Closing Costs in Rhode Island 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide
Since October 1, 2025, Rhode Island’s conveyance tax has been $3.75 per $500. It used to be $2.30. A 2026 residential sale also pays a second $3.75 per $500 on the part above $824,000. The seller pays unless the contract says otherwise. A lawyer must draft or review the deed.
$3.75 for every $500 or part of $500
R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-25-1(a) taxes a deed when the consideration exceeds $100. The rate is $3.75 “for each five hundred dollars ($500), or fractional part of it.” The price counts “inclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining,” so a mortgage the buyer takes over is included. A partial $500 counts as a full one: $450,250 is 901 units, which comes to $3,378.75. The Division of Taxation’s Advisory 2025-13 dates the new rate from October 1, 2025. The town collects the tax when the deed is recorded, and the stamps go on the original deed (§ 44-25-3).
The second tier above $824,000
Section 44-25-1(b) adds another $3.75 per $500 on the part of a residential price above the threshold. The threshold started at $800,000. It rises each year with CPI-U and can never go down. Advisory 2026-01 sets it at $824,000 for calendar 2026. The Division’s conveyance tax page says residential property “may include multi-family homes” and “is determined based on classifications by each city or town.” In a mixed-use building, only the price apportioned to the residential part counts.
| 2026 price | Tier 1, full price | Tier 2, over $824,000 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $2,250 | none | $2,250 |
| $500,000 | $3,750 | none | $3,750 |
| $1,000,000 residential | $7,500 | $176,000 ÷ $500 × $3.75 = $1,320 | $8,820 |
Who owes the stamps
Section 44-25-1(a) reads: “In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the tax shall be paid by the grantor.” The second tier is paid “at the same time and in the same manner.” Check whether your purchase and sale agreement has a clause assigning the tax.
A short exemption list
Section 44-25-2 exempts the following:
- instruments “given to secure a debt,” such as your mortgage
- deeds from the United States, the state or a political subdivision
- deeds for Providence’s capital center project
- qualified sales of a mobile home park to a resident-owned organization
- certain transfers of ownership interests in affordable housing developments
The list has no first-time buyer or family exemption. If no consideration is paid, the deed must say that no stamps are required (§ 44-25-1(c)).
New Shoreham and Little Compton add their own charge
- New Shoreham (Block Island): The town clerk’s page says the Block Island Land Trust “charges the purchaser a fee of 3% of the purchase price.” Timeshares pay one quarter of that. A Land Trust Form A must be filed with every deed.
- Little Compton: The Agricultural Conservancy Trust act (P.L. 1985, ch. 16, as amended by P.L. 2002, ch. 174) lets the town’s voters levy an extra tax on the price above an exemption of at least $75,000. It makes the tax “the obligation of the buyer of real property unless otherwise agreed.” The Trust says the tax “is now set at 4% on that portion of a real estate transaction in excess of $450,000.”
Recording: $84 for a deed, $64 for a mortgage
Section 34-13-7 sets recording fees of $80 for a warranty or quitclaim deed, $60 for a mortgage and $45 for a mortgage discharge, plus $1 for each additional page. Section 42-8.1-20(b) adds $4 “for every instrument filed for recording.” Providence’s posted schedule shows the resulting $84 and $64. New Shoreham also charges $6 to file its Land Trust Certificate A.
Title premiums: the commissioner’s approved schedules
Under § 27-2.6-16, a title insurer may charge regulated rates only “in accordance with the premium rate schedule and manuals filed with and approved by the commissioner.” An insurer may file through a rate service organization and may file deviations from that organization’s rates (§ 27-2.6-18). Ask your agent which approved schedule your quote is based on.
What In re Paplauskas (2020) allows a title company to do
Only members of the Rhode Island bar may practice law (§ 11-27-5). In In re Paplauskas, Nos. 2018-161, -162 and -163-M.P. (R.I. May 29, 2020), the Supreme Court held that title insurance companies and their agents may “conduct a residential real estate closing,” provided this is “carried out in connection with the issuance of title insurance.” The court drew three limits:
- A licensed attorney must “either draft the deed himself or herself or carefully review a deed that has been drafted by a non-attorney.”
- Only an attorney engaged or employed by the title company may examine title for marketability.
- Before the closing begins, a non-attorney closing agent must tell both sides that the agent is not a lawyer, represents neither of them and cannot give legal advice. The agent must also say that anyone with a legal question should stop the closing and consult a lawyer. A written notice with these warnings is the first document signed at the table.
Out-of-state sellers: 6% held back
Under § 44-30-71.3, the buyer must withhold 6% of the net proceeds actually paid to a nonresident individual, estate, partnership or trust, or 7% for a nonresident corporation. The buyer remits it within three banking days of closing. The Division’s rule 280-RICR-20-10-1 lets the seller have withholding figured on gain instead. To do that, every seller must elect it on Form RI 71.3 “at least twenty (20) days prior to the closing date.” The seller then brings the Division’s Certificate of Withholding Due to the closing.
RIHousing money for cash to close
Each program below requires a RIHousing first mortgage and homebuyer education. It covers first-time buyers of a 1-4 family home or condo they will live in. These terms were read on September 24, 2026.
- 15kDPA: “$15,000 in assistance for down payment and/or closing costs in the form of a zero-percent (0%) interest rate loan.” There are no monthly payments. It comes due when the home is sold, transferred or mortgaged again, or when it stops being your primary residence. Requires a 660 credit score and RIHousing price and income limits.
- Extra Assistance: Up to 6% of the price or $20,000, whichever is lower. It is a second mortgage at the first mortgage’s rate, with a 15-year term and a 620 minimum score.
- FirstGenHomeRI: $25,000 for first-generation buyers now living in Central Falls, East Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Providence (not 02906) or one Newport tract. It is forgivable after five years of owning and living in the home. Requires a 660 credit score and RIHousing price and income limits. RIHousing calls it a pilot with limited funds, offered only through its Loan Center.
The RI REALTORS® Homebuyer Grant is closed.
Related pages
Rhode Island real estate guide · Rhode Island homeowner insurance · closing costs by state · Connecticut · Massachusetts · pre-approval · down payment calculator · affordability calculator · mortgage calculator · refinance guide
Rhode Island closing questions
I’m selling a Cranston house for $500,000 in 2026. How much conveyance tax will I pay?
$3,750: 1,000 units of $500 at $3.75 each. You pay it unless the purchase and sale agreement shifts it to the buyer.
Does the second tier apply to a three-family house selling for $900,000?
Yes, if the town classifies it as residential. The total is $6,750 on the full price plus $570 on the $76,000 above $824,000, or $7,320.
My parents are deeding me their house, and I’m taking over their mortgage. Is there tax?
Yes, if the remaining balance is over $100. The consideration includes “the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining,” even when no cash changes hands.
Does a lawyer have to sit at the table when I close?
Not if the closing is run by the title company issuing your policy and it gives the Paplauskas notice first. A lawyer still has to draft or review the deed.