Virginia Gift Deed

A Virginia deed of gift is one of the few deeds whose tax treatment turns on what the deed says about itself. Code of Virginia Section 58.1-811(D) requires no recordation tax for a deed of gift when no consideration has passed between the parties, and it conditions that on the deed stating, in its own text, that it is a deed of gift. A conveyance that passes nothing of value but never says so reaches the counter as an ordinary taxable deed, measured under Section 58.1-801 against the property's most recent assessment.

A deed that has to name itself

The gift language sits on the first page beside the two figures the clerk reads for tax purposes: the consideration, which on a gift deed records that nothing passed, and the actual value of the property conveyed. Section 17.1-223 permits a circuit court clerk, absent a cover sheet, to reject a writing whose first page omits those figures or whose face does not clearly state the law under which an exemption is claimed, so the exemption citation and both figures are neighbors on this form rather than scattered through it. A 2026 amendment extended subsection D to quitclaim deeds without consideration and to deeds correcting a fraudulently recorded deed, each stating its own classification; a gift deed states that it is a deed of gift.

Virginia's first clause, and the surnames in capitals

Virginia indexes deeds from the clause that first names the parties, and Section 17.1-223 attaches two conditions to it: each individual party's surname alone appears underscored or written entirely in capital letters, and every name the deed is indexed under as grantor or grantee is listed there. The form opens with that clause, which is why the completed example writes WHITCOMB in capitals and puts the grantee's current mailing address in the same block, the placement Fairfax County publishes for grantee addresses. The parcel identification or tax map number that Section 17.1-252 requires in localities with unique parcel systems sits on the first page as well.

The covenant that travels with the gift

Virginia deeds take their warranty from covenant words rather than from a caption, and this deed conveys with special warranty. Section 55.1-356 gives that phrase in the granting part the effect of the covenant in Section 55.1-355: a warranty against claims by, through, or under the grantor, and no further back. A donee takes the grantor's assurance about the grantor's own period of ownership, while liens and other matters of record continue to affect the property. The deed also carries the natural love and affection consideration and a construction clause for singular, plural, and gender, so one grantor or two read correctly from the same text.

How the grantees hold what the deed gives

One numbered section does nothing but fix the co-ownership form, because Virginia reads silence strictly here. Section 55.1-134 abolished survivorship as the default incident of a joint tenancy, and Section 55.1-135 provides that the words jointly, joint tenants, and joint tenancy standing alone mean a joint tenancy without survivorship. Spouses reach a tenancy by the entirety under Section 55.1-136 only where the instrument designates them as tenants by the entirety, marriage alone not being enough. Where entireties property is the subject of the gift, Section 55.1-136(B) calls for a deed signed by both spouses as grantors, and the form carries two grantor blocks with an acknowledgment certificate for each.

Signing and taking it to the clerk

Each grantor's signature is acknowledged before a notary under Section 55.1-600, and the certificate records the county or independent city of the notarial act, the notary registration number, and the commission expiration that Sections 47.1-2 and 47.1-16 describe. Recording happens with the clerk of the circuit court where the land lies, and Section 55.1-407 makes that step what protects the gift against later purchasers without notice and against lien creditors. The grantor tax of Section 58.1-802 reaches conveyances of realty sold to a purchaser, which the regulations define by valuable consideration, while clerk fees and the Technology Trust Fund fee are payable on an exempt deed. Cover sheet practice is local: Fairfax and Henrico require one, several other localities do not.

The package includes this Virginia gift deed as a blank fillable PDF, a completed example filled in for a Henrico County gift, and a plain language guide covering each numbered section, the vesting words, the notarial certificate, and the recording charges. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.