Recording fees are now the same whether you own Recorded Land or Registered Land. Most property is Recorded Land. If the document you wish to record refers to a “Book and Page” number, you probably have Recorded Land. If your document refers to a “Certificate of Title” number, you probably have Registered Land.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2020 budget included a provision aimed at increasing funds available to towns and cities through the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The budget signed by Governor Baker included the following language amending sections of the M.G.L. and increasing the fees collected at the registries of deeds for the CPA.
The current and new fee schedules are shown in the table below.
| Document | Fee |
|---|---|
| Declaration of Homestead | $35 |
| Declaration of Trust | $255 |
| Deed | $155 |
| Mortgage | $205 |
| Mortgage Foreclosure Deed & Affidavit | $155 |
| Mortgage Discharge, Release or Partial Release | $105 |
| Municipal Lien Certificate | $80 |
| UCC Documents (up to 2 debtors) | $75 |
| Federal Tax Liens (and related documents) | $5 |
| Plans (per sheet) | $105 |
| All other documents | $105 |
| Certified Copies (per page) | $1 |
The effective tax rate is $4.56 per $1000 or fraction thereof of taxable value. There is no excise tax due where the consideration stated is less than $100.00.
