Closing Costs in Georgia 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide
Georgia collects two taxes when a financed home’s deed and loan are recorded: a transfer tax of $1 for the first $1,000 of price plus 10 cents per $100 after that (O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1), and $1.50 per $500 on the new mortgage note (§ 48-6-61). A Georgia-licensed lawyer must close the sale.
The deed tax: 10 cents per $100, paid before the clerk records anything
Section 48-6-1 taxes every deed that conveys real estate that was sold. The base is the consideration or value, “exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance existing prior to the sale and not removed by the sale.” If you buy a $350,000 house and pay off the seller’s loan at closing, the base is $350,000. If you take the house subject to a $200,000 loan that stays in place, the base drops to $150,000.
Each started $100 counts as a full one. A $350,000 deed owes $350.00; a $350,050 deed owes $350.10.
This is a state tax, charged at the same rate in every county. The clerk of superior court collects it, and at least once every 30 days the money is split among the state, the county, and any city where the land sits (§ 48-6-8). The clerk will not record the deed until the tax is paid and the price is disclosed on the Revenue Commissioner’s form (§ 48-6-4(b)-(c)).
The section’s history lists no amendment in force after the 1978 recodification. A 1998 change depended on a constitutional amendment that voters defeated in November 1998, so it never took effect.
Exemptions a home buyer might actually hit
- Your security deed. “Any instrument or writing given to secure a debt” is exempt (§ 48-6-2(a)(1)); the loan is taxed separately, below.
- Buying from HUD, the VA, or another federal or state agency: a deed to which the United States, the state, or one of their agencies or departments is a party is exempt (§ 48-6-2(a)(3)).
- Gift deeds (§ 48-6-2(a)(2)) and transfers between spouses in a divorce case (§ 48-6-2(a)(5)).
Even an exempt deed needs the total consideration shown on the state form (§ 48-6-2(b)).
The intangible recording tax on the buyer’s loan
Section 48-6-61 imposes $1.50 for each $500, or fraction of $500, of the note’s face amount, capped at $25,000 per note. A $280,000 note owes $840. The lender must record the security instrument within 90 days of its date and present it to the county’s collecting officer before recording.
By law the tax is collected from the holder of the note, meaning the lender. The statute lets the lender pass it on to the borrower, and says the amount passed on is not treated as a finance charge.
Only long-term notes are taxed. Since July 1, 2025 (House Bill 586), a note is long-term when any part of the principal falls due more than 62 months after the note date; before that the line was three years. The Department of Revenue told clerks the new definition covers every instrument presented for recording on or after July 1, 2025, even if it was signed earlier. A 30-year mortgage is taxed. A five-year balloon loan is not.
Refinancing with the same lender: no tax on the part of the new note that refinances unpaid principal, if the old note’s tax was paid (or it was exempt) and the new instrument or a lender affidavit states that amount (§ 48-6-65(b)). New money is taxed.
Recording fees are set in the Code, not by the county
Since January 1, 2020, O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(i) has charged a flat $25.00 per real estate instrument, whatever the page count. That fee covers deeds, security deeds, cancellations, and assignments. A plat costs $10.00 per page (§ 15-6-77(f)(2)). The clerks in Gwinnett and Chatham counties post the same $25 figure. A financed purchase records at least two instruments: the warranty deed and your security deed. If the seller’s loan is paid off, its cancellation is another $25 filing.
Title insurance sits outside Georgia’s rate-filing chapter
Chapter 9 of Title 33 is Georgia’s rate-regulation chapter: it governs how insurers make, file, and use rates. Section 33-9-3(a)(6) lists “Title insurance” among the lines that chapter does not apply to. This page therefore quotes no premium. Ask more than one title agent for the owner’s and lender’s policy prices before you pick one.
