Closing Costs in Tennessee 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide
Tennessee collects two state taxes at the county register’s counter. The deed pays 37 cents per $100 of the price or the value, whichever is greater, and the statute puts that tax on the grantee. The deed of trust pays 11.5 cents per $100 of the loan, and the first $2,000 is not taxed.
The 37-cent realty transfer tax and the grantee’s oath
Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409(a)(1) taxes transfers of realty by deed or other instrument “for state purposes only,” at 37 cents per $100. The Department of Revenue prints the same rate on its rate page and in its June 2026 Recordation Tax Manual. On a sale, the base is the consideration or the property’s value, whichever is greater. Value is defined as “the amount that the property transferred would command at a fair and voluntary sale.”
Quitclaim deeds are taxed only on the consideration actually given. Public Chapter 834 of 2022 limits that treatment to a deed that conveys only the grantor’s interest. A quitclaim worded like a general warranty deed is taxed on the greater of consideration or value.
Section 67-4-409(a)(1)(F) names the payer: “This tax shall be paid by the grantee or transferee of the interest in real estate, as shown on the instrument evidencing the transfer of such interest.” No other payer appears in that section. Check the tax clause in your purchase contract to see how your closing statement handles it. The grantee, the grantee’s agent or a trustee for the grantee states the consideration or value under oath on the face of the deed. The register “is forbidden to record the transfer until this tax has been paid.”
| Price or value, whichever is greater | Transfer tax at $0.37 per $100 |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $925.00 |
| $300,000 | $1,110.00 |
| $450,000 | $1,665.00 |
Deeds § 67-4-409(a)(1)(C) leaves untaxed
- Certain deeds between spouses that create or dissolve a tenancy by the entirety.
- Decrees and deeds adjusting property rights between divorcing parties.
- Deeds into your own revocable living trust, or your spouse’s, and deeds from that trust back to either of you.
- An executor’s deed carrying out a will.
11.5 cents on the deed of trust: the borrower owes it, the lender collects it
Section 67-4-409(b)(1) charges 11.5 cents per $100 of the debt a deed of trust or mortgage secures. Section 67-4-409(b)(5) exempts the first $2,000. It also says “the incidence of the tax provided by this section is declared to be upon the mortgagor, grantor or debtor.” Section 67-4-409(b)(13) makes it “the duty of every holder of an indebtedness” to “collect the tax imposed by this subsection (b) from the debtor and to remit the tax.” A holder that underpays owes a penalty of $250 or double the unpaid tax, whichever is greater. The department’s manual reads the two rules together: the mortgagor “pays the tax,” and a holder “must collect and remit the tax.”
Only principal is taxed, not interest. Each deed of trust must state: “Maximum principal indebtedness for Tennessee recording tax purposes is $____.” Buy at $300,000 with a $285,000 loan and you owe $1,110.00 on the deed. The deed of trust owes $325.45, which is 11.5 cents on each $100 of $283,000. That comes to $1,435.45 in state tax before fees.
According to the manual, a deed of trust recorded with an assignment to the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) or to the FHA is exempt. That exemption does not reach Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Reverse mortgages labeled under what Public Chapter 1027 of 2026 renamed the Tennessee Reverse Mortgage Innovation Act are also outside the tax (§ 67-4-409(b)(2)).
Register fees set by § 8-21-1001
County registers charge the fees set by Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-1001. Davidson County’s register, for example, states that its fees “are mandated by Tennessee Code Annotated §8-21-1001.” The base schedule is:
- $10 per document up to 8½ by 14 inches, covering two pages (§ 8-21-1001(b)(3)).
- $5 for each page after the second and $5 for each extra instrument in the document (§ 8-21-1001(b)(4)-(5)).
- $2 per instrument (§ 8-21-1001(c)).
- $1 for each tax receipt (§ 67-4-409(d)(3)).
The section also lets a county add a $2 fee on documents filed through its electronic portal, if its legislative body approves by a two-thirds vote (§ 8-21-1001(j)). On the base schedule, a three-page warranty deed costs $17 ($10 + $5 + $2), plus the $1 receipt.
Title insurance: one filed schedule per county
Title insurers, or a licensed rating organization for them, file rate schedules with the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance (Rule 0780-01-12-.02). Once a filed schedule takes effect, no company, agent or approved attorney may charge “except in accordance with the schedule of rate which is in effect” (Rule 0780-01-12-.03). Rule 0780-01-12-.06(6) treats a schedule as unfair if it sets more than one schedule for a county or provides “for the negotiation or bidding of price.” In counties with fewer than 175,000 people (2010 or later census), the charge for title search and examination is not part of the filed rate (Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-35-129, as amended by Public Chapter 631 of 2012), so the filed rate covers only the insurer’s risk and search and exam are billed separately. In larger counties the filed rate can include search and examination. In counties over 700,000, charges for abstracts of title are filed on a separate schedule (Rule 0780-01-12-.02(1)(b), (2)). Ask the title agent which rate applies in your county.
If your lender takes a policy and you have not ordered an owner’s policy, the insurer must tell you in writing before the loan funds that the lender’s policy “does not afford title insurance protection to you.” Declining owner’s coverage means signing the department’s waiver form (Rule 0780-01-12-.10).
THDA’s Great Choice Plus second loans
THDA’s Great Choice Home Loan is a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Everyone on the application needs at least a 640 credit score, and income and price limits vary by county. Its Great Choice Plus page, read September 24, 2026, describes two second-loan options for down payment or closing costs, plus a new-construction variant:
- Deferred: “up to $6,000 or up to $10,000 in the form of a forgivable second mortgage loan,” at 0%. It is forgiven at the end of 10 years and due in full on an earlier sale or refinance.
- Amortizing: up to 5% of the sales price, with a $15,000 cap, over 30 years at the first mortgage’s rate.
- New construction: up to $25,000 over 15 years at 0%.
The assistance requires a homebuyer education class. Repeat buyers qualify in 43 targeted counties, in designated areas of 15 more, or as qualified military or a military spouse. See mortgage pre-approval and the down payment calculator.
More on Tennessee and its neighbors
- Closing costs by state
- Tennessee real estate guide
- Homeowner insurance guide for Tennessee
- What can I afford calculator and mortgage payment calculator
- Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia closing costs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the seller responsible for Tennessee’s transfer tax?
Not under the statute. Section 67-4-409(a)(1)(F) puts the tax on the grantee and names no other payer. Check your contract’s tax clause for how your closing statement splits it.
Does taking over the seller’s mortgage trigger the 11.5-cent tax?
It depends on the form of the assumption. The Department of Revenue says no tax is due if you promise to pay the seller’s loan and the seller stays liable, since no new debt exists. Tax is due if you sign a new contract with the lender that cancels the seller’s obligation.
Does adding my spouse to the deed cost transfer tax?
Not if the deed creates a tenancy by the entirety. Section 67-4-409(a)(1)(C) exempts a deed from one spouse to the other, or from one or both spouses to the original grantor and that grantor’s spouse, that creates or dissolves a tenancy by the entirety.
Can I bargain a Tennessee title premium down?
No. Each insurer must charge its filed schedule, and Rule 0780-01-12-.06(6) treats a schedule that allows “negotiation or bidding of price” as unfair.