Cuyahoga County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for Cuyahoga County, Ohio - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- 0.3%
- ≈ $1,200 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $5,199
- median of 10,622 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
Cuyahoga County compared with Ohio counties
In the verified Ohio county records we have, Cuyahoga County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 9 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $1,200, which is $800 above the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #1 of 9
- within verified Ohio county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $1,200
- state baseline $400
- HMDA fee sample
- 10,622
- purchase loans in 2023
Cuyahoga County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in Cuyahoga County
Ohio levies a mandatory STATE conveyance fee of $1.00 per $1,000 (0.001) statewide; ON TOP of that Cuyahoga County levies its own county permissive conveyance fee of $3.00 per $1,000 = 0.003 (the county-level rate reported here), for a combined $4.00 per $1,000 = 0.40%. A flat $0.50 per-parcel transfer fee also applies (even to exempt transfers). The conveyance fee is customarily paid by the seller (grantor) at deed recording. Ohio does not authorize municipal/city real estate transfer taxes, so the City of Cleveland imposes no separate transfer tax.
Recording fees in Cuyahoga County
Deed recording fee (effective Oct 24, 2024, per Ohio SB94): $39.00 for the first two pages and $8.00 for each additional page (prior fee was $34 first two pages / $8 each additional). Processed by the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer's Transfer and Recording Division.
Official recorder: Cuyahoga County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in Cuyahoga County
Across 10,622 home-purchase mortgages originated in Cuyahoga County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $5,199, of which about $2,161 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 39035, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your Cuyahoga County closing costs
Pre-set to Ohio. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in Cuyahoga County?
Cuyahoga County (Ohio): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0.3%. Ohio levies a mandatory STATE conveyance fee of $1.00 per $1,000 (0.001) statewide; ON TOP of that Cuyahoga County levies its own county permissive conveyance fee of $3.00 per $1,000 = 0.003 (the county-level rate reported here), for a combined $4.00 per $1,000 = 0.40%. A flat $0.50 per-parcel transfer fee also applies (even to exempt transfers). The conveyance fee is customarily paid by the seller (grantor) at deed recording. Ohio does not authorize municipal/city real estate transfer taxes, so the City of Cleveland imposes no separate transfer tax.
What are recording fees in Cuyahoga County?
Deed recording fee (effective Oct 24, 2024, per Ohio SB94): $39.00 for the first two pages and $8.00 for each additional page (prior fee was $34 first two pages / $8 each additional). Processed by the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer's Transfer and Recording Division.
How much are closing costs in Cuyahoga County?
Closing costs in Cuyahoga County follow Ohio'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 Cuyahoga County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 10,622 home-purchase mortgages in Cuyahoga County were about $5,199, of which roughly $2,161 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 Ohio county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.