A Nebraska Quitclaim Deed simplifies property transfer without title guarantees, allowing swift conveyance. Unlike a warranty deed that ensures clear titles through a slower process, a quitclaim deed often mislabeled as a “quick claim” or “quit claims” deed, offers rapid, uncomplicated transfers.
How to File
Filing a quitclaim deed in Nebraska is a straightforward process when you know the steps involved. Preparing and recording your deed carefully helps avoid future legal issues.
Step 1 – Have a Copy of the Deed
If you do not already have the original deed to the property, you will need to obtain it before you proceed. Contact your county clerk’s register of deeds to request an official certified copy if necessary.
Step 2 – Obtain the Property’s Legal Description
Once you have the deed, find the property’s legal description. This information is crucial for transferring property via a Nebraska quitclaim deed. Your property description may include:
- Property address
- Lot, block, or section numbers
- Range and quarter section details
- Township information
- Subdivision name
Step 3 – Fill Out the Nebraska Quitclaim Document
Start with a fillable template in PDF or Word format. You can also visit your county clerk’s office to obtain official quitclaim deed forms. Enter all the required information, including:
- Grantor’s name and title
- Grantee’s name and title
- Spouse of the grantor if the property is a co-owned homestead
- A return address for the official deed, usually the grantee’s address
- Legal description of the real estate property
- Consideration, taxes, and other financial details
Step 4 – Sign the Quitclaim Deed Before a Notary
All deeds in Nebraska must be signed by the grantor(s) in the presence of a notary. If you sign the document beforehand, it will be invalid, and you will have to complete a new form.
The notary will verify your identity, watch you sign the document, and complete a notary acknowledgment. The acknowledgment may be at the bottom of the quitclaim deed on a separate form. They will sign, date, and affix their notary seal.
Step 5 – Submit the Quitclaim Deed With Supporting Docs and Payment
Submit your signed and notarized quitclaim deed, along with a Real Estate Transfer Statement (Form 521) and a check for the taxes and fees associated with the real estate transfer. Consult Neb Rev. Stat. § 33-109 for current filing fees and Neb Rev. Stat. § 76-901 for the current document stamp tax rate. Alternatively, you can call your county clerk’s office or the Nebraska Department of Revenue office.
Costs and Fees
Recording a quitclaim deed in Nebraska involves set county fees, and you might also encounter documentary stamp taxes depending on the transaction. Preparing for these costs ahead of time ensures a smoother filing process.
Filing Fees
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109 establishes a standard fee for recording a quitclaim deed. The grantor pays the recording fee when submitting the quitclaim deed to the register of deeds at the appropriate county clerk’s office. Applicable fees are as follows:
- $10.00 for the first page
- $6.00 for each subsequent page
- $1.50 per page for a certified copy of the quitclaim deed
Taxes
If you transfer real estate in Nebraska using a quitclaim deed, you may be subject to both state and federal taxes.
1. Documentary Stamp Tax
The Nebraska Department of Revenue charges a documentary stamp tax per Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-901. The tax is calculated based on the value of the real estate property as recorded by the county assessor at the time of the transfer.
Who Pays the Documentary Stamp Tax?
Per Nebraska quitclaim deed laws, the grantor, or seller, conveying the property pays the documentary stamp tax.
Exemptions to Documentary Stamp Tax
Nebraska grants documentary stamp tax exemptions for the following circumstances:
- Deeds that release or secure a debt or other obligation
- Deeds that confirm, correct, modify, or supplement a previously recorded deed without additional consideration, extension, or limitation of the existing title or interest
- Deeds between spouses, ex-spouses, or a parent and child
- Deeds to or from a business owned by the family
- Tax deeds
- Deeds dividing land between joint tenants or tenants in common
- Deeds for business consolidation, sales, or mergers
- Deeds between a parent corporation and its subsidiary
- Deeds for cemetery plots
- Deeds for mineral rights
- Deeds executed per court decrees, like in a divorce, bankruptcy, or an involuntary grant
- Deeds for land contracts
- Deeds transferring interest from a personal representative to the heir of an estate
- Transfer on death deeds
- Deeds transferring property to a trust
- Deeds conveying property from a trustee to the trust’s beneficiary
Depending on your situation, your quitclaim deed could be exempt. However, the laws governing documentary stamp tax and exemptions are complicated. Review Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-902 and 350 Neb. Admin. Code § 52-003 to see all exemptions. Consider consulting with a real estate law expert before transferring property using a Nebraska quitclaim deed.
Tax Rates
The tax rate is $2.25 per every $1000 of value or fraction thereof. See the Nebraska documentary stamp tax computation table (1) for quick reference. Taxation amounts change periodically, so check with your county clerk or the Nebraska Department of Revenue to obtain the latest information before you file your quitclaim deed.
2. Federal Gift Tax (Form 709)
When you use a Nebraska quitclaim deed to transfer property to a grantee, you, as the grantor, may owe federal gift tax. Gifts up to a certain value are excluded from this tax, but the value changes frequently. When you file your income taxes, you can use Form 709 to calculate and pay your gift tax.
3. Federal and State Capital Gains Tax
A property conveyance via quitclaim deed in Nebraska may also be subject to capital gains tax on both a state and federal level. Nebraska’s capital gains tax rates are based on a percentage of the profit you gained from selling the home.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) establishes exclusions for capital gains up to a certain value. The exclusions change, so check current IRS capital gains rates and exclusions before you file your annual taxes.
According to Neb. Admin. Code § 22, Nebraska’s capital gains tax applies regardless of IRS requirements. However, the laws governing capital gains on Nebraska properties can vary based on the following considerations:
- Whether the property was your primary residence
- How long you owned the home before you sold it
- Whether you lived in the residence for a specific period before selling
- If you claimed a capital gains tax deduction on a different home within the past two years
Consider consulting with a tax professional or attorney familiar with Nebraska quitclaim deeds to avoid complications when filing your taxes.
