Who pays closing costs in Texas? What's yours and what's not

The one thing Texas doesn't serve

Short version first: in Texas, the buyer pays for the loan, the seller pays to clear its own debts, and the escrow fee gets split down the middle. Everything else on this page is the long version, and it reads a lot like a barbecue ticket. Everybody orders their own, the price is by the pound, and the butcher paper settles any argument about whose plate was whose.

Start with what's missing from the menu. In many states, a sale triggers a tax on the deed, and somebody has to pay it at closing. Not in Texas. There's no transfer tax line on a Texas closing statement, so if a list of "seller costs" includes one, it's describing some other state. (Texans have opinions about taxes. This is one of the louder ones.)

Texas went further in 2015. Voters added Article VIII, Section 29 to the state constitution, which says no law may be enacted that puts a transfer tax on a sale of real estate. It leaves room for a few things, like a tax on issuing title insurance, but a new tax on selling a home is off the table. Off the menu, really.

1. No transfer tax

Texas doesn't tax the sale itself, and its constitution bars adding one.

2. State-set premiums

The Texas Department of Insurance publishes the basic title premium.

3. Escrow fee split

The standard contract splits the escrow fee between buyer and seller.

Whose plate is whose

Most Texas home sales use a contract written by the Texas Real Estate Commission, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). Paragraph 12 is the butcher paper. It lists whose costs are whose, and it reads a lot like this:

Notice the pattern. Anything that exists because of your new loan lands on your plate. Anything that exists because of the seller's old loan lands on theirs. The escrow fee (what the title company charges to hold the money and run the closing) is the tray in the middle of the table, half each.

The contract also has a blank where a seller can agree to pay some of the buyer's costs, up to a set amount. A flat opinion, argue if you like: that blank is the most underrated line in the whole contract. It's easier to fill when it's part of the offer from the start, not something you ask for after everyone's already sat down to eat.

Buying a rental with a DSCR loan in Texas? The same contract lines apply, and we can look together at how they fit the property's numbers.

The brisket the state prices for you

Title insurance protects against ownership problems that turn up after closing, such as an unpaid lien or a forgery in the chain of title (the record of everyone who's owned the place before you). You'll usually see two policies: an owner's policy for you and a loan policy for your lender.

This next part surprises people who moved here from somewhere else. In Texas, the basic premium isn't negotiated company by company. The Texas Department of Insurance publishes it. Picture brisket with the price per pound set by the state: same weight, same price, whichever counter you walk up to.

Under the rates effective March 1, 2026, a $100,000 policy carries a basic premium of $780. For a policy between $100,000 and $1 million, take the amount over $100,000, multiply by 0.00494, and add $780. (Yes, there's math. It's the friendly kind.)

On two made-up prices, that works out like this:

When the loan policy is issued at the same time as the owner's policy, and for no more than the owner's policy amount, the state's rule sets its premium at $100. That's why the lender's policy is usually a small line on a purchase.

What still differs is everything around the premium, like escrow and closing fees. The brisket costs the same at every counter. The sides don't. Those are worth comparing.

The checkbox with real money behind it

Paragraph 6 of the standard contract says the seller will furnish an owner's policy at the seller's or the buyer's expense, with a box for each. In Texas, the seller commonly checks the seller's box.

Because it's a box and not a law, it's open to negotiation. A buyer might take on the owner's policy in exchange for a lower price, or a seller might offer it to make an offer stronger. (A small square of ink, and somebody's paying for a whole policy because of it.)

The rest of your order

Loan costs. The charges for making your loan show up on your Loan Estimate, so you can see them early and ask about each one. They vary from lender to lender, which makes them the biggest place to compare.

The appraisal. Your lender orders it to confirm the value, and the standard contract puts it on the buyer. (Reasonable. It's their money going into the house, too.)

The survey. Many Texas closings use a survey of the property. The contract lets the seller hand over an existing survey or says who pays for a new one. (Somebody confirms where your fence line really is, which in Texas is a subject people feel strongly about.)

Prepaid items and escrow. You'll usually prepay some homeowners insurance and fund an escrow account for upcoming property taxes and insurance. That money is still yours; it pays your own bills when they come due. (It's the line that looks most like a fee and is least like one.)

Property taxes for the year. They're split by the day between buyer and seller, and the seller's share often shows up as a credit to you.

Refinancing instead of buying? Many of the same lines apply, minus the owner's policy. Our guide to Texas cash-out refinance rules covers the rules that are special to Texas.

Paying cash: the shorter ticket

Without a loan, the lender's title policy, the appraisal a lender would order, the loan charges and the escrow account all drop off the ticket.

What stays: the escrow fee, split with the seller, and the owner's policy, which most cash buyers still want. A survey and an inspection are still smart choices even with no lender asking.

Closing costs get talked about like the weather, something that just happens to you on the way to the keys. They aren't. Every line has an owner, a reason, and often a box somebody checked. Nobody should walk up to a closing table without knowing which plate is theirs. Read the butcher paper before you reach the register, and nothing on the tray should catch you off guard.