Closing Costs in Nevada 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

Nevada’s real property transfer tax is $2.55 per $500 of value in Clark County, $2.05 in Washoe and Churchill counties, and $1.95 in the rest of the state. By statute the buyer and the seller are both liable for it, whatever the purchase contract says about who pays.

$1.95, $2.05 or $2.55: the county decides

Two state statutes set the rate, and two counties add a local tax on top:

• NRS 375.020: $1.25 per $500 “in a county whose population is 700,000 or more,” and 65 cents in every smaller county.
• NRS 375.023: $1.30 per $500 in every county.
• 10 cents more in two counties. Washoe County Code 21.1630 applies it “throughout Washoe County, including incorporated cities.” Separately, the Local Government Tax Act of 1991 (ch. 491, Statutes of Nevada 1991, sec. 32) authorized a tax of “up to 10 cents for each $500” in six jurisdictions, but sec. 34 bars four of them (Elko, Humboldt and Lander counties and Carson City) from levying it after June 30, 1996. The Department of Taxation’s 2026 quarterly report says “only Churchill County and Washoe County impose an additional $0.10 levy.”

The Department of Taxation’s rate page lists the $1.95 base for all counties, “an additional $0.10” for Washoe and Churchill, and “an additional $0.60” for Clark. NRS 375.026 would let a county under 700,000 people add up to 5 cents more, but the Department’s list shows no other add-on. NRS 375.020 was last amended in 2011 and NRS 375.023 in 2009, as shown in the Legislature’s code revision dated April 15, 2026.

The tax runs on “each $500 of value or fraction thereof,” so a $450,200 price is billed as 901 units, not 900. On a $450,000 sale:

The full price is taxed; the deed of trust is not a “deed”

For a sale, “value” means “the amount of the full purchase price paid or to be paid” (NRS 375.010(1)(f)). For a gift or nominal-consideration deed it is estimated fair market value, drawn from the assessor’s taxable value or a purchase within the prior 5 years, “whichever is higher.” No tax is due unless the value exceeds $100. The chapter’s definition of “deed” excludes “a deed of trust or common-law mortgage instrument that encumbers real property.”

Each deed must come with a Declaration of Value on the Nevada Tax Commission’s form, and recording that declaration is free (NRS 375.060(3)).

“Jointly and severally liable,” even if the contract assigns it

NRS 375.030(2): “The buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the taxes.” The escrow holder “is not liable.” Subsection 4 lets the parties agree “that one party or the other will be responsible.” It then adds that “such an agreement does not affect the ability of the county recorder to collect the tax and any penalties and interest from either the buyer or the seller.” Read the transfer-tax clause in your purchase agreement with that in mind.

Family, trust and divorce deeds

NRS 375.090, last amended in 2023, lists 14 exemptions. Six of them cover common household transfers:

• the owner is related to the recipient “within the first degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity” (subsection 5);
• to or from a trust “without consideration if a certificate of trust is presented at the time of transfer” (7);
• between former spouses “in compliance with a decree of divorce” (6);
• without consideration, from one joint tenant or tenant in common to the remaining co-owners (4);
• a deed effective on the grantor’s death under NRS 111.655 to 111.699, with a recorded Death of Grantor Affidavit (10);
• to a business that the person conveying owns “100 percent” of (9).

Recording: $25 in statute, up to $43 with add-ons

NRS 247.305 builds the per-document fee from four parts:

• $25 base;
• an optional technology fee of up to $5;
• a mandatory $7, of which $5 funds legal services in guardianship cases;
• up to $6 more if the county adopts it by ordinance.

Washoe’s schedule lists a “General Document Recording Fee” of “$43.00 per document.” Clark’s schedule, effective January 1, 2020, lists “$42.00” per document for standard recordings. The deed and the buyer’s deed of trust are two documents, and each pays the fee.

Title and escrow charges come off a filed schedule

Under NRS 692A.120, each title insurer files its rate schedules with the Commissioner of Insurance. A schedule is approved unless the Commissioner disapproves it within 30 days, and it cannot be used before approval. No title insurer or agent may charge “for premium, escrow, settlement or closing services” tied to a policy “except in accordance with the schedule of charges filed with the Commissioner.” Charges may differ from one county to the next (NRS 692A.130).

Who may hold the escrow

Chapter 375 defines escrow as handing the deed to a third person, “including an attorney, title company, real estate broker or other person engaged in the business of administering escrows for compensation.” NRS 645A.015 requires a license from the Commissioner of Mortgage Lending to administer escrows as a business. Exempt are, among others:

• banks;
• people licensed under the title insurance chapter;
• a Nevada lawyer who handles the escrow while practicing law, under a law firm’s name, with the money in a client trust account.

A title agent or escrow officer may handle “escrows, settlements and closings” if escrow money is recorded separately and not commingled (NRS 692A.100(3)).

Home Is Possible second mortgages

Nevada Housing Division programs, as its Home Is Possible site describes them on September 24, 2026. All three require a primary residence, a 640 credit score (660 for manufactured homes) and a homebuyer education course.

• HIP for First-Time Homebuyers: “up to 4% of total loan amount” for down payment and closing costs, offered in 2% and 4% tiers. It is “a no interest, no payment, non-forgivable second mortgage.” First-time means you “could not have owned a primary residence in the last 3 years”. Government loans use county price and income limits; the conventional track caps the price at $570,000 and income at 80% of county AMI.
• HIP-DPA: “up to 5% of the loan value,” offered in 3% and 5% tiers, with no first-time requirement. The home price can be up to $832,750. Income can be up to $165,000 on government loans; conventional loans at or below 80% of area median income use county limits. Most tiers are “a no interest, no payment, non-forgivable second mortgage”; the 3% government-loan tier reads “a no interest, no payment 30-yr note.”
• HIP for Teachers: $7,500 as “a no interest, no payment prorated 5-year forgivable note” for Nevada-licensed full-time K-12 public or public charter school classroom teachers, with the same $832,750 price cap. The program is “available through December 31, 2026.”

More Nevada and neighbor-state pages

• Nevada real estate guide
• Homeowner insurance guide for Nevada
• Closing costs by state
• Mortgage pre-approval and down payment calculator
• What can I afford and mortgage calculator
• Closing costs in California, Arizona and Utah

Nevada closing questions

Our contract says the seller pays the transfer tax. Can the county still bill me?

Yes. Under NRS 375.030(4), the recorder can collect the tax, penalties and interest “from either the buyer or the seller,” whatever you agreed between yourselves.

Is my loan taxed when the deed of trust is recorded?

Not by the transfer tax: a deed of trust falls outside chapter 375’s definition of “deed.” The deed of trust does pay the per-document recording fee.

My parents are deeding their house to me. Is transfer tax due?

Not if the family exemption fits. NRS 375.090(5) exempts “a transfer, assignment or other conveyance of real property if the owner of the property is related to the person to whom it is conveyed within the first degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity.” The deed still needs a Declaration of Value.

Where can I see a title company’s actual prices?

In its filed schedule. NRS 692A.140 requires the schedule to be displayed in each office and copies to be given on request.

What if the recorder rejects our exemption after recording?

The recorder notifies the buyer and the seller. If the tax is not paid within 30 days, a 10 percent penalty and 1 percent a month in interest are added, counted from the original recording date (NRS 375.030(3)).