Closing cost calculator

What counts as closing costs, and what is cash to close?

Closing costs are everything you pay to get the loan and complete the purchase other than the price of the home itself: the lender's charges, third-party services such as the appraisal and title work, government recording fees and transfer taxes, the first payments of interest, insurance and taxes you must make in advance, and the money that opens your escrow account. Cash to close is what you actually bring: the down payment plus the closing costs, less what is already paid or credited — your earnest money deposit, credits from the seller, and lender credits. The Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure show it in a “Calculating Cash to Close” table, and Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.37(h)) defines the parts: total closing costs, closing costs financed (as a negative), down payment and other funds from the borrower (the sale price minus the loan amount in a purchase), the deposit (negative), seller credits (negative), and adjustments and other credits. With the example numbers in the form, total closing costs are $8,052.83 and cash to close is $16,052.83.

What do sections A to J on the Loan Estimate mean?

Page 2 of the Loan Estimate is lettered. A is origination charges — what you pay the lender and loan originator, with points listed first; B is services you cannot shop for (the lender chooses the provider, such as the appraisal and credit report); C is services you can shop for (title work, survey, pest inspection); D is total loan costs, A + B + C. E is taxes and other government fees (recording fees and transfer taxes); F is prepaids (homeowner's insurance, mortgage insurance, prepaid interest, property taxes); G is the initial escrow payment at closing; H is other (such as an owner's title policy); I is total other costs, E + F + G + H; and J is total closing costs, D + I, shown with any lender credits as a negative number. This calculator follows that order. In the example, A is $1,802.00, B $672.00 and C $3,198.00, so D is $5,672.00; E is $85.00, F $866.56, G $412.27 and H $1,017.00, so I is $2,380.83 and J is $8,052.83, which is 4.47% of the $180,000 price. Those numbers are the CFPB's own sample Loan Estimate (form H-24(B)), not an average. The sample form itself shows J as $8,054 and cash to close as $16,054, because it rounds every line to whole dollars; this calculator keeps the cents, so the same entries give $8,052.83 and $16,052.83.

How is prepaid interest calculated?

Prepaid interest is the daily interest on your loan from the day you close until the period covered by your first monthly payment (CFPB, “What are prepaid interest charges?”). The daily amount is the loan amount times the interest rate divided by the number of days in the year the lender uses, and the total is that amount times the number of days. In the CFPB sample the loan is $162,000 at 3.875%, and $162,000 × 3.875% ÷ 360 is $17.44 a day; the form shows $17.44 a day for 15 days, about $262. A 365-day year would give $17.20 a day and $257.98 for the same 15 days. Lenders differ, which is why the calculator lets you pick 365 or 360 and enter the days from your estimate. Closing late in the month means fewer days of prepaid interest, and closing early means more.

What are discount points and lender credits?

The CFPB defines one point as one percent of the loan amount, so $162,000 times 0.25% is $405, the points line in the sample. Points are listed first in section A of the Loan Estimate. Lender credits work the same way in reverse: the lender pays part of your closing costs, often in exchange for a higher interest rate, and the form shows them as a negative number in the total closing costs section (J). Entering $500 of lender credits and $3,000 of seller credits in this form lowers total closing costs to $7,552.83 and cash to close to $12,552.83, from $8,052.83 and $16,052.83. Points and credits both trade money now against the rate; compare them in the mortgage points calculator, not here.

How much goes into the escrow account at closing, and what is the RESPA cushion?

If your lender collects taxes and insurance with each payment, it opens an escrow account at closing. Under Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.17(c)(1)(i)) the lender may collect enough to cover the charges due before your regular payments have built up the balance, computed so that the lowest projected month-end balance is zero, plus a cushion of no more than one-sixth of the estimated total yearly payments from the account — two months of escrow payments. The method is called aggregate analysis, and Appendix E to Part 1024 works one example: yearly bills of $1,560 and a payment of $130 a month, with the first payment due in July, need $780 at closing to keep the lowest balance at zero, plus a $260 cushion, $1,040 in all. This calculator can either multiply the months from your estimate by your monthly amounts, or compute that maximum from the months your bills are due, with a cushion from 0 to 2 months. The lender may collect less than the maximum, and its loan documents or your state may set a lower cushion.

Why can the final figures differ from the Loan Estimate?

A Loan Estimate is an estimate. Under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(e)(3), most charges may not rise above the estimate — the lender's own fees and transfer taxes among them — and the total of recording fees and the services you were allowed to shop for may rise by no more than 10 percent. Prepaid interest, property insurance premiums and escrow deposits are different: they only have to be based on the best information the lender had when it gave the estimate, so they can end up higher or lower, and your closing date and your insurance quote move them. Your Closing Disclosure shows the final numbers, and the Loan Estimate's cash to close should be compared with its “Calculating Cash to Close” table. This calculator is an estimate for planning your savings, not a substitute for either form.

What does this calculator leave out?

It adds no costs of its own: every amount, including title fees, is yours to enter, and there is deliberately no “average closing cost” because costs vary by state, county, loan type and lender. The numbers in the form are the CFPB sample, shown as an example, not as typical figures. A loan program's own fees — an FHA or USDA upfront premium, a VA funding fee — are entered by you, in the lines where they belong (see the FHA loan calculator), and whether they are financed into the loan is your choice in the “closing costs financed” line. Rules that limit how much a seller may contribute, state-specific taxes, the cost of owning a home after the first payment, and the choice between paying points or taking a credit are outside the page. It also leaves out moving costs, repairs, and the reserves lenders may require.

An estimate for planning only — not financial or legal advice, and not a loan offer. Your lender's Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure decide the figures. Sources, read October 27, 2026: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.37 (Loan Estimate, paragraphs (f), (g) and (h)), § 1026.38 (Closing Disclosure) and § 1026.19(e)(3) (tolerances); Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.17 (escrow accounts, with Appendix E); the CFPB's sample Loan Estimate, form H-24(B) (February 7, 2014); and the CFPB's Ask CFPB pages What are prepaid interest charges? and How should I use lender credits and points?. Related: the mortgage calculator, down payment calculator, FHA loan calculator, PMI calculator and home affordability calculator. How we check our calculators.