South Carolina closing cost calculator

Look at a typical home: $6,430 is due from the buyer and $1,125 from the seller, before commission and the mortgage payoff. The calculator on this site produces both amounts for a $304,000 home. As of September 2026, the typical South Carolina home value is $304,319, rounded to $304,000 for this example, which uses a $243,200 loan and $60,800 down.

Your down payment plus the buyer's closing costs make up the cash you pay on closing day. That example home shows a figure of $67,230.

An owner's title policy gives you insurance coverage for a later claim of a right to the property. South Carolina requires each insurer to submit its rate to the state, and approval from the Chief Insurance Commissioner is required. Rates for title insurance must be approved and filed, and insurers must charge those rates; any higher or lower charge is treated as an unlawful rebate.

Loan interest for the days from closing until your first payment is covered by prepaid interest. The example applies 7.24% over 15 days.

Two features set South Carolina apart from many other states. The South Carolina Bar reports that the state Supreme Court has said each real estate and mortgage loan closing must include an attorney. Under that ruling, unauthorized practice of law applies to a closing handled by anyone who is not an attorney, so expect an attorney to attend. For an owner-occupied property, the median tax bill reaches $1,251 per year once you own the home, roughly 0.48% of the median value.

Prices for homes vary widely across the state, and closing costs shift with them. Buyer costs with 20% down and no commission range from $4,475 in the cheaper third of homes to $10,222 in the priciest third.

Get an estimate that fits your plans by entering the price of your home and your down payment in the calculator.

This fee is customarily paid by the seller. The seller is legally responsible first; the buyer pays only if the seller does not. Direct payment by the buyer is required in two situations: a court-ordered master-in-equity sale produced the deed, or the deed comes from a government.

Spousal transfers and transfers connected to divorce under IRC Section 1041 are free of this fee. Deeds given to a lender instead of foreclosure or made through foreclosure are exempt, as are corrective deeds that carry no payment. A deed that claims an exemption must state the reason during recording.

Every deed filing must include an affidavit that states the property's value under oath. For the example, Richland County's fees for recording apply: $15 for a deed and $25 for mortgage recording.

In South Carolina, the deed recording fee is the name used for the transfer tax. It applies when someone records a deed. The rate is $1.85 per $500 of the sale price, equal to 0.37%. Of each $1.85, $1.30 goes to the state and $0.55 to the county. Roughly 0.11% goes to the county. The county's $0.55 share is already part of $1.85; no additional city or town transfer tax appears in the law.

By custom, the seller is the one who pays. Legally, the seller has primary responsibility and the buyer is second in line.

The fee reaches $1,480 on a $400,000 sale. That places it 17th among 36 states, including DC, that levy this charge. Seller expenses before commission and payoff total $1,040 more than the $440 state median, so it is worth seeing your exact amount before you list.

Enter a sale price, and every buyer and seller line appears together in the calculator.

Your commission doesn't appear in the totals until you enter a rate, because you agree on it with your agent. A national average for buyer's agents is 2.42% of price, which gives you a starting reference.

With 20% down on a home priced at $400,000, the buyer's costs here come to $7,830. The median for the 50 states and DC is $7,850, so buyers in South Carolina spend $20 less than the national median buyer.