Closing Costs Calculator

How to use this calculator

Enter the home price you're buying and the down payment you plan to put down — the difference is your loan amount, which several fees are based on. Open Advanced to fine-tune your lender's origination charge and any discount points you're paying to buy down the rate. As you move the sliders, the estimate updates instantly, showing your total closing costs and the full cash you'll need to bring to closing.

How this is calculated

Closing costs split into two buckets. Lender and service fees include origination (a percentage of your loan), optional discount points, a fixed appraisal and underwriting charge, owner's title insurance (estimated at 0.5% of the price), and recording fees. Prepaids and escrow cover money set aside up front for property taxes and homeowners insurance — here we estimate roughly six months of an annual tax-and-insurance figure plus a small flat amount. Your cash to close adds your down payment on top of every fee.

This is a rough estimate for planning only, not a quote — actual figures vary by state, county, lender, and loan type.

A worked example

Say you're buying a $400,000 home with $80,000 down, so your loan is $320,000. With a 0.75% origination fee that's $2,400; no discount points; a $600 appraisal; $1,200 underwriting; title insurance of about $2,000 (0.5% of price); $250 recording; and prepaids of roughly $2,700. Add it up and your closing costs land near $9,150 — about 2.3% of the price. Because you also bring the $80,000 down payment, your total cash to close is around $89,150. That's the number to have ready in cleared funds before signing.

Ways to reduce what you pay

• Negotiate seller concessions — in a buyer's market a seller may agree to cover part of your closing costs.
• Shop your lender — origination and processing fees vary widely, so compare Loan Estimates side by side.
• Skip discount points if you won't keep the loan long enough to recoup the upfront cost.
• Compare title companies — in many states you can choose your own and the price differs.

Closing costs vs. your down payment

It's easy to budget for the down payment and forget that closing costs sit on top of it. As a rule of thumb, buyers pay roughly 2% to 5% of the purchase price in closing costs. On a typical home that can be several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, so build it into your savings plan early. To see how the price and down payment shape your monthly payment too, try our mortgage calculator.