Why a Georgia lawyer has to run the closing
In In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-2, 277 Ga. 472, 588 S.E.2d 741 (2003), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that “it is the unauthorized practice of law for someone other than a duly-licensed Georgia attorney to close a real estate transaction or to prepare or facilitate the execution of such deed(s) for the benefit of a seller, borrower, or lender.” The deeds it lists include the warranty deed and the security deed. The court pointed to its Formal Advisory Opinions, including No. 86-5 and No. 00-3, which say a lawyer cannot hand the closing to a non-lawyer. In 2003 the court read them as requiring the lawyer’s physical presence when a deed is prepared and signed, and it declined to allow “witness-only closings,” where a notary or signing agent presides.
The State Bar’s Formal Advisory Opinion No. 23-1 (issued January 23, 2025; the Supreme Court of Georgia denied review on July 1, 2025) now says a closing lawyer can meet those duties by video conference, “so long as the lawyer is in control of the closing process from beginning to end.” The opinion says it binds the State Bar and the lawyer who requested it, while the Supreme Court treats it as “persuasive authority only.” Either way, the lawyer, not a notary or signing agent, has to run the closing.
One carve-out in the opinion: a non-lawyer may handle, pro se, a transaction he or she is a party to.
Georgia Dream: who qualifies
The Department of Community Affairs runs the Georgia Dream Homeownership Program, which offers financing, down payment and closing cost assistance, and homebuyer education. According to the state’s program page (last updated April 2026), you must:
- be a first-time buyer, not have owned a home in the past three years, or be buying in certain areas of Georgia;
- stay under DCA’s household income limit and the sales price limit for your county;
- hold no more than $20,000 or 20% of the sales price in liquid assets, whichever is greater;
- put at least $1,000 of your own money toward the purchase.
Every Georgia Dream loan requires homebuyer counseling. Military members, public protectors, educators, healthcare providers, and households with a family member living with a disability get special down payment loan options. DCA publishes the current assistance amounts. The first step is to pre-qualify with a Georgia Dream participating lender; see how pre-approval works. The down payment calculator and affordability calculator help with the math.
The state-set charges on a $350,000 purchase with a $280,000 loan
| Charge | Georgia rule | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax on the deed | § 48-6-1: $1 for the first $1,000, 10¢ per additional $100 | $350 |
| Intangible recording tax on the note | § 48-6-61: $1.50 per $500 | $840 |
| Record the warranty deed | § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(i) | $25 |
| Record the security deed | § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(i) | $25 |
| Title insurance | Not covered by the rate-filing chapter (§ 33-9-3(a)(6)) | Quoted by the insurer |
| Closing attorney | Required by 277 Ga. 472 | Quoted by the firm |
The four charges set by statute add up to $1,240. Lender fees, prepaid interest, escrow deposits, and your homeowner’s insurance come on top of that. Run the loan through the mortgage calculator for the monthly figure.
More: closing costs by state, the Georgia state guide, the refinance guide, and the neighbors: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the buyer or the seller owe Georgia’s transfer tax?
The statute names both. Section 48-6-3 says the tax “shall be paid by the person who executes the deed” (the seller) “or by the person for whose use or benefit” it is executed (the buyer).
I’m paying cash. Is there an intangible recording tax?
No. The tax is imposed on the security instrument that secures a long-term note, so a purchase with no loan has nothing for it to attach to.
Can a notary or mobile signing agent close my Georgia purchase?
No, unless a Georgia lawyer is conducting the closing. The Supreme Court of Georgia refused to allow witness-only closings in 2003 (277 Ga. 472).
Is a HUD-owned home exempt from the transfer tax?
Yes. HUD is a federal department, and § 48-6-2(a)(3) exempts any deed to which a department of the United States is a party. A 1968 Attorney General opinion (No. 68-37) adds that the buyer from HUD, “who is secondarily responsible, would not be liable for the tax on the exempt transaction.” You still have to show the consideration on the state form (§ 48-6-2(b)).
My lender offers a five-year balloon. Does it pay intangible tax?
Not if all of the principal falls due within 62 months of the note date and it is recorded on or after July 1, 2025. The Department of Revenue says such a note “will not be subject to the intangible recording tax.”