See exactly what you'll pay at closing — itemized by category
$80,000 • Loan: $320,000
Checking today’s rate…
Points are priced off the day’s rate sheet — see real discount points here.
Max typically 3-6% of sale price ($12,000 - $24,000)
Cash needed at closing
$94,286
$80,000 down payment + $14,286 closing costs
Loan amount
$320,000
Loan costs (D)
$4,931
% of price
3.6%
D excludes the owner's title policy — that's optional buyer coverage the lender doesn't require, so it sits in H below and not in the loan costs your lender is held to a tolerance on.
Title and recording costs vary by state and county; request a Loan Estimate. Today’s rates →
Altgage Inc. NMLS #2447252 | 100 Cambridge St, Floor 14, Boston, MA 02114|Closing costs typically run 2–5% of the loan amount and lump together fees from a dozen different parties — your lender, the title company, the county, the appraiser, prepaid escrows, and so on. Some are negotiable, some are shoppable, and some are fixed by law or contract. Knowing which is which can save you $1,000–$3,000 on the same loan.
Title insurance (you can pick the title company in most states), settlement/closing fee, owner's title insurance policy, and home inspection. These vary by 30–50% between providers in the same city. Ask for itemized quotes from 2–3 title companies — most realtors default to one but they're not obligated to.
Lender's origination fee, application fee, underwriting fee, and rate-lock extension fees if your lender pulls these. Lender credits — points in reverse — let you trade a slightly higher rate for the lender paying part of your closing costs. Useful if you're cash-tight at closing.
Recording fees and transfer taxes (set by county/state). Per-diem interest (depends on closing date). Property tax escrow and homeowners insurance escrow (depends on the property and your policy). Don't waste energy negotiating these — focus where you have leverage.
The fees aren't waived; they're recovered through a higher rate or a larger loan balance. Run the break-even: at what point does the rate difference cost you more than the closing costs you "saved"? Under 5 years and no-closing-cost can win; over 10 years it almost always loses.
Worth doing everywhere except Texas and Florida, where the state sets the premium and every company charges the identical amount — there, shopping moves only the settlement and doc-prep fees. In file-and-use states the same policy can differ 30–50% between underwriters.
The seller can pay part of your closing costs, capped by program and down payment (commonly 3% under 10% down on conventional, up to 6% on FHA). It costs nothing to ask for it in the offer, and it is the largest single lever on this page.
Prepaid interest runs from funding to the first of the next month, so closing on the 28th buys a couple of days instead of nearly a month. It doesn’t save money overall — you pay it later in the loan — but it lowers the cash due at the table.
If you already hold a title policy on the home, most states discount the new one. Texas Rate Rule R-8 credits 50% when the prior policy is under four years old and 25% between four and eight. It isn’t applied automatically — you have to produce the old policy.
On a refinance, usually. On a purchase, generally not — you can take a lender credit (a higher rate in exchange for the lender covering costs) or seller concessions, but the costs themselves can’t simply be added to the loan.
Both, on different lines. The buyer carries loan costs and prepaids; the seller typically carries the commission, the owner’s policy in many markets, and whatever transfer tax local custom assigns them. All of it is negotiable in the contract.
Closing costs buy services — underwriting, title, appraisal. Prepaids and escrow aren’t fees at all: they’re your own money paid early, funding the first year of insurance and the escrow account. Toggle prepaids off above to see loan costs alone.
A Loan Estimate within three business days of applying, and the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. This page is grouped the same way as that disclosure — A, B, C, D, E, F — so you can read them side by side.
The buyer carries the loan costs — origination, underwriting, appraisal, credit report — plus the lender’s title policy, recording fees, and prepaids: the escrow account, the first year of homeowner’s insurance, and per-diem interest from funding to the first of the following month.
The seller carries the real-estate commission, and in many markets the owner’s title policy, plus their share of transfer taxes and prorated property taxes to the closing date.
What varies by market is transfer tax and the owner’s title policy, both of which are assigned by local custom rather than by law. Custom is not obligation — every line is negotiable in the purchase contract, and in a soft market buyers routinely ask sellers to cover more than custom assigns.
Seller concessions are the big lever. Programs cap them — commonly 3% with under 10% down on conventional, up to 6% on FHA — and asking costs nothing. On a $400,000 purchase a 3% concession is $12,000, which dwarfs anything you’ll save by shopping the title company.
One current change worth knowing: following the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately rather than assumed to come from the seller’s side. Whether it appears on your closing statement depends on what your representation agreement and purchase contract say, so read both rather than assuming the seller covers it.
Mostly not. Origination fees, appraisal, title insurance, recording and attorney fees aren’t deductible — they add to your cost basis in the property, which reduces capital gains if you later sell for a profit.
Three items are different. Prepaid interest (the per-diem from funding to month-end) is deductible mortgage interest in the year paid. Property taxes paid at closing are deductible, subject to the SALT cap. And discount points on a purchase are generally deductible in the year paid, while points on a refinance must be spread across the loan term.
Keep the Closing Disclosure — it’s the document your tax preparer will want, and the deductible items sit on specific lines of it. Tax treatment depends on your own situation; confirm it with a preparer rather than with a calculator.
Typically 2–5% of the loan amount for a buyer, though the range is wide because transfer taxes and title costs vary enormously by state. On a $400,000 loan that’s roughly $8,000 to $20,000, and where you fall inside it depends more on your state than on your lender.
Both, on different lines. The buyer covers loan costs and prepaids; the seller typically covers the commission and, in many markets, the owner’s title policy. Transfer taxes are assigned by local custom, and every line is negotiable in the purchase contract.
Most aren’t. Origination, appraisal, title and recording fees add to your cost basis rather than reducing taxable income. The exceptions are prepaid interest, property taxes paid at closing, and discount points — deductible in the year paid on a purchase, spread across the loan term on a refinance. Confirm your own situation with a tax preparer.
On a refinance, usually yes. On a purchase, generally not — but you can achieve a similar result with a lender credit, taking a slightly higher rate in exchange for the lender covering part of the costs, or with seller concessions negotiated into the contract.
Loan costs (origination, underwriting, appraisal, credit report), title and settlement charges, government recording fees and transfer taxes, and prepaids — the escrow account, the first year of homeowner’s insurance, and per-diem interest. Prepaids aren’t fees at all; they’re your own money paid early.
You get a Loan Estimate within three business days of applying, and the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. The Loan Estimate is an estimate with legal tolerances on certain categories; the Closing Disclosure is the final number.
Ask for seller concessions in the offer — the largest single lever, capped by program at commonly 3–6%. Then shop the title company where your state permits it, consider a lender credit if you’re cash-tight, and close near month-end to reduce prepaid interest at the table.