Closing Cost Calculator

Enter the home price and your down payment to get an itemized range for every buyer closing cost — origination, appraisal, title, escrow, recording, and prepaids — plus the cash you'll actually need at the table.

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How this estimator works

Closing costs are a bundle of unrelated fees that all come due on the same day, so this calculator itemizes them as honest ranges built from typical 2026 national figures (The Mortgage Reports, Zillow, and Fannie Mae closing-cost guides): loan origination at 0.5–1% of the loan, appraisal $500–$800, title insurance and search at 0.5–1% of the price, escrow/settlement $500–$2,000, and recording $125–$250. Closing costs vary meaningfully by state — attorney states, transfer-tax states, and high-premium title states all run higher — but we deliberately use national ranges and say so, rather than pretend to know your county. Discount points are excluded: they're an optional rate purchase, not a cost of closing.

Prepaids — the part everyone forgets — are estimated from the price using documented national assumptions: the first year of homeowners insurance at 0.3–0.6% of price, a 2-month insurance escrow cushion, a 4-month property-tax escrow at a 0.9–1.2% effective tax rate, and 15 days of prepaid interest at 6–7%. You choose the down payment (the loan is price minus down) because that's the number buyers actually know.

The formula

Closing costs = origination (0.5–1% of loan) + appraisal + title (0.5–1% of price) + escrow + recording + prepaids   ·   Cash to close = closing costs + down payment

Each item is computed at its low and high bound, the bounds are summed, and the total range is rounded outward — low down, high up — to clean $100s. The result typically lands at 2–5% of the purchase price, which is exactly the band national guides quote.

Worked example

A $400,000 home with $80,000 down (a $320,000 loan): origination $1,600–$3,200, appraisal $500–$800, title $2,000–$4,000, escrow/settlement $500–$2,000, recording $125–$250, first-year insurance $1,200–$2,400 plus a $200–$400 escrow cushion, property-tax escrow $1,200–$1,600, and prepaid interest $789–$921.

Total closing costs: $8,100 – $15,600 — about 2–3.9% of the purchase price, squarely inside the typical 2–5% band. Cash to close, with the down payment: $88,100 – $95,600.

The Loan Estimate is your power tool

Within 3 business days of a mortgage application, every lender is legally required to hand you a Loan Estimate: three standardized pages listing the rate, the payment, and every fee, in the same format from every lender in America. That standardization is the whole point — apply with two or three lenders in the same week (credit bureaus count mortgage inquiries within about 45 days as one), lay the forms side by side, and the padded fees identify themselves. Page 2 sorts fees into sections: A (the lender's own charges — compare these hardest), B (services you can't shop), and C (services you can). Three days before closing you get the matching Closing Disclosure; certain fees legally cannot rise from the estimate, and section-C totals can rise at most 10% if you used the lender's providers. Read it. It's the one document in the stack written for you.

Shoppable vs fixed: where the savings hide

The fee most worth attacking is the one most buyers never touch: title insurance is shoppable in most states, and premiums for identical coverage can differ by hundreds of dollars between title companies. Your agent will suggest one; nothing obliges you to use it. Settlement/escrow services are usually shoppable too. What's fixed: government recording fees, transfer taxes, and — once you've chosen a lender — that lender's origination charges, which is why the real shopping happens between lenders before anything else. And remember seller concessions exist: in a soft market, asking the seller to cover 2–3% of closing costs is a routine negotiating move, not an insult.

Why cash to close ambushes people

Buyers rehearse the down payment for years and meet the prepaids the week of closing. Insurance wants its whole first year up front. The escrow account opens with months of taxes and insurance as a cushion. Interest runs from closing day to month-end before your first payment even exists. None of these are fees — they're your own future bills, prepaid — but they're due in the same wire, and on a $400,000 house they can add $3,000–$6,000 to what you budgeted. The defense is simply knowing the real number: cash to close = down payment + closing costs − earnest money already deposited − any credits. Run this estimator early, then let your Loan Estimate replace it.

Frequently asked questions

How much are closing costs on a $400,000 house?

Typically about $8,000-$16,000 in 2026 — roughly 2-4% of the purchase price — including lender fees, title insurance, escrow, and prepaid taxes and insurance, per national closing-cost guides. This calculator's estimate for a $400,000 home with 20% down lands at $8,100-$15,600. High-tax states and transfer-tax states push toward the top of the band; your Loan Estimate gives the exact figure.

What is a Loan Estimate?

A standardized three-page form every lender must send you within 3 business days of your mortgage application, listing your rate, payment, and each closing cost line by line. Because the format is identical across lenders, you can lay two Loan Estimates side by side and compare fee for fee. It's the single most powerful consumer document in the mortgage process — calculators like this one exist to prepare you for it, not replace it.

Which closing costs can I shop for?

More than most buyers realize. Title insurance and settlement services — often the biggest third-party fees — are shoppable in most states, and Section C of your Loan Estimate literally lists the services you may shop for. The lender's own fees can't be shopped after you pick the lender (so compare lenders first), and appraisal and credit report fees are lender-assigned. Most buyers accept the title company their agent suggests without a single comparison call; one call can save hundreds.

Can the seller pay my closing costs?

Yes — seller concessions are negotiated in the purchase offer and are common in buyer-friendly markets. Loan rules cap them: conventional loans allow 3-9% of the price depending on your down payment, FHA allows 6%, and VA allows 4% plus payment of certain fees. A price of $405,000 with $5,000 in concessions often beats a $400,000 price with none, because the concession arrives as cash relief at closing while the difference is financed over 30 years.

Why is my cash to close higher than my closing costs?

Because cash to close is closing costs plus your entire down payment, minus your earnest-money deposit and any seller or lender credits. Buyers budget carefully for the down payment, then get surprised when the Closing Disclosure adds five figures of costs and prepaids on top. Prepaids are the usual culprit: a year of homeowners insurance, months of property-tax escrow, and interest to the end of the closing month are all due at the table, not spread into your payments.

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