Who Pays Closing Costs When Selling a House in Texas?

In Texas, the seller customarily pays for the owner’s title insurance policy, the real estate commission, and any unpaid taxes and HOA dues up to closing. The buyer customarily pays for the lender’s title policy and the costs of their loan. That is the usual pattern, not a law. Most of it can be changed in the contract.

If you are planning a sale, it helps to know what comes out of your proceeds before you accept an offer. Here is how the costs usually fall.

What Sellers Customarily Pay in Texas

• The owner’s title insurance policy. In Texas this is customarily the seller’s cost, and the title company issues it at closing.
• The real estate commission. When an agent is involved, the seller customarily pays it. How the buyer’s agent is paid is negotiated and set out in the listing agreement and the contract, so ask your agent exactly how it works in your deal. See our post on real estate agent commissions in Houston.
• Property taxes up to closing. The seller covers a prorated share of any taxes not yet paid at the time of transfer. The buyer covers the share from the day they take ownership.
• Unpaid HOA dues and fees. Any assessments you owe are settled at closing.
• Recording fees to clear your title. Releases of your old mortgage and similar documents are generally on the seller.
• Payoffs. Your mortgage balance and any liens come out of the sale price at closing. See our page on selling a house with a lien.

What Buyers Customarily Pay

• The lender’s title insurance policy, when they finance the purchase
• Loan fees and other costs charged by their lender
• Recording fees for documents that put the property in their name
• Their share of taxes from the day they take ownership

Escrow fees are commonly split or negotiated, and practice varies. Your title company can tell you what applies to your contract.

What Is Negotiable

Many closing items can be negotiated by either side when the offer is made. A buyer may ask the seller to pay part of their costs, and a seller may push back or raise the price to compensate. One limit: costs that a buyer’s lender requires the seller to pay generally cannot be negotiated away. Whatever you agree on needs to be written into the contract.

HOA Documents and Transfer Fees

If your house is in an HOA, the buyer’s side will usually need the subdivision restrictions, the association’s rules and a resale certificate. Under Texas Property Code section 207.003, the association delivers these on request, generally within 10 business days, and may charge a fee that the statute caps. The certificate also lists amounts you owe the association. Order it early so an unpaid balance or transfer fee does not surprise you at the closing table.

How a Cash Sale Changes the Costs

When the buyer pays cash, there is no lender, so there is no lender’s title policy or loan costs. You still have the seller-side items: the owner’s title policy if the contract calls for it, prorated taxes, HOA dues and payoffs. If you sell without an agent, there is no agent commission. But what any buyer will pay at closing is set by the contract, so ask for it in writing: who pays for the title policy, escrow and recording, and what the buyer expects you to cover. The title company’s settlement statement shows the final numbers.

Not sure what a direct sale would look like for your house? Read how we buy houses, or compare against unexpected costs Houston sellers overlook.

How to Avoid Surprises

1. Ask the title company for an estimated settlement statement before you accept an offer.
2. Compare offers by what you would net after all costs, not by the headline price.
3. Request your HOA resale certificate early, if you have an HOA.
4. Get payoff figures for your mortgage and any liens.
5. Put every agreed cost split in writing in the contract.

Seller Costs, Item by Item

Closing costs are not one fee. They are a stack of smaller charges, and each one has its own rule of thumb. Here is how the main seller-side items usually work in a Texas residential sale. Your contract controls the final split, so treat this as a starting checklist, not a promise.

• Real estate commissions. If you list with an agent, the commission is the largest single cost. It is negotiable and set by your listing agreement, not by law. Ask in writing what you owe the listing side and whether you are also expected to pay the buyer’s agent.
• Owner’s title policy. In much of Texas the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy, but the contract can assign it to the buyer. Check the box in the contract rather than assuming.
• Mortgage payoff. Your loan balance, accrued interest and any payoff fee come out of your proceeds at closing. Request an official payoff statement, because the number on your monthly statement is not the number the title company needs.
• Prorated property taxes. Texas property taxes are billed after the year ends, so the title company splits the year between you and the buyer by closing date. You pay your share of the days you owned the home.
• HOA charges. Unpaid dues, transfer fees and the cost of the resale certificate may land on you, depending on the contract and your association’s rules.
• Liens and judgments. A tax lien, a contractor lien or an unpaid judgment must be cleared before the title company can issue a clean policy.
• Repairs and credits. Repairs you agree to make after an inspection, or a credit you give the buyer instead, reduce what you net.

Texas Has No State Transfer Tax

Many sellers expect a big deed transfer tax at closing. Texas does not charge a state transfer tax on real estate sales, which is one reason closing costs here are often lower than in some other states. You will still see recording fees and other small charges on the settlement statement, so the absence of a transfer tax does not mean the bill is zero.

Seller Concessions and Repair Credits

A buyer who uses a loan may ask you to pay part of their closing costs, often called a seller concession. This is a negotiation point, not a requirement. Lenders limit how much a seller can contribute, and the limit depends on the loan type and the down payment. If an offer includes a concession, add it to your cost column before you compare it with another offer.

Repair requests work the same way. After the inspection, the buyer may ask you to fix items or lower the price. Either choice changes your net, so decide which is cheaper and simpler for you. Fixing a roof takes time and money up front. A price reduction is clean but permanent.

A Simple Net Proceeds Example

The numbers below are illustrative only. They show how the pieces fit together, not what you will pay.

Ask the title company for an estimated settlement statement with real figures filled in. It is free to request and it is the only document that shows your real net before you commit.

Questions Sellers Ask Most

Can I make the buyer pay everything? You can ask, and in a strong market some sellers succeed. But a contract that shifts every cost to the buyer may lower the price or shrink your pool of offers. Compare the final net, not the list of who pays what.

When do I find out the final numbers? The title company prepares the settlement statement, and you are usually entitled to review it before closing day. Read it line by line and ask about anything you do not recognize.

Do the costs change if the house needs work? Repairs are not a closing cost, but they affect your net. If the house needs more than you want to spend, a direct sale to a cash buyer avoids repair negotiations altogether. See our guide on how to sell a house in Texas for the full process.

Rules and practices change, and this is general information, not legal advice. Your title company or a Texas real estate attorney can confirm what applies to your sale.