Closing Costs in Virginia, DC & Maryland: The Complete Breakdown for Buyers (2026)
Short answer: Closing costs in Virginia, DC and Maryland are not close to each other. On the same $600,000 house, the government taxes at settlement come to about $5,400 in Fairfax County, Virginia, $13,910 in Montgomery County, Maryland, and $17,400 in Washington, DC. Who pays which share is set by statute in Virginia and Maryland and by custom in DC, and each jurisdiction treats first time buyers differently. Everything else on the closing sheet, the lender fees, title and prepaids, works the same way in all three and is where you actually have negotiating room. The Ken Byrne Team at JB Financing can give you a line by line estimate for your own purchase.
Buyers in this region shop across a state line more often than almost anywhere else in the country. A family looking in Arlington is also looking in Bethesda and in Capitol Hill, and the mortgage is the same product in all three places. The taxes are not. We are mortgage lenders in Virginia, Maryland, DC and West Virginia, so we settle files under all three rulebooks every month.
This guide puts the three systems side by side so you can see what changes when the address changes. The jurisdiction by jurisdiction detail lives in separate guides, starting with what buyers pay at closing in Virginia. This one is the comparison.
Closing costs in Virginia, DC and Maryland: three tax systems side by side
Every closing in the region carries at least one tax on the deed. The differences are in the rate, whether the loan itself is taxed, and who the law says pays.
| Virginia | Washington, DC | Maryland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax on the deed | $0.25 per $100 state, plus up to one third of that for the locality | 1.1% under $400,000; 1.45% on the whole amount above $400,000 | State transfer 0.5%, plus a county transfer tax and a county recordation tax that vary by county |
| Tax on the loan | Yes. $0.25 per $100 of the deed of trust, plus one third for the locality | No. A purchase money deed of trust recorded with the deed is exempt | No. A purchase money deed of trust is exempt |
| Seller side tax | Grantor tax $0.50 per $500, plus two regional fees of $0.10 per $100 each in Northern Virginia | Transfer tax at the same 1.1% or 1.45% rate | Shared with the buyer, see below |
| Who pays what | Buyer pays the deed and loan recordation, seller pays the grantor tax and regional fees | Buyer pays recordation, seller pays transfer, by custom | Split equally by statute unless the contract says otherwise |
Sources: Virginia Code 58.1-801, 58.1-802, 58.1-802.3, 58.1-802.4, 58.1-803 and 58.1-3800. DC Code 42-1102 and 42-1103 and the DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer rate table. Maryland Tax-Property 13-203 and 12-108, Maryland Real Property 14-104.
Two rows in that table matter more than the rest. Virginia is the only one of the three that taxes the mortgage itself. And Maryland is the only one where the law, not custom, decides the split between buyer and seller.
Same house, three addresses
Take a $600,000 purchase with twenty percent down, so a $480,000 loan, bought as a principal residence. Our payment calculator runs the same figures at your own price and rate. Here is the government tax bill in each place, before any first time buyer break.
| Line | Fairfax County, VA | Washington, DC | Montgomery County, MD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax on the deed | $2,000 | $8,700 | $3,000 state transfer |
| County transfer tax | none | none | $6,000 |
| County recordation tax | none | none | $4,910 |
| Tax on the $480,000 loan | $1,600 | $0 | $0 |
| Seller side tax | $1,800 | $8,700 | shared |
| Total government taxes | $5,400 | $17,400 | $13,910 |
| Buyer share, default | $3,600 | $8,700 | $6,955 |
| Seller share, default | $1,800 | $8,700 | $6,955 |
Virginia: deed $1,500 state plus $500 local, deed of trust $1,200 state plus $400 local, grantor tax $600 plus two regional fees of $600 each. DC: 1.45% applied to the full $600,000 for both recordation and transfer. Montgomery County recordation from the county's own worked examples: first $100,000 exempt for a principal residence, next $400,000 at $4.45 per $500, next $100,000 at $6.75 per $500. Maryland split is the statutory default under Real Property 14-104(b).
The spread is not small. A buyer paying $3,600 in Fairfax pays $8,700 in DC for the same house, and that DC figure jumps at exactly $400,000. A $399,000 contract is taxed at 1.1%. A $401,000 contract is taxed at 1.45% on all of it, not just the dollar over the line. That single dollar costs about $1,400 in recordation and the same again in the seller's transfer tax.
Maryland looks expensive in the total column, but notice the split. The statutory default sends half of every tax to the seller. A Montgomery County buyer's default share, $6,955, is lower than a DC buyer's $8,700, and it can go to zero for a first time buyer, which is the next section.
