To transfer property to an LLC, you sign a new deed naming the LLC as the grantee and record it with the county recorder where the property sits. The mechanics are straightforward. What trips people up is what surrounds the deed: an existing mortgage, property tax reassessment, insurance that still names you personally, and the housekeeping that keeps the LLC’s liability protection intact. Handle those in the right order and the transfer is clean.
Handle the Mortgage First
If the property carries a loan, deal with the lender before you record anything. Most mortgages include a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
A common misconception is that the Garn-St. Germain Act shields transfers to your own LLC. It does not. The statute lists nine specific exemptions, including transfers into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary, transfers to a spouse or children, and transfers resulting from a borrower’s death. A transfer to an LLC, even one you fully own, is not on that list.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
In practice, many lenders do not actively monitor title changes or enforce the clause for transfers to a borrower’s single-member LLC. They legally can. Contact your lender before the transfer and ask for written permission or a formal waiver. Some will agree as long as you remain personally liable on the loan. Others will refuse or require you to refinance into a commercial loan in the LLC’s name. Recording a deed without the lender’s knowledge creates a real risk of loan acceleration or foreclosure.
Gather the LLC and Property Details
Use the LLC’s exact legal name as it appears on the filed Articles of Organization or Certificate of Formation. Even a small discrepancy, like writing “LLC” when the filing says “L.L.C.,” can cause the deed to be rejected or create title issues later. You also need the LLC’s Employer Identification Number, the federal tax ID the IRS issues to business entities.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number The EIN should appear consistently across transfer documents and any accounts opened in the LLC’s name.
For the property, pull the legal description from the most recent recorded deed. This is not the street address. It is a metes-and-bounds survey description or a reference to a recorded plat map that fixes the property’s exact boundaries. Copy it word for word into the new deed. Errors in the legal description can cloud the title and cost real money to fix later.
Pick the Right Deed
Two deed types are commonly used. A quitclaim deed transfers whatever ownership interest you currently hold without making any guarantees about the title’s history. Because you are moving property to your own company and already know what you own, a quitclaim is the simpler and more common choice. A warranty deed guarantees the title is free of liens and other claims. Outside partners or investors joining the LLC may want that stronger protection before accepting the property.
You (the individual) are the grantor. The LLC is the grantee. Deeds like this typically state a nominal consideration, often “ten dollars” or “for value received,” because the transfer is between you and your own business rather than an arm’s-length sale. Deed forms are available through county recorder offices and reputable legal document providers, and every field has to match the property’s existing records.
Sign, Notarize, and Record
Sign the deed in front of a notary public. The notary confirms your identity with a government-issued ID and witnesses your signature. The notary’s acknowledgment and seal make the deed a legally binding instrument ready for public recording.
Take the signed and notarized deed to the county recorder or registrar of deeds in the county where the property sits. Fees and requirements vary. Some counties also impose real estate transfer taxes calculated as a percentage of the property’s value or the stated consideration. Many jurisdictions exempt transfers between an individual and a wholly-owned business entity from transfer taxes, but confirm with the recorder’s office before filing. The exemption is not universal, and some counties require a specific affidavit to claim it. Many offices now accept electronic filings; recording is complete when the office assigns a document number or stamps the deed with a volume and page reference. Keep a certified copy for the LLC’s records.
Know the Tax Consequences
Federal Income Tax
For federal income tax purposes, a single-member LLC is treated as a disregarded entity. The IRS ignores the LLC and treats its income, expenses, and assets as belonging directly to you.3Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies Transferring property into a single-member LLC generally does not trigger any federal income tax. You keep reporting rental income and expenses on Schedule E just as before.
Multi-member LLCs default to partnership tax treatment. Contributing property to a partnership in exchange for a membership interest is generally not a taxable event under the Internal Revenue Code. If the LLC has elected corporate tax treatment, or if the transfer involves debt relief that exceeds your tax basis in the property, the analysis gets more complicated and a tax professional should look at it.
Gift Tax
If you are the LLC’s sole owner, the transfer is not a gift because you still hold 100% of the economic interest. If other people hold membership interests, the IRS may treat the transfer as a gift to those members to the extent their share exceeds what they paid for it.4Internal Revenue Service. Gift Tax5Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 20266Internal Revenue Service. Whats New Estate and Gift Tax A transfer above the annual exclusion requires filing Form 709 but typically will not produce actual tax unless the lifetime exemption is used up.
Property Tax Reassessment
State and local property taxes can bite more immediately. Some jurisdictions reassess a property’s value when ownership changes, which can raise the bill. Many states exclude transfers where proportional ownership stays the same, meaning you owned 100% before and still control 100% through the LLC, but the rules and required filings vary. If the property is your primary residence, the transfer can also disqualify you from homestead exemptions. Call the county assessor before recording the deed so you know what will happen.
Move Insurance, Leases, and Banking to the LLC
Recording the deed changes legal ownership, but your policies still name you personally. If a claim arises and the policy names a different owner than the deed, the insurer can deny coverage.
Title insurance needs an endorsement or, in some cases, a new policy naming the LLC as insured. Some title policies terminate automatically when the property is transferred to a related entity, even when underlying ownership hasn’t changed. Contact the title company promptly after recording. Hazard and liability policies also need updating to reflect the LLC as owner and named insured. For a rental, the liability policy should cover the LLC rather than you personally; that separation is one of the main reasons to hold rental property in an LLC.
Tenants need written notice identifying the LLC as the new owner and directing future rent to the LLC’s account. New leases should be signed in the LLC’s name.
The LLC also needs its own bank account. Depositing rent into your personal account, or paying property expenses from personal funds, blurs the line between you and the business. Courts call this commingling, and it is one of the fastest ways to lose the liability protection the LLC provides. Open a business checking account using the LLC’s legal name and EIN, and run every property-related dollar through it.
Keep the Liability Shield Intact
The point of moving the property is to separate your personal assets from the property’s liabilities. That protection holds only if you treat the LLC as a genuinely separate entity. When courts find an owner has blurred the boundary, they can “pierce the corporate veil” and hold the owner personally liable for the LLC’s debts and judgments.
Common mistakes that lead to veil-piercing:
- Commingling funds by using the LLC’s account for personal expenses or depositing personal income into it.
- Running property finances through a personal checking account instead of a dedicated LLC account.
- Skipping formalities like maintaining an operating agreement or documenting major decisions.
- Underfunding the LLC, so it never has the resources to pay its own insurance, maintenance, and other obligations.
Keep the LLC’s finances entirely separate from your own, maintain an up-to-date operating agreement, document significant decisions in writing, and make sure contracts and invoices use the LLC’s legal name.
Stay in Good Standing
The transfer is not a one-time event. Most states require LLCs to file an annual or biennial report with the secretary of state and pay a fee to remain in good standing. Fees range from $0 to several hundred dollars depending on the state. Miss a filing and the state can administratively dissolve the company, which can affect title and leave the property in legal limbo.
Domestic U.S. companies are currently exempt from filing Beneficial Ownership Information reports with FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act, following a 2025 interim rule that limited reporting to foreign-registered entities.7FinCEN. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting8U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Department Announces Suspension of Enforcement of Corporate Transparency Act Against U.S. Citizens and Domestic Reporting Companies The rule could change through future rulemaking, so check the requirement periodically.