A quitclaim deed is a legal instrument that transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor currently holds in a piece of real property to the grantee, with no promises about whether that interest is valid or the title is clean. If the grantor owns the property outright, the grantee receives full ownership. If the grantor owns half, the grantee gets half. If the grantor owns nothing, the grantee receives nothing and has no claim against the grantor for the worthless paper. Any liens, unpaid taxes, or other encumbrances stay attached to the property, and the grantee inherits them without warranty.
That bare-bones quality is the whole point. Quitclaim deeds exist for transfers where the parties already trust each other and no one is paying market value for the property.
When a Quitclaim Deed Is the Right Tool
The common uses share one feature: the transfer is not a traditional sale, and the people involved already know the property’s history.
- A parent deeding a home to a child, or siblings redistributing inherited property.
- Adding a new spouse to the title after marriage, or removing an ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement.
- Moving real estate into or out of a revocable living trust.
- Clearing title defects, such as a distant relative formally releasing any possible claim so a future sale can go through.
- Changing how title is held, such as switching to joint tenancy or moving property into an LLC you control.
Why It’s the Wrong Tool for Buying Property
In an ordinary real estate sale, the seller signs a warranty deed. That deed carries enforceable promises: the seller actually owns the property, no one else has a valid claim, and the seller will defend the buyer against future challenges. If any of those promises prove false, the buyer can sue.
A quitclaim deed strips every one of those protections. The grantor says nothing about the state of the title, and the grantee shoulders the full risk that it might be defective. Accepting a quitclaim deed from a stranger in exchange for money is close to buying a car without a title search. Don’t do it.
The Mortgage Trap
This is where most people get hurt. A quitclaim deed changes who owns the property. It does nothing to change who owes the mortgage. If your name is on the loan, signing the deed over to someone else leaves you fully liable for the payments. The lender cares about the promissory note, not the deed.
This surfaces constantly in divorce. A court order may require one spouse to quitclaim the house to the other. The departing spouse assumes the chapter is closed. But if both names are still on the mortgage, the lender can pursue either person for missed payments, and late payments by the spouse who kept the house will damage the credit of the one who left. The only clean break is for the spouse keeping the property to refinance in their own name.
Due-on-Sale Clauses
Most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment if the property changes hands. In theory, a quitclaim transfer could trigger an acceleration of the loan. In practice, federal law blocks lenders from enforcing that clause for many of the transfers people typically use a quitclaim deed for.
Under the Garn-St. Germain Act, a lender cannot accelerate the loan when the property is transferred to a spouse or child of the borrower, transferred as part of a divorce decree or separation agreement, or placed into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and continues living in the home.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions These protections apply to residential properties with fewer than five units. Transfers outside those categories, such as deeding property to a friend or an unrelated business partner, can still trigger the clause.
Tax Consequences That Catch People Off Guard
Gift Tax Filing
When you transfer property for less than its fair market value, the IRS treats the difference as a gift. If the value exceeds $19,000 in 2026, you need to file Form 709, the federal gift tax return. Married couples can combine exclusions and gift up to $38,000 per recipient before a filing is required.
Filing doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax. It starts counting the gift against your lifetime exemption, which is $15,000,000 per person for 2026.2Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax Most people never actually owe gift tax. Failing to file the return when required is still a compliance problem you don’t want.
Carryover Basis vs. Stepped-Up Basis
This is where the real money is. When you receive property as a gift during the donor’s lifetime, your cost basis for capital gains purposes is the same as the donor’s original basis. Tax law calls this carryover basis.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust If your parent bought a house for $80,000 thirty years ago and quitclaims it to you today when it is worth $400,000, your basis is $80,000. Sell it for $400,000 and you face $320,000 in taxable gain.
Inherited property is treated differently. Property received after the owner’s death takes a stepped-up basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If that same house is worth $400,000 when your parent passes, your basis is $400,000, and selling it for $400,000 produces no taxable gain.
A well-intentioned lifetime quitclaim from parent to child can cost the family tens of thousands of dollars compared to leaving the property in the estate. Anyone transferring appreciated property should run the numbers with a tax professional before signing.
Title Insurance Can Disappear
Most title insurance policies tie ongoing coverage to the covenants in the deed used for the transfer. Because a quitclaim deed carries no covenants, using one can terminate the existing policy. The prior owner’s coverage ends and the new owner has none.
Most title insurance companies also will not issue a new policy based on a quitclaim deed. They want a warranty deed that gives them recourse against the grantor if a defect surfaces. If you receive property through a quitclaim and plan to sell later, you may need to take additional steps to establish clear title before a buyer’s title company will insure the transaction.
How to Prepare and Record One
Blank forms are available from county recorder’s offices and online legal document providers. The form itself is simple. Getting the details wrong is expensive. You’ll need:
- The full legal names of grantor and grantee, matching other legal documents exactly.
- The legal description of the property copied from the most recent recorded deed. This is not the mailing address; it is the formal metes-and-bounds or lot-and-block description, and small errors can cloud the title.
- Consideration, meaning the value exchanged. For family gifts, this is often a nominal amount like $10 or “love and affection.”
- The name and address of the preparer, and a return address for the recorded deed and future tax statements.
The grantor signs in front of a notary public, who verifies identity and applies an official seal. The grantee typically does not sign. A handful of states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Connecticut, also require witnesses, so check your local rules before scheduling.
After notarization, the deed must be recorded with the county recorder or register of deeds where the property sits. Recording creates the public record of the transfer and puts the world on notice that ownership has changed. Until recording, the transfer is not effective against third parties who might claim an interest.
Recording fees typically range from about $10 to over $100 depending on the county, with per-page charges in many jurisdictions. Notary fees for an acknowledgment generally run between $2 and $25. Some jurisdictions require a transfer tax declaration alongside the deed even when no tax is due. Many states and localities exempt family transfers and divorce-related transfers from transfer taxes, but the exemption paperwork still has to be filed.
You Can’t Simply Take It Back
Once a quitclaim deed is signed, delivered, and recorded, the grantor cannot unilaterally undo it. The transfer is permanent. Reversal requires one of three things: the grantee voluntarily signs a new deed transferring the property back, both parties agree to rescind, or a court voids the deed based on fraud, duress, undue influence, or the grantor’s lack of mental capacity at the time of signing.
People sometimes sign a quitclaim deed casually, assuming they can reverse it later if things sour. They can’t. Treat every quitclaim deed as irreversible, because overturning one in court requires proving something went seriously wrong at the signing, and that kind of litigation is neither cheap nor quick.