Closing Costs in Nebraska 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

Nebraska’s documentary stamp tax went up to $3.32 per $1,000 of value on July 18, 2026. Section 76-901 levies it on the grantor, the seller who signs the deed. Recording costs $10 for the first page and $6 for each page after that. The buyer files Form 521, and without it the deed doesn’t get recorded.

Deed stamps went from $2.32 to $3.32 in July 2026, and drop back in 2032

The Department of Revenue’s rate history:

• $2.25 per $1,000 through September 2, 2025.
• $2.32 from September 3, 2025 through July 17, 2026, under LB 78.
• $3.32 from July 18, 2026, under LB 1067.

Section 76-901 now keeps $3.32 “for transfers before January 1, 2032.” From that date it goes back to $2.32.

The tax base is “the full actual consideration thereof, paid or to be paid, including the amount of any lien or liens assumed.” Gifts, and deeds whose consideration is nominal or unstated, are taxed on “the current market value of the property transferred.” The rate applies to “each one thousand dollars value or fraction thereof,” so a partial thousand counts in full.

The register of deeds in each county collects the stamps. Under section 76-903 the county keeps 50 cents of every $3.32 and sends the remainder to the State Treasurer.

The statute names one payer: the grantor

Section 76-901 begins: “There is hereby imposed a tax on the grantor executing the deed.” The Revenue regulation calls it “a tax upon the grantor for the privilege of transferring” title (REG-52-001.01). Sections 76-901 to 76-908 contain no provision shifting the tax to the buyer and no “unless agreed” clause. Check what your purchase agreement says about the stamps.

Section 76-904 says the register “shall accept no deeds … unless the stamps … are attached and canceled.” If taxability is disputed, section 76-903 says the register “shall not record the deed until the disputed tax is paid.” If the tax paid turns out to be invalid, section 76-908 allows a written refund claim with the register within two years of payment.

Stamp exemptions that fit a family or financed deal

Section 76-902 lists 26 exemptions. A deed is “presumed taxable unless it clearly appears on the face of the deed or sufficient documentary proof is presented” that it is exempt. The exemption number goes on line 25 of Form 521. Six that bear on home sales and family transfers:

• (3) “Deeds which secure or release a debt or other obligation,” so no stamps on the deed of trust given to your lender.
• (5)(a)(i) Deeds between spouses, between ex-spouses for property acquired or held during the marriage, or between parent and child, “without actual consideration therefor.”
• (13) Land contracts.
• (15) Deeds of distribution from a personal representative to heirs or devisees.
• (16) Transfer on death deeds and their revocations.
• (20) Deeds from a trustee to a trust beneficiary.

Register of deeds fees, Form 521 and the missile-field affidavit

Section 33-109(1) sets one fee for the register of deeds and the county clerk: $10 “for the first page and six dollars for each additional page.” It applies to a deed, a mortgage, a release or “any other instrument.” A three-page deed therefore costs $22.

• Form 521. Section 76-214 says the grantee, the purchaser, or an authorized agent signs and files the transfer statement. If the grantee or purchaser doesn’t furnish it, “the register of deeds shall not record the deed.”
• Foreign-adversary affidavit. Section 76-2,141 requires this affidavit from the purchaser of “covered real estate,” as defined in 31 C.F.R. 802.211(b)(3). The register “shall not record” the conveyance until it has the affidavit, and the call on whether one is needed “rests solely with the purchaser.” Form 521 asks whether the property is in an area with an active Air Force ballistic missile field. Its instructions list all of Banner, Cheyenne, Kimball and Scotts Bluff counties, plus parts of Deuel, Garden, Morrill and Sioux.

Title premiums come from each insurer’s approved schedule

Under section 44-1997(1), a title insurer may charge “any rates regulated by the state” only under “the premium rate schedule and manual filed with and approved by the director.”

Two Title Insurers Act protections at closing:

• Lender-only notice. If you finance the purchase and nobody requests an owner’s policy, then when the commitment is prepared you get a written notice, on a form prescribed or approved by the director, explaining that only the mortgage lender is covered, not you as owner, and that owner’s coverage is on offer “at a specified cost or approximate cost” (section 44-1992(2)). You sign it.
• Closing protection. If the insurer or its agent handles escrow, settlement or closing for your policy, the insurer “shall issue closing or settlement protection,” “to the extent such coverage is lawful.” The coverage is limited to loss of settlement funds caused by the named agent. Two acts qualify: theft, and failure to follow your written closing instructions “when agreed to by the title insurance agent relating to title insurance coverage.” The Director of Insurance may prescribe or approve a charge for this coverage (section 44-1984(2)).

Court rule 3-1004: what a broker or title agent may draft

Neb. Ct. R. § 3-1004(A)(5) lets “nonlawyer licensed real estate brokers and title insurance companies and their licensed agents” prepare “deeds, releases which do not affect judgment liens, deeds of reconveyance, title affidavits, closing statements, and related documents” when closing a real estate sale. These are “not prohibited,” “whether or not they constitute the practice of law,” but only on conditions. The work must be “merely incidental” to their lawful business. It must arise in the usual course of business: for a title company, in issuing title insurance; for a broker, as the listing or selling broker. It must use standardized forms. Under (A)(7), “No counsel or advice shall be given with respect to the meaning, validity, or legal effect of the document or regarding the rights and obligations of the parties.”

NIFA’s 1% second loan for down payment and closing costs

The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority’s Homebuyer Assistance program (HBA) pairs a first mortgage with a second mortgage loan. The second loan can be up to “5% of the home’s purchase price.” It carries a 1% rate over 120 months. HBA buyers “must meet NIFA’s first-time homebuyer eligibility requirements.” NIFA’s First Home page treats as first-time buyers those who “haven’t owned and occupied a primary residence within the past three years.”

The First Home page caps one-unit homes at $398,000 outside target areas and $485,500 inside them. The caps took effect 7/13/26. Repeat buyers can look at Welcome Home Assistance, which has a $182,800 household income limit. Figures are from nifa.org, read September 24, 2026.

More on buying in Nebraska

• Nebraska real estate guide
• Homeowner insurance in Nebraska
• Closing costs by state
• Iowa, Kansas and Colorado closing costs
• Down payment calculator, affordability calculator, mortgage payment calculator

Questions from Nebraska buyers and sellers

What stamp tax is due on a $350,000 Nebraska sale?

$1,162.00: 350 units of $1,000 at the $3.32 rate in effect since July 18, 2026. The statute puts it on the grantor.

Does my deed of trust owe stamp tax too?

No. Section 76-902(3) exempts deeds that “secure or release a debt or other obligation.” It still pays the section 33-109 recording fee.

My parents are deeding me their house. Is there stamp tax?

Not if the deed is “without actual consideration” (section 76-902(5)(a)(i)). If you pay them for it, that exemption doesn’t apply, and the deed is presumed taxable unless another exemption fits.

Will the $3.32 rate last?

Only for transfers before January 1, 2032. Section 76-901 sets $2.32 for transfers on or after that date.