Harris County (Houston) closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for Harris County (Houston), Texas - 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
- $8,339
- median of 37,621 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
Harris County (Houston) compared with Texas counties
In the verified Texas county records we have, Harris County (Houston)'s effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 21 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 21
- within verified Texas county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $0
- state baseline $0
- HMDA fee sample
- 37,621
- purchase loans in 2023
Harris County (Houston) transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in Harris County (Houston)
No transfer tax in Texas — only recording fees and title insurance.
Recording fees in Harris County (Houston)
No transfer tax. Deed recording is charged per page (first page ~$26, additional pages ~$4). Title insurance premiums are state-promulgated and identical everywhere.
Official recorder: Harris County (Houston) recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in Harris County (Houston)
Across 37,621 home-purchase mortgages originated in Harris County (Houston) in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $8,339, of which about $3,517 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 48201, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your Harris County (Houston) closing costs
Pre-set to Texas. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in Harris County (Houston)?
Harris County (Houston) (Texas): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about none. No transfer tax in Texas — only recording fees and title insurance.
What are recording fees in Harris County (Houston)?
No transfer tax. Deed recording is charged per page (first page ~$26, additional pages ~$4). Title insurance premiums are state-promulgated and identical everywhere.
How much are closing costs in Harris County (Houston)?
Closing costs in Harris County (Houston) follow Texas'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 Harris County (Houston)?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 37,621 home-purchase mortgages in Harris County (Houston) were about $8,339, of which roughly $3,517 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 Texas county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.