Fairfax County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for Fairfax County, Virginia - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- 0.083%
- ≈ $332 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $7,075
- median of 9,635 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
Fairfax County compared with Virginia counties
In the verified Virginia county records we have, Fairfax County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #5 of 6 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $332, which is $668 below the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #5 of 6
- within verified Virginia county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $332
- state baseline $1,000
- HMDA fee sample
- 9,635
- purchase loans in 2023
Fairfax County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in Fairfax County
In addition to the VA state recordation tax of $0.25/$100, Fairfax County levies its own county recordation tax of $0.083/$100 (Va. Code 58.1-3800) on deeds, plus two Northern Virginia regional fees that apply because Fairfax is in the NVTA district: Regional Congestion Relief Fee $0.10/$100 (58.1-802.4) and Regional WMATA Capital Fee $0.10/$100 (58.1-802.3). The seller customarily pays the VA Grantor tax of $0.50/$500 (= $0.10/$100, 58.1-802); the buyer customarily pays the state+county recordation tax, the regional fees, and recording fees. No separate municipal documentary/transfer tax exists; independent cities and towns nearby (Fairfax City FIPS 51600, towns of Herndon/Vienna/Clifton) use the same VA recordation framework.
Recording fees in Fairfax County
Clerk's recording fee (Fairfax Circuit Court, CCR A-50, eff. 7/1/2025): $23.00 for 1-10 pages, $37.00 for 11-30 pages, $57.00 for 31+ pages (these include a $3.50 State Library fee and $5.00 Technology Trust Fund fee). For a typical deed, add: $20.00 Deed Processing Fee, $1.00 Transfer Fee, $3.00 Open Space Preservation Fee, and a $5.00 eRecording fee if submitted by mail/over-the-counter (waived for multi-jurisdiction documents). Additional names are indexed free. Oversized plat sheets (>8.5x14) are $22.00/sheet; regular plats are free.
Official recorder: Fairfax County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in Fairfax County
Across 9,635 home-purchase mortgages originated in Fairfax County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $7,075, of which about $3,014 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 51059, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your Fairfax County closing costs
Pre-set to Virginia. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in Fairfax County?
Fairfax County (Virginia): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0.083%. In addition to the VA state recordation tax of $0.25/$100, Fairfax County levies its own county recordation tax of $0.083/$100 (Va. Code 58.1-3800) on deeds, plus two Northern Virginia regional fees that apply because Fairfax is in the NVTA district: Regional Congestion Relief Fee $0.10/$100 (58.1-802.4) and Regional WMATA Capital Fee $0.10/$100 (58.1-802.3). The seller customarily pays the VA Grantor tax of $0.50/$500 (= $0.10/$100, 58.1-802); the buyer customarily pays the state+county recordation tax, the regional fees, and recording fees. No separate municipal documentary/transfer tax exists; independent cities and towns nearby (Fairfax City FIPS 51600, towns of Herndon/Vienna/Clifton) use the same VA recordation framework.
What are recording fees in Fairfax County?
Clerk's recording fee (Fairfax Circuit Court, CCR A-50, eff. 7/1/2025): $23.00 for 1-10 pages, $37.00 for 11-30 pages, $57.00 for 31+ pages (these include a $3.50 State Library fee and $5.00 Technology Trust Fund fee). For a typical deed, add: $20.00 Deed Processing Fee, $1.00 Transfer Fee, $3.00 Open Space Preservation Fee, and a $5.00 eRecording fee if submitted by mail/over-the-counter (waived for multi-jurisdiction documents). Additional names are indexed free. Oversized plat sheets (>8.5x14) are $22.00/sheet; regular plats are free.
How much are closing costs in Fairfax County?
Closing costs in Fairfax County follow Virginia'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 Fairfax County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 9,635 home-purchase mortgages in Fairfax County were about $7,075, of which roughly $3,014 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 Virginia county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.