Want this table for your actual contract?
Send me the price, the down payment and the county and I will give you the buyer side taxes for each place you are considering, on the same day.
Loans originated by Ken Byrne, NMLS ID# 187129 · ALCOVA Mortgage LLC, NMLS ID# 40508. Equal Housing Lender.
The loan tax that only Virginia charges
In the District and Maryland, the deed of trust that secures your mortgage is exempt from recordation tax as long as it is a purchase money instrument recorded with the deed. DC Code 42-1102 and Maryland Tax-Property 12-108 both say so in plain terms.
Virginia taxes it. Code section 58.1-803 sets $0.25 per $100 on the amount secured, and the locality can add one third on top. On a $480,000 loan that is $1,600. On a $1,000,000 loan it is roughly $3,333.
This changes the math on down payment. In Virginia, every extra dollar you borrow costs a third of a cent in recordation tax at settlement. In the other two jurisdictions the loan size does not move the tax bill at all. It is a small number, but it is one of the few closing costs in the region that you control directly by how you structure the loan.
One more Virginia detail. The refinance rate under the same section is lower, $0.18 per $100 rather than $0.25, so refinancing later is taxed more lightly than the original purchase.
First time buyer breaks, compared
This is where the three jurisdictions diverge most, and where the wrong assumption is expensive. The Maryland side is covered in full in our Maryland closing costs guide.
| Virginia | Washington, DC | Maryland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reduced rate for first time buyers | No reduction in the recordation statutes | Recordation drops to 0.725% for an eligible first time DC buyer | State transfer tax drops from 0.5% to 0.25% |
| Who pays | Buyer still pays the deed and loan recordation | Buyer pays the reduced recordation | Seller pays the entire reduced state transfer tax, and the entire recordation and county transfer tax unless the contract expressly says otherwise |
| On the $600,000 example | Buyer share stays $3,600 | Buyer share drops from $8,700 to $4,350 | Buyer share drops from $6,955 to $0 by default |
| Main conditions | Not applicable | Household income within 180% of area median income, principal residence, purchase price under a ceiling that OTR sets each fiscal year | First time Maryland homebuyer, improved residential property, principal residence |
DC Code 42-1103 for the 0.725% rate and the 180% of AMI test. Maryland Tax-Property 13-203 for the 0.25% rate and Real Property 14-104(c) for the seller paying the recordation and local transfer tax. The DC purchase price ceiling is published annually on OTR form ROD 11 and should be checked for the current fiscal year before you rely on it.
Read the Maryland row again. A first time Maryland buyer in Montgomery County, by the default rule in the statute, pays none of the $12,410 in transfer and recordation taxes on that $600,000 house. The seller pays all of it. That is the single largest first time buyer benefit in the region, and it does not require an application, an income limit or a program. It requires that you meet the definition and that your contract does not sign it away.
The Maryland default can be changed by the contract. In a competitive offer, a buyer sometimes agrees to take on part of the recordation tax to make the offer stronger. That is a legitimate negotiating move, but it should be a decision you make on purpose, not a line you did not notice in the addendum. Ask your agent to point to it before you sign.
Virginia has no equivalent rate reduction. Help for first time buyers there comes through down payment and closing cost programs rather than the tax code, which is a different conversation and one we cover in the Virginia guide.
Property tax in your escrow
Property tax is not a closing cost in the strict sense, but you fund the escrow account at settlement and it lands in your monthly payment forever, so it belongs in any honest comparison. Fold it into an affordability check before you set a budget. Here are the current rates on the same $600,000 value.
| Jurisdiction | Rate per $100 of assessed value | Annual on $600,000 | Monthly in escrow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax County, VA | $1.12 base county rate | $6,720 | $560 |
| Washington, DC | $0.85 Class 1 residential | $5,100 | $425 |
| Montgomery County, MD | $1.1521 unincorporated county | $6,913 | $576 |
Fairfax County FY 2027 rate adopted 5 May 2026, effective 1 July 2026; some areas carry additional special district levies. DC Class 1 rate from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, before the homestead deduction. Montgomery County 2026 levy year, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, total including the state rate. Assessed value is set by each jurisdiction and phases in over time; purchase price is used here as a proxy.
So DC costs the most to close and the least to hold, and that reverses over time. The $5,100 more a DC buyer pays at settlement on the buyer side is made back in property tax in a little over three years, before the homestead deduction is even counted. If you plan to stay, the escrow row matters more than the settlement row.