Nebraska Quitclaim Deed Requirements
In Nebraska, quitclaim deeds must comply with particular legal standards to ensure they are enforceable. Getting the details right from the start can make your property transfer smoother and faster.
Legal Framework
Per Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-203, any document that assigns or transfers real estate ownership is considered a deed and is therefore subject to legal requirements established for deeds under Nebraska statutes.
Legal Description
Every real estate deed or conveyance in Nebraska must include a clear legal description of the property. This description may include:
- Property address
- Block number
- Lot number
- Section number
- Township number
- Range number
- Quarter section
- Subdivision name
You can typically pull the description from the existing property deed. If your description uses a plat, you may also need to include copies or page references of the plat page. Documentation requirements can differ by county, so double-check with your county clerk’s office before submitting your Nebraska quitclaim deed.
Signing
According to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76.211, all real estate deeds must be signed by the grantor(s) and notarized consistent with Neb. Rev. Stat. § 64.205. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76.216 further requires a written acknowledgment from the signatories that they executed the document voluntarily.
If the home is co-owned by a spouse and used as a homestead, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 40-104 requires the co-owner or spouse also to sign the quitclaim deed voluntarily.
Terminology
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76.206 clarifies the effect of language in a real estate deed. Specifically, it states that the grant that conveys real estate automatically implies that the grantor has good title to the property being conveyed.
However, the deed’s language can indicate the limitations on the grantor’s ownership or responsibility for the title. This is an important distinction for quitclaim deeds, which specifically limit the grantor’s potential liability for ownership or title issues.
Additional Documents
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76.214 requires all real estate deeds, including Nebraska quitclaim deeds, to be filed with a completed Real Estate Transfer Statement (Form 521). In addition, you must submit a check with the appropriate filing fees as outlined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109.
Filing
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76.237, all deeds and other documents that convey real estate, including Nebraska quitclaim deeds, must be filed with the register of deeds in the county where the property is located.
Validity Requirements
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01 dictates validity requirements for a Nebraska quitclaim deed submitted for recording. Guidelines include the following:
- Formatting: Forms must include at least 3 inches of blank space at the top of the first page and one-inch margins on the sides and bottom of each page.
- Printed forms: Forms must be printed in black ink on 8 1/2 in. x 14 in. white paper.
- Legibility: Forms must be legible and able to be copied with a font size of at least eight points.
- Signatures: Forms must be signed legibly in black or blue ink. Electronic or digital signatures are acceptable. The name of each signer must be printed, typed, or stamped below their signature.
Each county may have different submission, formatting, or document requirements. Contact your county register of deeds before you file to avoid unnecessary complications.
Content Requirements
Nebraska quitclaim deeds must also meet certain content conditions, including:
- Document title and return address: Per Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1510, the deed must include the document’s title and a return address on the first page immediately below the 3 in. blank space.
- Grantor and grantee names: A Nebraska quitclaim deed must include the name of the property seller, or grantor, and the person receiving the property, the grantee.
- Indexing information: Per Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1508, the quitclaim deed must include indexing details, including the grantors, grantees, date of filing, date of the deed, type of deed, and a description of the real estate property.
- Consideration: Nebraska law does not require the deed to state consideration exchanged for the property in a quitclaim deed. However, it is wise to include it so you have legal documentation of the exchange.
- Vesting statement: The quitclaim deed should include a statement indicating that the grantor is conveying their interest in the property to the grantee. This is where you indicate that the quitclaim releases the grantor of liability for title or ownership issues.
Quitclaim Deeds vs. Other Property Transfer Methods in Nebraska
| Quitclaim Deed | A Nebraska warranty deed transfers real estate with a guarantee that the grantor owned the property free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. Should property ownership issues arise, the grantor is responsible for resolving them. |
| Warranty Deed | Transfers real estate property from the grantor to the grantee without any guarantees of ownership. The grantee becomes liable for any issues that arise regarding ownership or title, and they cannot sue the grantor for those problems. |
| Special Warranty Deed | A special warranty deed provides a conditional guarantee that no title or ownership issues arose while the grantor owned an interest in the property. This absolves them of any issues that may have arisen outside the grantor's tenure. |
| Title Insurance | Title insurance protects the grantee from costs associated with title or ownership issues arising after a property exchange on a quitclaim deed. |
| Transfer on Death Deed | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-3401 – 76-3423 allows the grantor to transfer ownership of a property to one or more beneficiaries upon the grantor’s death. This allows the property to be transferred without probate proceedings. |
| Deed of Trust | A deed of trust, also called a trust deed, transfers the grantor’s interest in the property to a third-party trustee in exchange for a real estate loan. The trustee will hold the title to the property until the grantor satisfies the terms of the loan, at which point the property will revert to the grantor. |
Sample Nebraska Quitclaim Deed
View a free Nebraska quitclaim deed example. You can easily edit the template using our online editor and save your completed form in PDF or Word format.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a quitclaim deed differ from a warranty deed in Nebraska?
A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest the grantor has in the property, if any, without guaranteeing that the title is clear of claims. A warranty deed, on the other hand, includes a guarantee from the grantor to the grantee that the property title is clear of liens or claims.
Is a quitclaim deed commonly used in Nebraska for property transfers?
Yes, quitclaim deeds are commonly used in Nebraska for non-commercial transfers of property, such as adding or removing a spouse from a title, transferring property to a trust, or resolving title issues.
Can a quitclaim deed be used to transfer property if there is a mortgage in Nebraska?
A quitclaim deed can transfer property that has a mortgage, but it does not release the grantor from their obligation to the mortgage. The grantee receives the property subject to the existing mortgage.
