Real estate & rental
Buyer Closing Cost Calculator
Totals a buyer's closing costs, where the lender's estimate is the document to check against.
Result
Who pays which closing cost is set by state law and local custom, not by a national rule, so the split here is whatever you enter. Your loan estimate and closing disclosure are the authoritative figures for an actual transaction; this is for working out roughly what to have ready. The prepaid group is worth separating from the rest, because it is not a cost of buying: prepaid interest, the first year of insurance and the tax escrow deposit are your own future expenses collected early. The fee groups are the real transaction cost, and those are what a lender credit or a seller concession can offset.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Lender charges for origination and underwriting, third-party services including appraisal, title search and settlement, prepaid items such as interest to month end and the first insurance premium, escrow deposits for taxes and insurance, and recording and transfer charges where the buyer pays them. Prepaids and escrows are not fees; they are money for costs you would owe anyway, paid early.
What moves the number
- Loan amount and the lender's charges.
- Prepaid interest, which depends on the closing date.
- Escrow deposits, which depend on when taxes are due.
- Who pays transfer taxes, which varies by locality and agreement.
Where this one goes wrong
Separate genuine fees from prepaids and escrows before comparing two loan offers, because a quote that looks higher may simply be collecting more escrow for taxes due next month, which is not a cost at all. The federally required loan estimate and closing disclosure are designed for exactly this comparison, and the rules limit how much certain charges may increase between them, so reading the two against each other is worth the time it takes.
Before you quote
- Separate fees from prepaids and escrows before comparing offers.
- Compare the closing disclosure against the loan estimate.
- Confirm who pays transfer taxes in your locality and contract.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Why do closing cost quotes differ so much?
Often because of prepaids and escrows rather than fees. A quote collecting more escrow for taxes due soon looks higher without costing more, which is why separating genuine fees from money held for costs you owe anyway is the first step in comparing offers.
Can closing costs change before closing?
Some can and some are limited. The loan estimate and closing disclosure exist for this comparison, and the rules restrict how much certain charges may increase between them. Reading the two against each other is the way to catch a change that should not have happened.
Who pays transfer taxes?
It depends on the locality's custom and on what the contract says, and it varies widely. It is one of the larger line items in some jurisdictions, so confirming it rather than assuming is worth doing before the figures are set.
The formula
cash to close = down payment + lender fees + title and escrow + recording and transfer tax + prepaid interest + insurance + tax escrow
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How to use this calculator
- Purchase price ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $380,000.
- Down payment (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 10%.
- Loan origination and points (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1%.
- Appraisal, credit and underwriting ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,250.
- Title insurance, search and escrow ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $2,400.
- Recording fees and transfer tax (%). Varies by state and county. Some states charge the seller instead.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to cash you need at closing, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $380,000 |
| Down payment | 10% |
| Loan origination and points | 1% |
| Appraisal, credit and underwriting | $1,250 |
| Title insurance, search and escrow | $2,400 |
| Recording fees and transfer tax | 0.5% |
| Mortgage rate | 6.5% |
| Days of prepaid interest | 15 |
| Annual homeowners insurance | $1,800 |
| Annual property tax | $4,200 |
| Months of tax held in escrow | 4 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Cash you need at closing main result | $51,084 |
| Total closing costs | $13,084 |
| Down payment | $38,000 |
| Lender fees | $4,670 |
| Title and escrow | $2,400 |
| Recording and transfer tax | $1,900 |
| Prepaid items and escrow deposits | $4,114 |
| Loan amount | $342,000 |
| Closing costs as a share of price | 3.4% |
You need $51,084 at closing: $38,000 of down payment plus $13,084 of closing costs, which is 3.4% of the price. Of that, $4,114 is prepaid items and escrow deposits rather than fees, so it is money you would have paid anyway just earlier.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only purchase price, this is what happens to cash you need at closing. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Purchase price ($) | Cash you need at closing |
|---|---|
| $190,000 | $28,967 |
| $285,000 | $40,025 |
| $380,000 example above | $51,084 |
| $570,000 | $73,200 |
| $760,000 | $95,317 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Purchase price ($)
- A money amount, starting at $380,000.
- Down payment (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 10%.
- Loan origination and points (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 10, starting at 1%.
- Appraisal, credit and underwriting ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,250.
- Title insurance, search and escrow ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,400.
- Recording fees and transfer tax (%)
- Varies by state and county. Some states charge the seller instead.
- Mortgage rate (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 20, starting at 6.5%.
- Days of prepaid interest
- Interest from closing to the end of that month.
- Annual homeowners insurance ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,800.
- Annual property tax ($)
- A money amount, starting at $4,200.
- Months of tax held in escrow
- A number, between 0 and 14, starting at 4.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cash you need at closing | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Total closing costs | A money figure. |
| Down payment | A money figure. |
| Lender fees | A money figure. |
| Title and escrow | A money figure. |
| Recording and transfer tax | A money figure. |
| Prepaid items and escrow deposits | A money figure. |
| Loan amount | A money figure. |
| Closing costs as a share of price | A percentage. |
What is not in this number
Property figures here exclude the costs that decide whether a deal works: vacancy, maintenance, management, capital expenditure and the transaction costs at both ends. A return that looks strong before those frequently does not survive them.
Keep going
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