Texas buyer closing-cost calculator, from itemized charges to the cash still due.
Separate Loan Costs, Other Costs, prepaids, and initial escrow, then account for the deposit, lender and seller credits, financed costs, and adjustments without hiding the signs.
Total Closing Costs equal Loan Costs plus Other Costs minus lender credits. Cash to close then accounts for the down payment or other funds, financed costs, the earnest-money deposit, seller and other credits, and adjustments. Texas does not add a statewide transfer tax to a fee-simple conveyance.
Add Loan Costs and Other Costs, then subtract lender credits. The down payment stays outside this total.
Add closing costs and down payment or funds, then subtract financed costs, deposits, and credits before adjustments.
The deposit was already paid under the contract, so it reduces the cash still due at closing.
Origination percentages and discount points use the loan amount, not the sale price.
Prepaid interest and insurance are separate from the initial escrow deposits collected for future bills.
Do not invent a statewide transfer-tax charge. Recording, title, and settlement charges can still apply.
Separate the charges first. Then calculate the cash still due.
Build an itemized estimate or follow the Closing Disclosure summary sequence.
The contract price before the down payment.
Loan amount = sale price minus down payment.
Enter only the amount assigned to the buyer by the question or disclosure.
Credit report, flood determination, tax service, and similar stated charges.
Use the amount supplied by the question or disclosure.
Use only buyer-paid amounts supplied by the question or disclosure.
Already paid by the buyer, so it reduces cash still due.
Shown as a negative amount within Total Closing Costs.
Other credits or amounts already paid that are not the earnest-money deposit. Do not count an item twice.
Amounts the buyer owes, such as reimbursing a seller-paid item.
Amounts credited to the buyer, such as the seller share of an unpaid item.
$300,000.00 price - $60,000.00 down = $240,000.00 loan. Percentage loan charges use that amount.
$4,150.00 Loan Costs + $4,450.00 Other Costs - $0.00 lender credits = $8,600.00 Total Closing Costs.
The $5,000.00 deposit, $0.00 seller credit, and $0.00 other credits reduce the cash still due.
No statewide transfer tax is added. Recording, title, and settlement charges remain separate entered amounts.
Money is rounded to cents. Negative Total Closing Costs or cash to the buyer can signal unusually large credits and should be checked against the actual disclosure and program limits.
Email the closing-cost proof.
Keep the loan base, cost categories, credits, adjustments, and final cash position together.
Try five buyer closing-cost traps without the calculator.
A $250,000 purchase has 10% down and $7,400 in closing costs. There are no deposits or credits. What is cash to close?
Where do buyer closing-cost questions go wrong?
The arithmetic is short. The misses come from using the wrong total, base, category, or sign. Work through these checks before adding the columns.
Which total does the question ask for?
Total Closing Costs exclude the down payment. Cash to close includes the down payment or other funds from the buyer and then accounts for financed costs, deposits, credits, and adjustments.
What is the percentage base?
Origination charges and discount points use the loan amount. When the problem starts with a sale price and down payment, find the loan before applying either percentage.
Has the buyer already paid or received anything?
An earnest-money deposit is already paid and reduces cash still due. Seller credits, lender credits, and other credits also reduce the applicable total, but lender credits sit inside Total Closing Costs.
Is the item prepaid or held in escrow?
Prepaids can include interest through the end of the closing month and an upfront homeowners-insurance premium. Initial escrow is a separate reserve for future tax and insurance payments.
Did the question give an adjustment or proration?
A buyer debit increases the amount due. A buyer credit reduces it. Use the stated 360-day or 365-day proration convention and closing-day ownership rule when the exam supplies them.
Should a Texas transfer tax be added?
No statewide transfer tax should be invented for a Texas fee-simple conveyance. Keep recording, title, settlement, and any tax-related amounts expressly given in the problem separate.
Six buyer closing-cost patterns worth knowing cold.
These connect exam math to the structure students will see on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
$250,000 price, 10% down, $7,400 costs
This assumes no deposit, credit, financing of costs, or adjustment.
$400,000 price, 20% down, 1.5 points
Applying 1.5% to the purchase price would overstate the charge.
