Closing Cost Calculator
Enter your purchase price, region, loan type, and down payment to see the full closing cost bill: loan and lender fees, title and legal, inspection and appraisal, government fees including provincial land-transfer tax, and prepaids, with first-time-buyer rebates auto-applied where your region offers them.
All figures are planning estimates built on typical mid-range fees; your lawyer, lender, or title company quotes the real numbers. Size the purchase itself with the Home Affordability Calculator, run the timeline with the financial prep guide, and track the countdown with the Home Buying Readiness Checklist.
The full cash-at-closing bill, by region and loan type
Five inputs. Results update live with the total cash due at closing, the category breakdown, the land-transfer-tax math for your region, and the first-time-buyer rebate as its own line.
$3,050 cash due at closing
On a $400,000 Ontario purchase with $80,000 down (20.0%): legal and title $1,525 + inspection and appraisal $1,050 + Ontario land-transfer tax $4,475 = $7,050 gross. The first-time-buyer rebate returns up to $4,000, bringing the cash due to about $3,050, which is 0.8% of the price. Toronto buyers pay a second municipal LTT of $4,475 on top (with its own rebate up to $4,475), and CMHC sales tax would only apply under 20% down.
How to use this calculator
Enter the accepted (or expected) purchase price, pick the region where the home sits, choose the loan type, and enter your down payment. The calculator returns the cash you need at the closing table beyond the down payment itself: loan and lender fees, title and legal work, inspection and appraisal, government fees including the land-transfer tax your region charges, and (for US purchases) the prepaid tax, insurance, and interest collected at close. If you marked yourself a first-time buyer, the rebate your region offers is applied as its own line so you can see both the gross bill and what comes back.
Every line uses a typical mid-range estimate (appraisal $550, inspection $500, legal $1,200, and so on). Real quotes vary by provider and by deal; treat the total as a budgeting number with roughly a 20% band around it, then replace it with the Loan Estimate (US) or your lawyer's statement of adjustments (Canada) once you have one.
What is actually in the bill
Closing costs are five different bills that happen to come due on the same day:
- Loan and lender fees (US-heavy). Origination at 0.5 to 1.0% of the loan, underwriting and processing ($400 to $900), and the credit report ($25 to $50). FHA adds a 1.75% upfront mortgage-insurance premium; VA adds a funding fee of about 2.15% on first use (it can be financed into the loan). Canadian lenders generally do not charge origination on standard purchases, which is why the Canadian loan-fee line here is $0.
- Title and legal. US: lender plus owner title insurance at 0.5 to 1.0% of the price and a settlement/escrow fee of $300 to $700. Canada: a real-estate lawyer or notary at $900 to $1,500 (CAD) plus title insurance at $250 to $400.
- Inspection and appraisal. Appraisal $400 to $700, home inspection $400 to $600. The inspection is optional on paper and a five-figure mistake to skip in practice.
- Government fees. US: recording fees ($50 to $200) and state transfer tax anywhere from 0% to 2.0%+ depending on the state (the model uses the rough 0.5% national average). Canada: the provincial land-transfer tax, which is the single most variable line in North American closing math; see the table below.
- Prepaids (US). Roughly one month each of property tax, homeowners insurance, and mortgage interest collected at close to seed the escrow account. Canada handles tax adjustments differently (you reimburse the seller for prepaid taxes), so this model carries the Canadian equivalent inside the legal adjustments instead.
Land-transfer tax by region
The LTT is where two identical purchases in different provinces diverge by five figures. The brackets this calculator models:
| Region | Rate structure | On a $400,000 home |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario (provincial) | 0.5% to $55,000; 1.0% to $250,000; 1.5% to $400,000; 2.0% to $2M; 2.5% above | $4,475 |
| Toronto (municipal, on top) | Identical second scale: the city doubles the provincial bill | +$4,475 = $8,950 total |
| British Columbia (PTT) | 1% to $200,000; 2% to $2M; 3% to $3M; 5% above | $6,000 |
| Quebec (welcome tax) | 0.5% to $52,800; 1.0% to $264,000; 1.5% above (Montreal adds higher top brackets) | $4,416 |
| Alberta / Saskatchewan | No land-transfer tax; registration fees of roughly $75 to $150 | About $115 |
| Atlantic Canada | NS 1.5% deed transfer; NB up to 1.0%; PEI up to 1.0%; NL up to 0.4% (model uses 1.0%) | $1,600 to $6,000 by province |
| US (state transfer tax) | 0% in some states to 2.0%+ in others; national average near 0.5% | About $2,000 at the average |
First-time-buyer rebates: what comes back
- Ontario: up to $4,000 provincial. Covers the full provincial LTT on homes up to about $368,000 and caps at $4,000 above that. Eligibility: a true first-time buyer (never owned anywhere in the world), a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you must occupy the home as your primary residence within 9 months.
- Toronto: up to $4,475 municipal, on top of the provincial rebate. A first-time Toronto buyer can recover up to $8,475 combined, which neutralizes the double-LTT problem at entry-level prices but not at the city's typical prices.
- BC: a full PTT exemption at or under $500,000. Sliding partial exemption between $500,001 and $525,000, nothing above $525,000. At Vancouver prices the exemption often does not survive contact with the market, but it is worth thousands in the rest of the province.
