Closing Costs in Kentucky 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide
Kentucky’s deed tax lands on the seller: KRS 142.050 imposes 50 cents for each $500 of value “upon the grantor,” and the county clerk collects it before recording the deed. On top of that sit a flat $4 state tax per deed and per mortgage and a clerk fee schedule written into state law. A non-lawyer may conduct the closing itself.
The seller’s line: KRS 142.050 and how the clerk computes it
The statute sets the rate at $0.50 “for each $500 of value or fraction thereof.” Any leftover amount under $500 is charged a full 50 cents, so a $250,000 sale owes $250, while $250,100 owes $250.50.
“Value” for a sale means the full actual consideration, paid or to be paid, “including the amount of any lien or liens thereon.” A buyer who takes over the seller’s $120,000 loan as part of a $200,000 price does not shrink the base: the deed tax is still computed on $200,000, or $200. For a gift, or a deed with nominal or no stated consideration, the base is instead the estimated open-market price.
The clerk works from the value declared in the deed and collects the tax once, in the county where the deed must be recorded. The clerk keeps 5% as a collection fee and sends the rest to the county treasurer for the county general fund. The section’s current text has been in force since July 15, 2014.
The buyer still has a hand in the figure the tax is computed on. For a sale, KRS 382.135 requires the deed to state the full consideration and to carry a sworn, notarized certificate, signed by the grantor and the grantee (or their agents), that the stated figure is the full consideration paid. The clerk may not record a deed that leaves these out. The statute names the grantor as the party taxed; check the closing-cost clause of your purchase contract as well.
Transfers KRS 142.050 leaves untaxed, among others
- Transfers between husband and wife, or between former spouses as part of a divorce proceeding.
- Between parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild, but only with nominal consideration.
- Deeds that confirm or correct an earlier recorded deed, and transfers solely to provide or release security for a debt.
- Foreclosure transfers and a voluntary surrender to the lender in lieu of foreclosure.
- Transfers into a trust when the grantor is the sole beneficiary, and from a trustee to a successor trustee.
The spousal exemption carries no price condition. The parent-child and grandparent-grandchild one does: sell your house to your daughter at a real price and the tax is due.
Clerk fees and the two $4 instrument taxes
Kentucky does not leave recording charges to each county. KRS 64.012, as amended effective July 15, 2026, lists them. A deed of up to five pages costs $33 to record and index, plus $3 for each additional page and $4 for each additional reference to the same instrument. A real estate mortgage of up to 30 pages costs $63, plus $3 per page beyond 30. Six dollars of each of those two base fees goes to the affordable housing trust fund created by KRS 198A.710. Subsection (3)(a) also entitles the clerk to a $10 reimbursement for permanent storage of deeds and mortgages.
Separately, KRS 142.010 levies a flat $4 state tax on each conveyance of real property and a flat $4 on each mortgage, whatever the loan amount. The clerk collects both before the original filing, and a deed releasing a lien retained in a deed or mortgage is not taxed under this section.
| Charge at the clerk’s counter | Law | Worked example: $250,000 sale, 5-page deed, 20-page mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate transfer tax | KRS 142.050(2) | $250 (owed by the grantor) |
| State tax on the deed | KRS 142.010(1)(d) | $4 |
| Recording the deed | KRS 64.012(1)(a) | $33 |
| Permanent-storage reimbursement, deed | KRS 64.012(3)(a) | $10 |
| State tax on the mortgage | KRS 142.010(1)(c) | $4 |
| Recording the mortgage | KRS 64.012(1)(ae) | $63 |
| Permanent-storage reimbursement, mortgage | KRS 64.012(3)(a) | $10 |
Other than the transfer tax, none of these statutes names who pays at the table; your settlement statement will show how the parties split them. County clerks’ posted schedules list a deed of up to five pages at $50 and a mortgage of up to 30 pages at $80, all-in, so confirm the total with the clerk in your county.
Title premiums: filed by each insurer, not set by the state
Under KRS 304.22-020, every title insurer must file “its schedule of the risk portion of premium rates” with the insurance commissioner before using it, and must then adhere to the rates it filed. Those rates may not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. The statute sets no premium itself, and KRS 304.13-021(8) excludes title insurance from the general rate-filing subtitle. Since each insurer is bound to its own filed schedule, ask the title agent which insurer is underwriting your policies and for the premium on its filed schedule.
Who may sit at the head of a Kentucky closing table
In Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v. Kentucky Bar Ass’n, 113 S.W.3d 105 (Ky. 2003), the Kentucky Supreme Court vacated a bar opinion, U-58, that had declared lay closings the unauthorized practice of law. The court held “that it is not the unauthorized practice of law for a layperson to conduct a real estate closing for another party,” and adopted the reasoning of the older opinion U-31.
That permission has limits. Under U-31, a lay closer must avoid giving legal advice, and when a legal question comes up, “the lay person should discontinue the closing and seek proper legal advice.” The court also restated its earlier rulings that making title examinations and preparing real estate mortgages are the practice of law. And it noted that, on the evidence before it, the attorney at a closing “almost invariably works for the lender.” If you want someone who represents you on the contract or the title policy, you hire that lawyer yourself.
Kentucky Housing Corporation’s down payment loan
KHC’s page, read September 24, 2026, describes its Down Payment Assistance as a loan of up to $12,500, in $100 increments, toward the down payment and closing costs. It is a secondary loan paid back to KHC over 15 years, and it goes with KHC first mortgages that meet KHC’s purchase price and income limits, so the application runs through a KHC-approved lender. Before that, mortgage pre-approval, the down payment calculator, and the affordability calculator will show how much cash the KHC loan would replace.
Kentucky’s border states and related guides
- Closing costs by state
- Kentucky real estate guide
- Homeowner insurance guide for Kentucky
- Mortgage calculator
- Closing Costs in Tennessee 2026
- Closing Costs in Ohio 2026
- Closing Costs in Virginia 2026
- Closing Costs in Indiana 2026
Kentucky closing questions
Does the buyer owe Kentucky’s transfer tax?
Not under the statute. KRS 142.050(2) imposes the tax “upon the grantor named in the deed.” A mortgage carries its own flat $4 state tax under KRS 142.010(1)(c).
My parents are deeding me their house for $1. Is the transfer tax due?
No. KRS 142.050(7)(l) exempts transfers between parent and child with only nominal consideration. A gift from an aunt or a sibling does not fit that exemption and is taxed on the estimated market value.
Why am I signing a sworn statement about the price?
Because KRS 382.135 makes the buyer’s side sign it too: on a sale, the grantee or the grantee’s agent joins the grantor in a sworn, notarized certificate that the deed states the full consideration, and the clerk will not record the deed without it.
Can a title company close my purchase without an attorney present?
Yes. Countrywide (2003) held that a layperson conducting a closing is not practicing law; under the U-31 reasoning the court adopted, the closer must give no legal advice and should stop the closing when a legal question comes up.
Is the KHC down payment money a grant?
It is a loan. KHC describes it as a secondary loan paid back over a 15-year term.