$30,000 down, $9,000 costs, $5,000 deposit, $3,000 credit
The deposit and seller credit reduce the remaining cash due.
$6,000 Loan Costs, $4,000 Other Costs, $1,500 lender credit
A lender credit is shown as a negative amount within Total Closing Costs.
$6,600 annual tax, 3 months collected
Divide the annual amount by 12 before multiplying by reserve months.
$700 buyer credit and $300 buyer debit
The net credit reduces cash from the buyer by $400.
Seven buyer-cost mistakes that change the answer.
Label each amount before doing arithmetic. The same dollar can be a cost, prior payment, credit, or adjustment depending on the facts.
Adding a transfer or documentary stamp tax
Texas does not impose a statewide transfer tax on a fee-simple conveyance. Do not import another state's rate into the problem.
Counting the down payment as a closing cost
The down payment belongs in cash to close but not in Total Closing Costs. Report the total the question actually requests.
Basing points on the sale price
Origination and discount points are a percent of the loan amount. Compute the loan first.
Forgetting the earnest-money deposit
The buyer already paid the deposit. Failing to subtract it overstates the cash still required at closing.
Adding seller or lender credits
Credits reduce an applicable total. Lender credits reduce Total Closing Costs, while seller and other credits reduce cash to close.
Treating prepaids and initial escrow as one item
The Closing Disclosure separates prepaid interest and premiums from the initial escrow deposits held for future bills.
Inventing a fee or reserve period
Title, recording, insurance, interest, and escrow amounts vary. Use the number supplied by the question or actual disclosure.
Connect buyer costs to the rest of settlement math.
Pair cash to close with the seller side, prorations, loan amount, and a mixed closing statement.
How do you calculate a buyer's cash to close?+
For a standard purchase, begin with Total Closing Costs, subtract closing costs financed, add the down payment or funds from the buyer, subtract the deposit, seller credits, and other credits, then apply buyer debit and credit adjustments. The actual Closing Disclosure controls.
What is included in Total Closing Costs?+
The Closing Disclosure adds Loan Costs and Other Costs, then subtracts lender credits. The down payment is excluded. Loan Costs include origination and required loan services. Other Costs include government charges, prepaids, initial escrow, and other listed transaction costs.
Does Texas have a real estate transfer tax?+
Texas does not impose a statewide transfer tax on a transaction conveying fee-simple title. This does not eliminate recording fees, title-insurance charges, settlement fees, or other amounts expressly assigned to the buyer.
Are discount points based on the price or the loan?+
Origination and discount points are a percent of the loan amount, not the sale price. One point equals 1% of the loan. Compute the loan first (price minus down payment), then apply the point percentages.
How does earnest money affect cash to close?+
The earnest-money deposit was already paid under the purchase agreement and is shown as a credit in the cash-to-close calculation. It reduces the amount the buyer still needs to bring.
What is the difference between seller credits and lender credits?+
A lender credit appears as a negative amount within Total Closing Costs. A general seller credit appears in the cash-to-close calculation and reduces cash from the buyer. Seller-paid specific fees can instead appear in the seller-paid column for those line items.
Are prepaids the same as initial escrow?+
No. Prepaids can include interest through the end of the month and an upfront homeowners-insurance premium. Initial escrow establishes a reserve account for future tax and insurance bills. They are separate Other Cost categories.
Can the Closing Disclosure show cash to the buyer?+
Yes, some transactions can show cash to the borrower rather than cash from the borrower. A purchase result driven by unusually large credits should be checked against the actual disclosure, loan-program rules, and applicable credit limits.
Is this buyer closing-cost calculator for a real purchase?+
It is an educational estimator, not a lender or title quote. A real purchase must use the lender's Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, the title company's charges, the contract's payment allocations, county recording fees, and the settlement agent's adjustments.
A $300,000 purchase has 10% down, $8,500 in Total Closing Costs, a $5,000 deposit, and a $2,000 seller credit. What is cash from the buyer?
Down payment: $300,000 x 10% = $30,000. Cash from buyer: $30,000 + $8,500 - $5,000 - $2,000 = $31,500. The deposit and seller credit both reduce the cash still due.