- Quebec: no provincial rebate. Some municipalities (including Montreal programs that come and go) offer their own; check the city, not the province.
- Atlantic provinces: varies. First-time rebates and exemptions exist in several but change frequently; confirm with your lawyer.
- US: no national closing-cost rebate. First-time-buyer help is state-level down-payment assistance (grants, forgivable seconds) through your state housing finance agency, plus negotiated seller credits.
- None of these are automatic. Your lawyer, notary, or closing agent claims them in the closing paperwork. Raise it explicitly at your first meeting; a missed rebate is recoverable after the fact in some provinces but it is paperwork you do not want.
Common mistakes
- Budgeting the down payment and nothing else. Closing costs are a second cash bill on top: 2 to 5% of the price in the US, 1.5 to 4% plus LTT in Canada. Buyers who saved exactly the down payment discover this at the worst possible moment.
- Forgetting the Toronto double. Listings inside the City of Toronto carry both the provincial and the municipal LTT. On an $900,000 home that is roughly $29,000 of transfer tax before rebates, easily the largest closing line.
- Missing the CMHC sales tax. The CMHC premium itself is financed, but its PST (8% Ontario, 9.975% Quebec) is cash at closing. On a 10%-down $400,000 Ontario purchase that is about $893 nobody told you about.
- Assuming the rebate arrives automatically. First-time-buyer rebates are claimed at closing by your lawyer or agent. Confirm it is in the paperwork before signing day.
- Not shopping the shoppable lines. Title insurance, settlement fees, and origination vary by hundreds between providers for identical coverage. The US Loan Estimate marks which services you may shop for; in Canada, lawyer quotes differ enough to be worth three phone calls.
- Treating the US state transfer tax as uniform. Some states charge nothing; others (and some cities) take 2%+. If you are comparing relocation offers across states, this line alone can swing the move-in bill by thousands.
FAQ
How much are closing costs on a house?
In the US, plan 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price: loan origination (0.5 to 1.0% of the loan), title insurance (0.5 to 1.0% of the price), appraisal ($400 to $700), settlement and escrow ($300 to $700), recording fees, state transfer tax (0 to 2.0%, national average about 0.5%), and roughly one month each of prepaid property tax, insurance, and interest. In Canada, plan 1.5 to 4 percent plus provincial land-transfer tax: legal fees ($900 to $1,500), title insurance ($250 to $400), home inspection ($400 to $600), and appraisal, with the LTT often the single largest line. On a $400,000 home, that means roughly $8,000 to $20,000 in the US and $3,000 to $16,000 in Canada depending on the province and your first-time-buyer status.
What is land transfer tax and which provinces charge it?
Land transfer tax (LTT) is a provincial tax due in cash when a property changes hands, and it varies dramatically. Ontario charges a sliding scale: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1.0% to $250,000, 1.5% to $400,000, 2.0% to $2 million, 2.5% above that, and Toronto adds an identical municipal LTT on top, doubling the bill inside the city. BC's Property Transfer Tax runs 1% on the first $200,000, 2% to $2 million, 3% to $3 million, and 5% above. Quebec's welcome tax slides from 0.5% to 1.5% (higher in Montreal). Nova Scotia charges 1.5%, New Brunswick and PEI up to 1.0%, Newfoundland up to 0.4%. Alberta and Saskatchewan charge no land transfer tax at all, only small registration fees, which makes closing in Calgary or Saskatoon thousands cheaper than the same price in Toronto or Vancouver.
What first-time-buyer rebates reduce closing costs?
Ontario refunds first-time buyers up to $4,000 of provincial LTT, and Toronto adds a municipal rebate of up to $4,475 (so a first-time Toronto buyer can recover up to $8,475 combined). BC gives a full Property Transfer Tax exemption on homes at or under $500,000, a sliding partial exemption from $500,001 to $525,000, and nothing above that. Quebec has no provincial rebate, though some municipalities offer their own programs. The rebates are NOT automatic: your lawyer or notary claims them at closing, and eligibility usually requires being a true first-time buyer, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and occupying the home as your primary residence. In the US there is no national closing-cost rebate; first-time-buyer help is state-level down-payment assistance instead.
Is CMHC insurance part of closing costs?
Mostly no, with one cash exception. When a Canadian down payment is under 20%, the CMHC default-insurance premium (2.8 to 4.0% of the loan, scaling with your down payment percentage) is added to the mortgage principal, so you finance it rather than paying it at the table. But the provincial sales tax on that premium is due in cash at closing: 8% in Ontario and 9.975% in Quebec. On a $400,000 home with 10% down, the CMHC premium is about $11,160 and the Ontario PST on it is about $893 of real closing-day cash that surprises many buyers. The financial prep guide covers the full CMHC tier table.
Can I roll closing costs into the mortgage?
Usually not on a purchase. US conventional and Canadian purchase mortgages expect closing costs in cash on top of the down payment; the main exceptions are seller credits negotiated into the offer, lender credits in exchange for a higher rate (the no-cost structure, common on refinances and covered in the refinance guide), and the VA funding fee or CMHC premium, which can be financed. Budget closing costs as a separate cash line from day one: 2 to 5% of the price in the US, 1.5 to 4% plus land-transfer tax in Canada, and keep 3 to 6 months of housing costs in reserve after closing on top of that.