. If the assessment behind that bill is wrong, our sister company, Cook County Tax Appeals LLC, reviews it; see property tax appeals.

6. Is a quitclaim deed a taxable gift?

When the grantee is anyone other than your spouse and pays less than fair value, yes. Adding a child to the deed is a gift of the child's share; deeding the whole house is a gift of the whole value. For 2026 the federal annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient; a larger gift is reported on Form 709, but no tax is paid until lifetime gifts exceed the $15,000,000 basic exclusion amount. Most families owe no gift tax; the real cost is basis.

Property received by gift keeps the donor's basis; property received at death takes a new basis equal to its date-of-death value (IRS Publication 551). A home bought in 1990 for $90,000 and worth $420,000 today carries a $330,000 built-in gain. Deed it to a child now and the child inherits that gain and pays capital gains tax on it when the house is sold. Leave it at death, by will, trust or transfer on death instrument, and the gain disappears; the child's basis becomes $420,000. For a parent whose estate is nowhere near the federal exclusion, a quitclaim deed to a child converts a tax-free inheritance into a taxable sale.

Transfers to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen are not taxable gifts (gifts to a non-citizen spouse are limited to $194,000 in 2026), and transfers to your own revocable trust are not gifts at all because you still own the property for tax purposes. Transfers to an irrevocable trust, to a child's trust, or to an LLC owned by family members are gifts and need to be valued and reported. This is the calculation an attorney who is also a CPA makes before the deed is drafted; see why one adviser for law and tax changes the advice.

7. Can a quitclaim deed avoid probate?

By itself, no. A deed giving a child a half interest leaves the parent's half in the parent's estate, and a joint tenancy with right of survivorship avoids probate only at the price described above: a gift now, a lost basis step-up, exposure to the child's creditors, and the child's signature to sell or refinance. Illinois does not recognize the "lady bird" deed. Its substitute is the transfer on death instrument under 755 ILCS 27, which the owner records now and can revoke at any time, and which passes the home at death with a full basis step-up and no probate; our transfer on death instrument guide compares it with a living trust and joint tenancy, and our estate planning page covers the trust that does the same work for everything you own. If someone has already died owning the home, the estate goes through our probate attorney page.

8. Having the firm prepare and record the deed

If you want us to handle it, tell us who owns the property now, who should own it afterward, and why. We confirm the ownership of record and explain the tax and mortgage consequences, then prepare the deed, the declarations and the statements, obtain any municipal stamp, and record with the Cook County Clerk. Most deed transfers are scoped in one conversation; the rest of the practice is on the real estate hub.

Questions people ask

How do I file a quitclaim deed in Illinois?

Prepare a deed in the Conveyances Act form (765 ILCS 5/10) with the legal description, the parcel number, the grantee's name and tax-billing address and a prepared-by statement, and sign it before a notary. Complete the PTAX-203 and, in Cook County, the county and any city declaration through MyDec; attach the grantor and grantee statements if the transfer is exempt. Then record with the Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division, in person, by mail or through an e-recording submitter.

What does it cost to record a deed in Cook County?

The Cook County Clerk charges a flat $107 to record a deed under the fee schedule effective April 1, 2024; the figure includes the county recording fee, GIS and document storage fees and the state Rental Housing Support surcharge. Transfer tax is separate: $0.50 per $500 of consideration for the State, $0.25 per $500 for Cook County, and $5.25 per $500 in Chicago, unless the transfer qualifies for an exemption such as consideration under $100 (under $500 for the Chicago tax). Attorney fees for preparing the deed and declarations are quoted in writing before any work begins.

Quitclaim deed or warranty deed, which do I need?

Use a warranty deed when someone is paying for the property or will rely on the grantor's title: a sale, a transfer to an unrelated buyer, or any transfer where title insurance will be issued to the new owner. Use a quitclaim deed when grantor and grantee already know and accept the title: adding or removing a spouse, funding your own trust, dividing property after a divorce, or clearing a cloud on title. A warranty deed carries the three statutory covenants in 765 ILCS 5/9; a quitclaim carries none.

Can I add my spouse or child to my deed?

Yes, by a deed from you to yourself and the other person, naming the form of co-ownership. Adding a spouse is routine and often done as tenants by the entirety. Adding a child is a different decision: it is a taxable gift of half the home's value, the child's half keeps your low basis instead of getting a new one at your death, the child's creditors and divorce can reach the home, and you cannot sell or refinance without the child's signature. A transfer on death instrument usually accomplishes the goal without those costs.

Does a quitclaim deed trigger transfer tax or reassessment?

Transfer tax is owed on the consideration stated. A deed with actual consideration under $100 is exempt under 35 ILCS 200/31-45(e); corrective deeds are exempt under 31-45(d), and most transfers into your own trust or between spouses under a divorce judgment qualify because the stated consideration is under $100. Chicago has its own list (Municipal Code 3-33-060): its floor is $500 rather than $100, and it exempts transfers of a primary residence between spouses under a court order. A declaration must still be filed through MyDec. Illinois has no sale-triggered reassessment; Cook County reassesses on its triennial schedule regardless of transfers. The new owner must apply for the Homeowner Exemption, which does not carry over automatically.

Does a quitclaim deed remove me from the mortgage?

No. A deed changes who owns the property; it does nothing to the promissory note you signed. You remain liable to the lender until the loan is paid off or refinanced in the new owner's name. The deed can also breach the mortgage's due-on-sale clause unless the transfer fits one of the federal Garn-St Germain exceptions for residential property of fewer than five units, such as a transfer to a spouse or child, a transfer under a divorce decree, or a transfer into a living trust in which you remain a beneficiary.

General information as of October 5, 2026; not legal advice; laws change; consult a lawyer about your situation.