Michigan Property Transfer Affidavit (Form 2766): The 45-Day Rule

If you buy a house, a cottage or land in Michigan, or receive one by gift, deed or land contract, you have 45 days to tell the local assessor. You do it with the Property Transfer Affidavit, Michigan Department of Treasury Form 2766 (also numbered L-4260). It is a two-page form, but missing it can cost back taxes, interest and a daily penalty, and it is how you claim an exemption from the tax increase a transfer can trigger.

This page explains, quoting Michigan law and the Treasury’s form, who files, what each line asks for, the exemptions and the penalties. You can download a free preparation checklist in PDF and Word to take with you when you fill in the official form.

Who files, where and when

Question	Answer from the law and the form
Who	The new owner: the “buyer, grantee, or other transferee”. Not the seller.
Where	“with the assessor for the city or township where the property is located”
When	“within 45 days of the transfer”
For what	Real estate and some personal property: “Buildings on leased land”, “Leasehold improvements” and “Leasehold estates”
Even without a deed?	Yes: “even if you are not recording a deed”
Form	Form 2766, Rev. 03-25 (also numbered L-4260)

Why it matters: “uncapping” the taxable value

Under MCL 211.27a(2), taxable value can rise each year by no more than 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less (plus additions), or the state equalized valuation if that is lower. That limit applies “until a subsequent transfer of ownership occurs” (211.27a(4)). Under MCL 211.27a(3), “Upon a transfer of ownership of property after 1994, the property’s taxable value for the calendar year following the year of the transfer is the property’s state equalized valuation for the calendar year following the transfer.” The form calls this “uncapping”. Property is to be assessed “at 50% of its true cash value” (211.27a(1)). The affidavit is one way the assessor learns of the transfer (the register of deeds also reports recorded deeds), and it is where you claim an exemption from uncapping.

The form also points out that the price you paid does not set the assessment: “the purchase price paid in a transfer of property is not the presumptive true cash value of the property transferred” (MCL 211.27(6)).

Filling in Form 2766, line by line

Line	What it asks
1-4	Street address, county, date of transfer (“or land contract signed”) and whether the property is in a city, township or village.
5	Purchase price of the real estate.
6	Seller’s (transferor’s) name.
7	Property Identification Number (PIN). It “ranges from 10 to 25 digits” and is on the tax bill and assessment notice. “If you don’t have a PIN, attach legal description.”
8-9	Buyer’s name, mailing address and phone.
10-15	Optional: type of transfer (land contract, lease, deed, other), purchase from a financial institution, related persons, down payment, market-rate financing, amount financed. “Items 10 – 15 are optional. However, by completing them you may avoid further correspondence.”
Exemptions	Tick the exemption from uncapping you claim, if any (see below).
Certification	Printed name, signature, date, name and title if the signer is not the owner, daytime phone and email. The form has no notary block.

Exemptions from uncapping

The form lists the transfers that do not uncap the taxable value. “If an exemption is claimed, your assessor may request additional information to support your claim.” Among them:

• “Transfer from one spouse to the other spouse”, and a change in ownership “solely to exclude or include a spouse”. The statute also covers a transfer “from a decedent to a surviving spouse” (211.27a(7)(a)).
• Certain family members. A transfer of residential real property to “the transferor’s or the transferor’s spouse’s mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, adopted son, adopted daughter, grandson, or granddaughter”, if the property “is not used for any commercial purpose following the conveyance” (MCL 211.27a(7)(u)). The transferee must furnish proof within 30 days if asked, or face a $200 fine.
• Transfers involving a life lease or life estate, including family transfers when a retained life estate ends (211.27a(7)(d)).
• Transfers into a trust where the settlor or the settlor’s spouse “conveys property to the trust and is also the sole beneficiary”.
• Transfers to effect a foreclosure or forfeiture, redemption from a tax sale, a court order (unless it specifies a monetary payment), creating or ending a joint tenancy when at least one person is an original owner, and establishing or releasing a security interest.
• Transfers of qualified agricultural or forest property that keeps its status, and of land with a qualified conservation easement.

Penalties for filing late or not at all

If the new owner does not notify the assessor, MCL 211.27b(1) says the taxable value is adjusted and the following “must be levied”:

Item	Amount
Back taxes	“Any additional taxes that would have been levied if the transfer of ownership had been recorded as required”
Interest	“Interest and penalty from the date the tax would have been originally levied”
Principal residence	$5.00 per day after the 45 days, up to $200.00
Other property (not industrial or commercial)	$5.00 per day after the 45 days, up to $4,000.00
Industrial or commercial property sold for $100 million or less	$20.00 per day after the 45 days, up to $1,000.00
Industrial or commercial property sold for more than $100 million	$20,000.00 after the 45 days (the lower daily penalty applies if the failure was due to reasonable cause)

Common mistakes

• Assuming the title company or seller filed it. The law puts it on the buyer.
• Sending it to the county or the state. It goes to the city or township assessor.
• Skipping it for a gift or a land contract. Both are transfers of ownership; the form asks for the date the “land contract signed”.
• Not claiming an exemption you qualify for, such as a transfer to a child of a home not used commercially.
• Writing private information you do not need to. The form is “NOT CONFIDENTIAL”.

Free Michigan property transfer affidavit checklist

Form 2766 is an official Treasury form: file the current version from michigan.gov. Our free download is a preparation checklist: the information to gather for each line, the exemption questions, the 45-day deadline calculator line and the filing details, so you complete the official form in one go.

Michigan property transfer affidavit: common questions

Who files the property transfer affidavit in Michigan?

The buyer or other new owner, with the assessor of the city or township where the property is.

How long do I have to file?

45 days from the transfer of ownership.

What is the penalty for not filing a Michigan property transfer affidavit?

Additional taxes from the date of transfer, interest and penalty from the date the tax would have been originally levied, plus $5 a day after the 45 days up to $200 for a principal residence, or up to $4,000 for other property that is not industrial or commercial (MCL 211.27b).

Does the property transfer affidavit need to be notarized?

No. The form ends with a certification, “I certify that the information above is true and complete to the best of my knowledge”, signed and dated, with no notary block.

Do I file it if I inherit a house?

Yes, file it: a conveyance “by distribution under a will or by intestate succession” is a transfer of ownership (211.27a(6)(f)). It does not uncap the taxable value if the heir is the decedent’s spouse, or, for residential property not used commercially afterwards, the decedent’s or the decedent’s spouse’s mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, adopted son, adopted daughter, grandson or granddaughter (211.27a(6)(f)(i) and (ii)). Claim it on the form; the assessor may ask for proof within 30 days.

What is Michigan Form 2766 (L-4260)?

It is the Property Transfer Affidavit, the state-prescribed form the new owner files with the local assessor within 45 days of a transfer of ownership (MCL 211.27a(10)).

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