“People compare the purchase price across the river and forget the tax structure moves with it. Tell me the two or three places you are looking and I will show you the closing and the monthly side by side, for your numbers.”
Arslan Jamil, Broker Associate
Loans originated by Ken Byrne, NMLS ID# 187129 · ALCOVA Mortgage LLC, NMLS ID# 40508. Equal Housing Lender.
What works the same everywhere
The taxes are the part that changes. The rest of the closing sheet is the same three groups in all three jurisdictions, and it is where the shopping happens.
- Lender charges. Origination, underwriting, processing, any discount points you choose to pay, the appraisal and the credit report. These are set by the lender, disclosed on the Loan Estimate within three business days of application, and they are the part you can compare across lenders on identical terms.
- Title and settlement. The lender's title policy, an owner's policy if you buy one, the settlement or attorney fee, and the title search. Rates and fees differ by company. You have the right to choose your own settlement company in all three jurisdictions.
- Prepaids and escrow. Interest from the closing date to the end of the month, the first year of homeowners insurance, and the initial deposit into the property tax and insurance escrow. These are not fees. They are your own money being set aside.
The Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure use the same layout in every state, which is the point of them. Put two Loan Estimates for the same price, same down payment and same rate lock side by side and the difference in the lender column is real. The difference in the tax column is just geography.
Who pays what, jurisdiction by jurisdiction
This is the default. Contracts can move any of it, and in this market they often do. West Virginia follows its own customs, set out in our West Virginia closing costs guide.
| Item | Virginia | Washington, DC | Maryland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deed recordation | Buyer | Buyer, by custom | Split equally by statute |
| Deed of trust recordation | Buyer | Exempt | Exempt |
| Transfer tax | Seller, the grantor tax and regional fees | Seller, by custom | State and county transfer split equally by statute |
| First time buyer | No change | Buyer pays the reduced 0.725% | Seller pays all transfer and recordation taxes by default |
| Lender fees | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer |
| Owner's title policy | Buyer, optional | Buyer, optional | Buyer, optional |
| Seller credits toward buyer costs | Negotiable, subject to loan program caps | Negotiable, subject to loan program caps | Negotiable, subject to loan program caps |
Questions buyers ask when they are comparing
Is it really cheaper to buy in Virginia?
At settlement, yes, and by a wide margin on government taxes. Our Virginia mortgage page compares the counties on the rest of the cost. Over five years, not necessarily, because Virginia property tax runs higher than DC's. Run both rows before deciding.
Does the DC 1.45% really apply to the whole price?
Yes. The OCFO rate table says 1.45% of consideration on the entire amount if the transfer is greater than $400,000. It is not a marginal rate. Contracts written just under $400,000 in DC are not a coincidence.
Can a Maryland seller refuse to pay the first time buyer share?
The statute makes the seller responsible unless the parties expressly agree otherwise. So a seller can ask you to take some of it on in the contract, and you can say no. What a seller cannot do is silently leave it on your side of the settlement statement.
Are the Maryland recordation tiers marginal?
In Montgomery County, yes. The county's own published examples apply each premium rate only to the portion of the price inside that band, with the first $100,000 exempt on a principal residence. Other Maryland counties have their own rates and rules, which is why the Maryland guide goes county by county.
Does the regional fee in Northern Virginia apply everywhere in the state?
No. The two $0.10 per $100 fees apply in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority localities and Planning District 8. They are paid by the seller by statute, and they do not exist in the rest of Virginia.
How much are closing costs in Virginia compared with Maryland?
On a $600,000 purchase the government taxes at settlement run about $5,400 in Fairfax County, Virginia and about $13,910 in Montgomery County, Maryland. Virginia is cheaper because it taxes the deed at roughly $0.33 per $100 and adds a grantor tax the seller pays, while closing costs in Maryland stack a state transfer tax, a county transfer tax and county recordation on the same transaction. Lender and title fees are broadly similar in both states. The tax line is what moves the total.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Tax rates and statutory allocations are current as of publication and are quoted from the cited statutes and agency rate tables; they change, and local rules vary within each state. Worked examples use purchase price as a proxy for assessed value and exclude lender, title and prepaid items, which vary by transaction. Contact a licensed mortgage professional and a settlement attorney or title company for figures specific to your contract. Ken Byrne, NMLS #187129 · ALCOVA Mortgage LLC, NMLS #40508 · Licensed in VA, MD, DC, WV. Equal Housing Lender.
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