Mortgages

Closing Cost Calculator

Closing costs run 2–5% of the loan and land as a lump sum the week you buy. They split three ways: lender charges you can shop, third-party services you mostly cannot, and prepaids — property tax and insurance paid early, which is your own money rather than a fee.

Formula shown below · Tested against worked examplesHow we verify

Home price

Down payment

Mortgage rate

Discount points

Optional prepaid interest to buy down the rate.

Origination fee

Other lender fees

Appraisal, credit report, underwriting.

Title and settlement

Title insurance plus the closing agent, as a share of price.

Recording and other fees

Days of prepaid interest

Interest from closing to month-end.

Annual property tax

Months of tax escrowed

Annual home insurance

Months of insurance escrowed

Estimated closing costs

$11,755

3.7% of the loan — the usual range is 2 to 5%.

The prepaids are not really a cost — that money funds your escrow account and pays your own tax and insurance. When comparing lenders, focus on the lender charges, since those are the fees you actually control.

Total cash to close: $91,755
Lender charges: $4,700
Third-party services: $3,200
Prepaids and escrows: $3,855
Discount points: $0
Prepaid interest: $855

Where the money goes

Item	Amount
Discount points	$0
Origination	$3,200
Other lender fees	$1,500
Title and settlement	$2,000
Recording and other	$1,200
Prepaid interest	$855
Property tax escrow	$1,200
Insurance escrow	$1,800

Compare scenariosTry three values of one input

Vary

Closing Cost Calculator results for three values of Home price
Home price
Estimated closing costs	$11,048	$11,755+$707	$12,462+$1,414
Total cash to close	$91,048	$91,755+$707	$92,462+$1,414
Lender charges	$4,300	$4,700+$400	$5,100+$800
Third-party services	$3,000	$3,200+$200	$3,400+$400
Prepaids and escrows	$3,748	$3,855+$107	$3,962+$214
Prepaid interest	$748	$855+$107	$962+$214

Every other input stays at the value you set above — currently $400,000 for home price. Differences are measured against the first column.

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How this calculator works

Points and origination are percentages of the loan; title is a percentage of the price. Prepaid interest is loan × rate ÷ 365 × days from closing to month-end. Tax and insurance escrows are the annual figure ÷ 12 × the months collected. Cash to close adds the down payment to the total.

Figures are estimates — actual fees come from the Loan Estimate your lender must provide within three business days of applying, and the Closing Disclosure three days before closing. Transfer taxes, HOA transfer fees, and owner's versus lender's title policies vary widely by state and are folded into the flat fields here rather than itemised.

Formula

Total = Lender fees + Points + Third-party fees + Prepaid escrow

Commonly 2–5% of the purchase price

Points: Each point is 1% of the loan, buying a lower rate
Prepaid escrow: First instalments of property tax and insurance

Prepaid escrow is not a fee — it is your own money placed in advance — but it is cash you must have on the day, which is what matters when you are counting what to bring to closing.

What this assumes

Estimates based on typical percentages. Actual costs vary by lender, state, and even by county recording fees.
Prepaid items — the first instalments of property tax and insurance placed into escrow — are included, which is why the total exceeds pure lender fees.
Seller concessions and lender credits are not applied unless entered; both are negotiable and both are capped by loan programme.

What changes this number

Loan programme: Caps on seller concessions differ, and FHA adds an upfront mortgage insurance premium that conventional loans do not.
Discount points: The largest single line you control. Worth it only if you hold the loan past the break-even, which is usually years away.
Location: Title, transfer taxes and recording fees vary enormously by state, and are the reason two identical purchases can differ by thousands.

A worked example

Take the $400k home, 20% down scenario. These figures are produced by the calculator above, not written alongside it, so they always match what the tool returns.

What you enter

Home price: $400,000
Down payment: $80,000
Origination fee: 1%

What it returns

Estimated closing costs: $11,755
Total cash to close: $91,755
Lender charges: $4,700
Third-party services: $3,200
Prepaids and escrows: $3,855

Sources

This calculator uses no external data — the result follows entirely from the formula above and the values you enter, so there is nothing to cite beyond the arithmetic.

Calculator last reviewed August 9, 2026. How we verify

Try an example

$400k home, 20% down Buying two points Low down payment

Frequently asked questions

How much are closing costs?

Typically 2–5% of the loan amount, so $6,000–$15,000 on a $300,000 loan. The spread depends mostly on points, the origination fee, and how much property tax and insurance the lender requires you to prepay into escrow at closing.

Which closing costs can I negotiate?

Lender charges — origination, underwriting, processing — are negotiable and worth shopping between lenders. Third-party services like title insurance and recording are largely fixed. Prepaids are not fees at all; they fund your own escrow, so there is nothing to negotiate there.

Can I roll closing costs into the loan?

Sometimes, through lender credits in exchange for a slightly higher rate, or by adding them to the balance on a refinance. On a purchase you usually pay them in cash. Financing them spreads the cost across the loan and adds interest, which is worth it only when cash is tight.

What are prepaid items?

Property tax, homeowners insurance, and interest from closing to the end of the month, collected upfront. The tax and insurance go into an escrow account the lender manages on your behalf. It feels like a cost because it is due at closing, but it is your money paying your bills.

Do points count as closing costs?

They appear on the closing statement, but a point is prepaid interest that buys a lower rate, not a fee for the transaction. Whether points are worth it is a separate break-even question — see our mortgage points calculator.

This calculator helps answer

Can I afford this house?

Work out what a home actually costs you each month — payment, taxes, insurance, PMI — and whether a lender would approve it. Four calculators, in the order they matter.

Should I rent or buy?

Compare the full cost of owning against renting over your actual time horizon, including the costs of buying and selling that make short stays expensive.