Isn't the transfer tax simply the fee  a seller pays to the commonwealth as a percentage on an agreed upon sale price?  I think that it would be impossible to determine a "value" for the property based on a mortgage amount.  I got into a wrangle once with a counter clerk who refused to let me record a deed for nominal consideration, followed by a mortgage (which was essentially a refi - the property was owned by a corporation, the person buying for nominal consideration was the president of the corporation) based on the same argument - that I was trying to defraud the commonwealth out of the transfer tax fee.  Since he couldn't cite chapter & verse he was forced to record my docs, but I was seriously annoyed that a counter clerk was trying to pass judgement on a real estate deal he really didn't know anything about.   My take then is that transfer tax can only be taken for what it is based on the stated sale price.  Not sure about the warranty deed issue - we only really use quitclaim deeds in Mass.

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