St. Louis County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for St. Louis County, Missouri - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- none
- ≈ $0 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $3,982
- median of 9,845 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
St. Louis County compared with Missouri counties
In the verified Missouri county records we have, St. Louis County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 2 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $0, which is the same as the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #1 of 2
- within verified Missouri county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $0
- state baseline $0
- HMDA fee sample
- 9,845
- purchase loans in 2023
St. Louis County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in St. Louis County
Missouri levies no real estate transfer tax at any level: the state constitution (Art. X Sec. 25, 2010 Amendment 3) bars the state, counties, and political subdivisions from imposing one, so St. Louis County and its cities have none. Buyer and seller split closing/recording costs by contract; a Certificate of Value form must accompany ownership-transfer documents (informational, not a tax), and an extra $25 non-standard formatting fee applies if the document fails Missouri statutory formatting standards.
Recording fees in St. Louis County
Deed/UCC/Instrument recording: $24.00 first page, $3.00 each additional page. Non-standard formatting fee (documents not meeting Missouri statutory formatting standards): $25.00 (e.g., a 1-page non-standard doc totals $49.00). Deed copies: $2.00 first page, $1.00 each additional. Subdivision plat: $41.00 up to first 3 sq ft, $25.00 each additional 3 sq ft. Survey page (18x24): $21.00 first page, $5.00 each additional. Source: official St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds price list.
Official recorder: St. Louis County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in St. Louis County
Across 9,845 home-purchase mortgages originated in St. Louis County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $3,982, of which about $1,395 was the lender’s own origination charges. That is reported loan-level data from every lender under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act — not a national average — so it reflects what buyers in this county actually paid. Lender fees vary widely, so comparing a few rate quotes is the single biggest lever on your closing total.
Source: FFIEC HMDA Data Browser ↗ (2023 purchase originations, FIPS 29189, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your St. Louis County closing costs
Pre-set to Missouri. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in St. Louis County?
St. Louis County (Missouri): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about none. Missouri levies no real estate transfer tax at any level: the state constitution (Art. X Sec. 25, 2010 Amendment 3) bars the state, counties, and political subdivisions from imposing one, so St. Louis County and its cities have none. Buyer and seller split closing/recording costs by contract; a Certificate of Value form must accompany ownership-transfer documents (informational, not a tax), and an extra $25 non-standard formatting fee applies if the document fails Missouri statutory formatting standards.
What are recording fees in St. Louis County?
Deed/UCC/Instrument recording: $24.00 first page, $3.00 each additional page. Non-standard formatting fee (documents not meeting Missouri statutory formatting standards): $25.00 (e.g., a 1-page non-standard doc totals $49.00). Deed copies: $2.00 first page, $1.00 each additional. Subdivision plat: $41.00 up to first 3 sq ft, $25.00 each additional 3 sq ft. Survey page (18x24): $21.00 first page, $5.00 each additional. Source: official St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds price list.
How much are closing costs in St. Louis County?
Closing costs in St. Louis County follow Missouri's structure plus this county's specific transfer-tax and recording fees. Use the calculator below for an estimate; for the exact recording schedule, the county recorder is the authoritative source.
What do lenders charge in fees in St. Louis County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 9,845 home-purchase mortgages in St. Louis County were about $3,982, of which roughly $1,395 was the lender's own origination charges. This is reported loan-level data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; actual fees vary by lender, so comparing quotes matters.
Closest Missouri county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.