Closing Costs in Minnesota 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

Minnesota taxes both closing documents. The seller, as grantor, owes deed tax of 0.0033 of the net consideration. The borrower owes mortgage registry tax of 0.0023 of the loan. Hennepin and Ramsey counties add 0.0001 to each tax. Recording a deed or mortgage costs $46.

Deed tax: 0.0033 of the price, net of liens that stay on the land

Minn. Stat. § 287.21, subd. 1 taxes “each deed or instrument by which any real property in this state is granted, assigned, transferred, or otherwise conveyed.” When the consideration, not counting liens that remain on the property, is more than $3,000, the tax is “.0033 of the net consideration.” At $3,000 or less, or with no consideration at all, the tax is a flat $1.65.

The percentage form dates from 2001. Before then the tax was “$1.65 plus $1.65 for each additional $500 or fraction” of the consideration, and Laws 2001, 1st Sp. Sess. ch. 5, art. 7, § 30 replaced that for documents acknowledged and recorded after July 31, 2001. The $3,000 threshold is newer: Laws 2019, 1st Sp. Sess. ch. 6, art. 4, § 24 raised it from $500 for deeds recorded after December 31, 2019.

“Net consideration” is the price minus any lien that attached before the sale “and that is not released or satisfied as a result of the sale” (§ 287.20, subd. 2(f)).

Under § 287.24, subd. 1, “any person who grants, assigns, transfers, or conveys” the property “shall be liable for such tax”. That person is the seller. The tax is due when the deed is presented for recording. Check your purchase agreement for the clause on who pays it at closing.

Hennepin and Ramsey counties: the extra 0.0001

Sections 383B.80 (Hennepin) and 383A.80 (Ramsey) let those two county boards levy a deed tax and a mortgage registry tax of .0001 each. The money goes to the county’s environmental response fund. In 2026 the Legislature moved the expiration of that authority from January 1, 2028 to January 1, 2036 (Laws 2026, ch. 128, art. 8, §§ 8–9). Revenue’s rate table shows 0.0033 as the “State rate for all Minnesota counties” and lists the add-on for Hennepin and Ramsey only.

On a $350,000 sale with no liens left on the property, the deed tax is $1,155. In Hennepin or Ramsey it is $1,190.

Deeds § 287.22 leaves out

• A deed “made pursuant to the terms of” a marriage dissolution decree, between the parties to it.
• A personal representative’s deed of distribution.
• A deed between co-owners “partitioning their undivided interest.”
• A transfer on death deed.
• A contract for deed, while it is executory. The deed that later completes it is taxed on the price in the contract (§ 287.20, subd. 2(d)).

The mortgage registry tax on the buyer’s loan

Section 287.035 taxes “the privilege of recording a mortgage” at “.0023 of the debt or portion of a debt that is secured.” It says: “The person liable for the tax is the mortgagor.” A cash buyer records no mortgage, so this tax does not come up. This wording applies to mortgages acknowledged and recorded after July 31, 2001.

A $280,000 loan owes $644, or $672 in Hennepin or Ramsey. Section 287.04 exempts, among other things, a contract for deed and a mortgage amendment or extension.

$46 per document, set in statute for every county

Section 357.18, subd. 1 sets the county recorder’s fee “for indexing and recording any deed or other instrument” at $46, and subd. 2 makes that “the fee charged in all counties” for that service. For registered (Torrens) land, the registrar of titles charges $46 to register a deed and issue the new certificate, and $46 for each memorial entered on a certificate (§ 508.82, subd. 1).

For a well disclosure certificate, the recorder or registrar collects “a fee of $54” “from the buyer or the person seeking to record” the deed (§ 103I.235, subd. 1(h)); a 2025 law raised it from $50. If the seller knows of no wells and the deed says so, no certificate is needed.

Title premiums come from each insurer’s approved filing

Chapter 68A defines a title insurer’s “direct risk premiums” as the charge made “according to the insurer’s rate filing approved by the commissioner of commerce.” Those premiums exclude charges “for abstracting, searching, or examining the title, or for escrow, closing, or other related services” (§ 68A.04, subd. 1). The Department of Commerce says “home buyers are free to shop around for a title agent or a title insurer” and that “the question of who pays for the owner’s policy can be negotiated as part of a purchase agreement.”

Who may run the closing: licensed closing agents and chapter 82

Section 82.641 requires a license to act as a “real estate closing agent.” Title insurers and their direct employees, title agents, licensed attorneys, and real estate brokers and salespersons are exempt from that license when they act as closing agents. Section 481.02, subd. 3a says the law against unauthorized practice does not stop a broker, salesperson or closing agent “from drawing or assisting in drawing papers incident to the sale, trade, lease, or loan of property.” Subdivision 9 adds that this does not let “a person other than a licensed attorney” provide “the services of an attorney.” Get legal advice on the deal from a lawyer.

Minnesota Housing’s Start Up and Step Up loans

Minnesota Housing’s homebuyer page, read September 24, 2026, describes two first mortgages:

• Start Up is for first-time buyers, meaning someone who “has not had an ownership interest in a principal residence in the last three years.” The income limit goes up to $156,100, depending on the county. The price limit is $515,200 in the 11-county metro area and $472,030 elsewhere.
• Step Up is for repeat buyers, and for first-time buyers over the Start Up limits. The income limit goes up to $196,600. The price limit is $515,200 in the metro area and $498,257 elsewhere.

The agency’s down payment and closing cost loans “are not grants” and “can only be used with a Minnesota Housing first mortgage.” The Monthly Payment Loan (up to $14,000) is repaid over 15 years at the first mortgage’s rate. The Deferred Payment Loan (up to $14,000) and DPL Plus (up to $18,000), for Start Up only, charge no interest; the balance is due at the end of the term, or earlier if you move, sell, refinance (except with Step Up) or pay off the first mortgage. Use the down payment calculator and mortgage pre-approval guide before you talk to a participating lender.

More on Minnesota, and the states next door

• Minnesota real estate guide
• Homeowner insurance guide for Minnesota
• Closing costs by state
• Mortgage payment calculator and what can I afford calculator
• Closing Costs in Wisconsin 2026, Iowa, North Dakota

Minnesota deed and mortgage tax questions

I’m assuming the seller’s mortgage. Is the balance I take over hit by deed tax?

No. A lien that stays on the property after the sale comes out of “net consideration” (§ 287.20, subd. 2(f)); the Department of Revenue uses “a buyer’s assumption of the seller’s mortgage” as its example.

The seller is leaving the furniture in our duplex. Does that raise the deed tax?

Yes. For a one-, two- or three-unit residential structure, § 287.20, subd. 2(c) counts the amount paid for personal property sold with it.

Does opening a home equity line in Minnesota trigger mortgage registry tax?

Yes. It is paid on “the maximum amount of the line of credit” stated in the mortgage, whatever you actually draw (§ 287.05, subd. 3).

We’re buying a condo. Do we need a well disclosure certificate?

No. Section 103I.235, subd. 1(e) says the subdivision “does not apply” to a transfer “that consists of an individual condominium unit.”