Durham County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for Durham County, North Carolina - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- 0.2%
- ≈ $800 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $4,777
- median of 3,513 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
Durham County compared with North Carolina counties
In the verified North Carolina county records we have, Durham County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 8 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $800, which is the same as the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #1 of 8
- within verified North Carolina county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $800
- state baseline $800
- HMDA fee sample
- 3,513
- purchase loans in 2023
Durham County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in Durham County
Durham County levies NO county-level transfer/land transfer tax. North Carolina has a statewide real-estate excise (transfer) tax of $1.00 per $500 of consideration (0.2%), customarily paid by the seller, collected by the Register of Deeds at recording. Only 7 NC coastal counties (Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Washington) are authorized to add a local land transfer tax of up to 1%; Durham is not among them. No NC municipality (including the City of Durham) levies its own real-estate transfer tax.
Recording fees in Durham County
Deed: $26.00 for first 15 pages, $4.00 each additional page. Deed of Trust/Mortgage: $64.00 for first 35 pages, $4.00 each additional page. Non-standard document fee: +$25.00. Multiple instruments as one: $10 each additional. Excise tax stamps collected at recording: $1.00 per $500 (or fraction) of consideration. Certified copies: $5 first page, $2 each additional. Source: official Durham County Register of Deeds fee schedule (dconc.gov).
Official recorder: Durham County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in Durham County
Across 3,513 home-purchase mortgages originated in Durham County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $4,777, of which about $2,500 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 37063, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your Durham County closing costs
Pre-set to North Carolina. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in Durham County?
Durham County (North Carolina): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0.2%. Durham County levies NO county-level transfer/land transfer tax. North Carolina has a statewide real-estate excise (transfer) tax of $1.00 per $500 of consideration (0.2%), customarily paid by the seller, collected by the Register of Deeds at recording. Only 7 NC coastal counties (Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Washington) are authorized to add a local land transfer tax of up to 1%; Durham is not among them. No NC municipality (including the City of Durham) levies its own real-estate transfer tax.
What are recording fees in Durham County?
Deed: $26.00 for first 15 pages, $4.00 each additional page. Deed of Trust/Mortgage: $64.00 for first 35 pages, $4.00 each additional page. Non-standard document fee: +$25.00. Multiple instruments as one: $10 each additional. Excise tax stamps collected at recording: $1.00 per $500 (or fraction) of consideration. Certified copies: $5 first page, $2 each additional. Source: official Durham County Register of Deeds fee schedule (dconc.gov).
How much are closing costs in Durham County?
Closing costs in Durham County follow North Carolina'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 Durham County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 3,513 home-purchase mortgages in Durham County were about $4,777, of which roughly $2,500 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 North Carolina county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.