Closing Costs Calculator
"Closing costs" is really two things wearing one name. Some is fees - money that is gone. The rest is your own money going into an account to pay your future tax and insurance bills. Adding them together makes buying look worse than it is, and hides what you can argue about.
Cash you need on the day
-
- Fees - gone for good
- $0
- Prepaid and escrow - still yours
- $0
- Your deposit
- $0
- Seller credit
- $0
- Fees as a share of the price
- 0%
What the cash on the day is made of
The green block is your deposit and it stays yours. The orange is fees and it does not come back.
Move it and watch
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at {v} for purchase price
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Where pushing back is worth it
Not all of this is fixed. Knowing which parts move is the difference between accepting a number and shaving real money off it.
| What it is | Amount | Can you move it? |
|---|
Closing costs: real examples
Three things buyers get wrong about the closing table. Click any card to load it.
- Fees vs your own money
A $400,000 purchase, 20% down
The closing statement shows one big number. It is really two.
Fees are $9,350. Another $4,389 is prepaid interest and escrow - that money is still yours. Cash to close is $93,739.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Timing your closing
Closing on the 1st vs the 28th
Same house, same loan, different day of the month.
Prepaid interest is charged per day. Closing near the end of the month cuts it to almost nothing. the easiest saving available to you.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Getting the seller to help
A $5,000 seller credit
Negotiated on a house that has been sitting a while.
Your cash to close drops by exactly $5,000. The lender still charges the same fees - the credit changes who pays them, not what they are.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about closing costs
What are closing costs?
Everything you hand over on the day you buy, on top of your deposit. But it is really two different things wearing one name. Some of it is fees - money that is gone. The rest is your own money going into an account to pay your future tax and insurance bills. Most calculators add them together, which makes buying look more expensive than it is and hides which parts you can argue about.
How much are closing costs, usually?
It depends heavily on your price, your state and your lender, which is why this asks for each item rather than guessing. The tool shows your fees as a share of the price so you can sanity-check any estimate you are given. If a number looks far off, that is a question worth asking.
Which of these can I actually argue about?
More than people think. Lender fees like origination and points are often negotiable. Title, survey, inspection and attorney services you can usually shop around for. What you cannot change is government charges - recording fees and transfer tax. The tool separates them so you know where pushing is worth it.
What is escrow, and why is it not a fee?
Your lender collects your property tax and insurance in monthly instalments and pays those bills for you. At closing they ask for a few months up front so the account is never empty. That money is still yours - it pays your bills later. Counting it as a cost of buying is simply wrong.
What is prepaid interest?
Interest for the days between your closing day and the end of that month, because your first proper payment does not arrive until the month after. Close near the end of the month and you pay only a few days of it. It is one of the few closing costs you can shrink just by choosing your date.
Can the seller pay some of this?
Often, yes. It is called a seller credit and it is negotiable, especially when a house has been sitting. It does not change what the lender charges - it changes who pays. Put a figure in and you will see your cash to close drop by exactly that amount.