Tennessee Closing Cost Calculator for Buyers

1. Enter the price, pick the loan type and enter your down payment. VA buyers pick first use or after first use, and check the box if you're exempt from the funding fee.
2. Decide whether the FHA, VA or USDA fee is rolled into the loan or paid at closing. Your lender will tell you which.
3. Copy the lender lines from your Loan Estimate and the title lines from the title company's quote. Anything you leave blank counts as $0.
4. Add your insurance premium, your yearly property tax and the months the lender wants in escrow, plus your interest rate and the days of prepaid interest.
5. Subtract what the seller agreed to pay, any lender credit and the earnest money you've already put down. What's left is your estimated cash to close.

Closing costs in Tennessee: the two state taxes

Tennessee charges a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 when the deed is recorded, on the greater of the price or the property's value (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-4-409(a)). The law puts it on the grantee, which is the buyer. On a $450,000 purchase that's $1,665.

It also charges a mortgage tax, also called the indebtedness tax, of $0.115 per $100 of the loan, with the first $2,000 not taxed (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-4-409(b)). The borrower pays it. On a $405,000 loan that's $463.45.

The standard Tennessee REALTORS purchase and sale agreement puts transfer taxes and the recording fees on the deed and the deed of trust on the buyer. Your contract can change that, so the calculator has a box for a seller who agreed to pay the transfer tax.

Upfront fees by loan type

Conventional loans have no upfront government fee. With less than 20% down, lenders require private mortgage insurance, usually paid monthly as part of your payment and not as a closing cost.

FHA loans carry an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount as of October 2026. HUD's premium schedule in Mortgagee Letter 2023-05, effective March 20, 2023, lists that rate, and HUD lets you roll it into the loan or pay it at closing. FHA also charges annual mortgage insurance, paid monthly.

VA loans carry a funding fee unless you're exempt. These are VA's purchase rates, effective April 7, 2023, as of October 2026:

You're exempt if, among other cases, you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability. VA lets you finance the funding fee into the loan, and on a purchase loan it's the only fee VA lets you finance.

USDA guaranteed loans carry an upfront guarantee fee of 1.00% for fiscal year 2027, which began October 1, 2026, plus an annual fee of 0.35%. USDA rules let the upfront fee be financed into the loan, and your lender calculates the exact figure.

*Rates, APRs, buydowns and builder incentives on this page are published by the builder or lender named, were read on the date shown, and can change or end without notice. They are not an offer of credit from me or eXp Realty, and I am a licensed Realtor (TREC 369038), not a mortgage lender. Confirm the current terms, APR, eligibility and any lender requirement in writing with the builder or lender before you rely on them.*

Everything else comes from your lender and title company

Lender fees, the appraisal, title insurance, your closing fee and recording fees vary by company and by loan, so the calculator doesn't guess at them. Your lender's Loan Estimate lists the loan charges, and the title company will quote the title and closing lines.

Title insurance rates in Tennessee are filed with the Department of Commerce and Insurance. The standard purchase agreement leaves the split of the title search, lender's policy and owner's policy for the buyer and seller to fill in, so read that line of your contract before you enter the owner's policy.

Prepaids and escrow

Prepaids are your own costs paid ahead of time. Prepaid interest covers the days from closing to the end of that month, and the calculator figures it as the loan amount times the rate, divided by 365, times the days you enter.

Your lender also collects the first year of homeowners insurance and starts an escrow account with a few months of insurance and property tax. The lender sets the months, so enter what your Loan Estimate shows. Buying in Spring Hill? The Williamson vs Maury tax calculator gives you the yearly tax figure.

Two worked examples

A $450,000 conventional purchase with 10% down has a $405,000 loan. The transfer tax is $1,665.00 and the mortgage tax is $463.45, so $2,128.45 of state recordation taxes. The calculator opens with this example filled in.

Add a 6.5% rate with 15 days of prepaid interest ($1,081.85), a $1,800 insurance premium paid for 12 months plus 2 months in escrow ($2,100) and 3 months of a $2,400 tax bill in escrow ($600), then subtract $5,000 of earnest money. The cash to close comes to about $45,910 before any lender or title fees. The rate, insurance and tax figures are made up to show the math.

A $400,000 FHA purchase with 3.5% down has a $386,000 base loan. The upfront premium is $6,755. Rolled into the loan, the total loan is $392,755, so the mortgage tax is $449.37 and the transfer tax is $1,480, for $1,929.37 of state taxes.

The cash to close starts at the $14,000 down payment plus those taxes, then adds your lender's and title company's lines.

*This is an estimate, not a Closing Disclosure. Your actual costs depend on your lender and loan, the title company and its fee schedule, the closing date, your insurance and tax figures, and what gets negotiated in the contract. Your lender's Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are the real figures.*

Get a lender-matched estimate

Your real number comes from a lender's written Loan Estimate, and I'll help you get one. I'm a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and a Realtor since 2013 with more than 500 career transactions.

Text or call me with the price and loan type and I'll get you in front of a lender for a written Loan Estimate, then go through it with you line by line. Buying your first home? Start with my Spring Hill first-time home buyer guide. Selling a home first? My home sale calculator shows what you'd walk away with.