{
  "slug": "closing-costs",
  "title": "Closing Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Closing Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/closing-costs",
  "summary": "Estimate the cash you need on top of the down payment.",
  "description": "Closing costs in the US typically run 2–5% of the purchase price for a buyer, covering lender fees, title, appraisal, recording, and prepaid escrow. This adds them to your down payment for a true cash-to-close figure.",
  "formula": "Cash to close = Down payment + (Price × Closing cost %) + Prepaid escrow.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=closing-costs",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Home price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 420000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "downPct",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "costPct",
      "label": "Closing costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "escrow",
      "label": "Prepaid escrow",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "cashToClose",
      "label": "Total cash to close",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fees",
      "label": "Closing costs",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "escrow",
      "label": "Prepaid escrow",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Home price: 420000 $",
      "Down payment: 10 %",
      "Closing costs: 3 %",
      "Prepaid escrow: 3500 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total cash to close: $58,100.00",
      "Down payment: $42,000.00",
      "Closing costs: $12,600.00",
      "Prepaid escrow: $3,500.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter home price ($).",
      "Enter down payment (%).",
      "Enter closing costs (%).",
      "Enter prepaid escrow ($).",
      "Read your total cash to close on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 252000,
        "downPct": 6,
        "costPct": 1.7999999999999998,
        "escrow": 2100
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 420000,
        "downPct": 10,
        "costPct": 3,
        "escrow": 3500
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 672000,
        "downPct": 16,
        "costPct": 4.800000000000001,
        "escrow": 5600
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the closing cost calculator work?",
      "a": "Closing costs in the US typically run 2–5% of the purchase price for a buyer, covering lender fees, title, appraisal, recording, and prepaid escrow. This adds them to your down payment for a true cash-to-close figure. The underlying maths is: Cash to close = Down payment + (Price × Closing cost %) + Prepaid escrow."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: home price, down payment, closing costs, and prepaid escrow. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the total cash to close result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/down-payment",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/mortgage"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Closing Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/closing-costs)"
}