TALLIVOClosing Cost Calculator
Put in the figures from your Loan Estimate and see what you actually need at closing — and, more usefully, which of those fees you have any power over.
$2,400 of this is services you may choose yourself — the only part you can directly shop. Everything else needs a different lender or is set by your county.
Closing costs split into three groups with completely different leverage: lender charges, third-party services — only some of which you may choose — and taxes, prepaids and escrow, which are fixed or are simply your own expenses paid early.
On one illustrative set of figures, a $400,000 purchase has $12,400 of closing costs (3.1% of the price) and $52,400 of cash to close — of which only $2,400 is services you can shop for. Those are example inputs rather than national averages — this calculator asks for your own Loan Estimate instead of guessing a typical fee.
Why we do not guess your fees
Most closing-cost calculators multiply your purchase price by an assumed percentage. That assumption is the single least reliable number involved: transfer taxes alone range from nothing to several percent depending on the state and county, and lender charges vary by lender, loan type and credit profile. An average across all of that tells you almost nothing about your own deal.
Your lender must give you a Loan Estimate within three business days of your application, with the real figures itemised. This calculator takes those numbers and does the part that is genuinely hard: sorting them by how much control you have.
The only group you can directly shop
Lender charges — origination, underwriting, points — are not negotiated line by line. What you can do is take a different lender's entire offer, which is the real reason to collect more than one Loan Estimate.
Third-party services split in two. The ones the lender selects — the appraisal, credit report, flood certification — are fixed for you. The ones you may select — title insurance, the settlement or closing fee, the survey, pest inspection — are the only line items you can directly shop, and the difference between providers is often substantial. Ask for the list of providers; you are not obliged to use the recommended one.
Taxes and government fees are set by your county or state. Nobody is negotiating those.
Prepaids make lender offers look different than they are
Prepaid interest, the first year of homeowner's insurance and the initial escrow deposit all appear in the closing-cost total, but they are not fees at all — they are your own future expenses collected early. Two lenders can quote very different totals purely because one set up a larger escrow reserve.
So when comparing offers, compare on costs excluding prepaids and escrow. The calculator shows that figure separately for exactly this reason. See also the discount points calculator if one of the offers includes points, and the mortgage calculator for the payment itself.
Common questions
Which closing costs can I actually negotiate?
Why does this calculator not estimate typical fees for me?
How much are closing costs as a percentage of the price?
Are prepaids and escrow really closing costs?
What is cash to close?
Can the seller pay my closing costs?
How we calculate this
Every figure is yours. We total the groups, subtract lender credits and seller concessions, add the down payment for cash to close, and report the shoppable subtotal and a comparison basis that excludes prepaids and escrow.
This calculator contains no assumed fee amounts. We do not publish a "typical closing costs are X%" figure, because the honest version of that number is too wide to be useful and we would be inventing the one thing you came for. The values pre-loaded above are illustrative inputs to show the shape of the calculation — replace them.
Totals only what you enter. Your Closing Disclosure, issued three business days before closing, is the authoritative figure. Not financial advice.