Closing costs in VirginiaA calculator for Northern Virginia sellers and buyers, 2026
Type your price. You get the Virginia taxes and the title and settlement costs, line by line, for selling or buying.
Know your closing costs first· Chantilly, Fairfax County
Numbers: Virginia Code and filed title rates. Pictures: artist’s renderings of real places.
The calculator
Your closing costs, in ten seconds.
Pick selling or buying and type the price. The Virginia taxes and the title and settlement costs appear line by line.
Updated October 25, 2026Rates: Virginia Code, 2026; title rates July 1, 2025A 10-second calculator, plus a 4-minute read
Quick answer
In Northern Virginia, a seller’s closing costs, leaving out the mortgage payoff and brokerage costs, come to about 0.4% to 0.5% of the price. Virginia’s grantor tax and two regional fees take 0.30%; settlement fees add about $1,000 to $1,200.1,2,5 A buyer pays more: about 1.1% to 1.3% of the price before the lender’s fees, mostly recordation tax (one-third of 1% of the price, plus one-third of 1% of the loan) and title insurance.3,4 On an $800,000 home with 20% down: about $3,560 for the seller and $10,153 for the buyer, before the buyer’s lender costs. Type your price below.
Virginia closing costs, in six numbers
The taxes are set by state law; the dollar amounts are for an $800,000 home
Estimates for a typical Northern Virginia sale. Your settlement company’s Closing Disclosure has the final figures.
Who pays what
The seller pays 0.30%. The buyer pays the recordation tax.
Virginia law and local custom split the closing taxes the same way in every Northern Virginia county and city.
| Cost | Seller | Buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia grantor tax10.10% of the price | ✓ | |
| Regional congestion relief fee20.10% of the price | ✓ | |
| Regional transportation fee20.10% of the price | ✓ | |
| Deed preparation5flat fee | ✓ | |
| Mortgage payoff and release5per loan | ✓ | |
| State recordation tax, deed30.25% of the price | ✓ | |
| Local recordation tax, deed3one-third of the state tax | ✓ | |
| Recordation tax on the loan30.25% + one-third, on the loan | ✓ | |
| Lender’s title policy4set rate | ✓ | |
| Owner’s title policy4set rate, optional | ✓ | |
| Settlement fee5flat fee | ✓ | ✓ |
Virginia splits its closing taxes in a simple way. The seller pays the grantor tax and the two Northern Virginia regional fees, 0.30% of the price together. The buyer pays the recordation tax: 25 cents per $100 to the state, plus one-third of that to the county or city, on the deed, and the same again on the loan.1,2,3
Everything else is set by the settlement company and the title insurer. Each side pays its own settlement fee; the buyer pays for the title policies. A sales contract can shift any of these, for example when a seller agrees to pay part of the buyer’s costs.
By price
What closing costs come to, from $600,000 to $2 million.
The same arithmetic as the calculator, at five prices.
| Price | Seller | Buyer, 20% down |
|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | $2,9600.49% | $8,0531.34% |
| $800,000 | $3,5600.45% | $10,1531.27% |
| $1,000,000 | $4,1600.42% | $12,2531.23% |
| $1,500,000 | $5,6600.38% | $16,7481.12% |
| $2,000,000 | $7,1600.36% | $21,2431.06% |
The seller’s share stays under half of one percent at every price, because most of it is the 0.30% in Virginia taxes and the rest is flat fees. The buyer’s share is larger, and it falls slowly as a share of the price because title insurance is charged at lower rates above $500,000 and $1 million.4
Paying cash cuts the buyer’s bill: no recordation tax on a loan and no lender’s policy, so about $7,707 instead of $10,153 on an $800,000 home. A VA or FHA buyer with a small down payment pays a little more, since the loan, and its recordation tax, is larger.
Closing day is when timing, price and condition pay off. Timing is a decision, not a coincidence: know these numbers before you sign the contract, not at the closing table.
Questions
What sellers and buyers ask about closing costs.
How much are seller closing costs in Virginia?
Leaving out the mortgage payoff and brokerage costs, a Northern Virginia seller pays about 0.4% to 0.5% of the price: 0.30% in grantor tax and regional fees, plus about $1,000 to $1,200 in settlement, deed and payoff fees. On an $800,000 sale with one mortgage, that is about $3,560. Tax and HOA days are split with the buyer at closing on top of that.
What is the Virginia grantor tax, and who pays it?
It is a state tax of 50 cents for each $500 of the price (0.10%), paid by the seller unless the contract says the buyer pays. In Northern Virginia two regional fees of 0.10% each come with it, so a seller pays 0.30% in all: $2,400 on an $800,000 sale.
How much are closing costs for a buyer in Virginia?
Before the lender's fees, a Northern Virginia buyer with 20% down pays about 1.1% to 1.3% of the price in recordation tax, title insurance and settlement fees: about $10,153 on an $800,000 home. Lender fees, prepaid interest, insurance and the escrow deposit come on top, and your Loan Estimate lists them.
What is the Virginia recordation tax?
The tax for recording the deed and the loan in the land records: 25 cents per $100 to the state and one-third of that to the county or city, so about 0.33% of the price on the deed and 0.33% of the loan amount on the deed of trust. The buyer pays it.
Who pays closing costs in Virginia?
Both sides pay some. The seller pays the grantor tax, the regional fees, the deed and the payoff of their loan. The buyer pays the recordation tax, the title policies and the lender's costs. Each pays its own settlement fee. The contract can move costs, for example a seller credit toward the buyer's costs.
Can the seller pay closing costs on a VA loan?
Yes. The seller can pay the buyer's normal closing costs, and separately up to 4% of the home's reasonable value in concessions, such as the VA funding fee or prepaid taxes and insurance. The normal closing costs do not count toward the 4%. The lender confirms what is allowed on each loan.
Are there closing costs if I pay cash?
Yes, but less. A cash buyer still pays the recordation tax on the deed, the settlement and title fees, and usually an owner's title policy. There is no recordation tax on a loan, no lender's policy and no lender fees.
Are any transfers exempt from the grantor or recordation tax?
Some are, under Va. Code 58.1-811: for example a deed of gift with no money paid, a transfer under a divorce decree, or a transfer into your own revocable trust. Your settlement attorney confirms whether yours qualifies.
Does this calculator save what I type?
No. It runs in your browser, and nothing is stored or sent unless you choose to text Ahmed your numbers.
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