Closing Costs in Virginia 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide
Virginia taxes both the deed and the buyer’s deed of trust at 25 cents per $100, and a city or county may add one-third of that. The grantor tax is 50 cents per $500. Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads localities add transportation fees that the statute also assigns to the grantor unless the parties arrange otherwise.
Recordation tax: charged on the deed and again on the loan
Va. Code § 58.1-801 taxes every recorded deed at “25 cents on every $100 or fraction thereof” of the consideration or “the actual value of the property conveyed, whichever is greater.” Value means “the most recent property tax assessment for such property at the time the property is conveyed,” so a sale below the assessment is taxed on the assessment.
The loan is a second taxable instrument. § 58.1-803 charges a deed of trust 25 cents per $100 “of the amount of bonds or other obligations secured thereby.”
Neither section names a payer. The Supreme Court of Virginia’s circuit court fee schedule calls the deed tax “State recordation tax (grantee),” and § 58.1-812(D) says nothing in the chapter limits the parties’ right “to allocate responsibility for the payment of the recordation taxes and fees imposed under this chapter among themselves in any manner they determine.” Read the tax clause of your contract.
The local one-third
§ 58.1-3800 lets a city or county levy its own tax “in an amount equal to one-third of the amount of the state recordation tax” (see also § 58.1-814). It applies only where the locality has adopted it. Fairfax County’s circuit court lists “$0.083 per $100” in its schedule effective July 1, 2026.
The grantor’s share and the regional fees
§ 58.1-802 levies “50 cents for each $500 or fraction thereof” once the consideration or value exceeds $100, figured “exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon at the time of the sale.” The tax “shall be paid by the grantor … however, the grantor and grantee may arrange for the grantee to pay all or a portion of the tax.”
Three regional fees use the same base and the same payer rule:
| Fee | Where | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| WMATA capital fee, § 58.1-802.3 | Northern Virginia Transportation Authority members: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park (§ 33.2-2501) | $0.10 per $100 |
| Regional congestion relief fee, § 58.1-802.4 | Planning districts meeting the section’s population, vehicle and ridership test; the section routes Planning District 8 revenue to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund | $0.10 per $100 |
| Regional transportation improvement fee, § 58.1-802.5 | Localities in a Hampton Roads transportation district created under § 33.2-1903 | $0.06 per $100 |
A $400,000 Fairfax County purchase
Price at or above the assessment, a $360,000 deed of trust, no assumed loan, Fairfax’s county rate:
- State tax on the deed: $1,000 (4,000 × $0.25)
- County tax on the deed: $332 (4,000 × $0.083)
- State tax on the deed of trust: $900 (3,600 × $0.25)
- County tax on the deed of trust: $298.80 (3,600 × $0.083)
- Grantor tax: $400 (800 × $0.50)
- WMATA capital fee and congestion relief fee: $400 each
Total: $2,530.80 in recordation taxes and $1,200 on the grantor side, before clerk’s fees. In a Hampton Roads district locality, one $240 fee (4,000 × $0.06) replaces the two Northern Virginia fees.
Clerk’s fees come from Title 17.1
§ 17.1-275(A)(2) sets recording at “$18 for an instrument or document consisting of 10 or fewer pages or sheets,” $32 for 11 to 30 and $52 for 31 or more, and subsection F makes the section “control the fees charged by clerks of circuit courts.” § 17.1-279 adds an $8 Technology Trust Fund fee per instrument, up from $5 on July 1, 2026 according to the court system’s schedule. That schedule also lists a $20 processing fee on deeds and deeds of trust taxed under §§ 58.1-801 or 58.1-803. A $3 fee (§ 58.1-817) applies only “in those jurisdictions in which open-space easements are held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.”
Title premiums are priced by the insurer
“Any title insurance company may issue, publish and use price schedules” (§ 38.2-4608(D)), and under subsection E an insurer or agent “may charge risk rates that it negotiates with any potential insured”; such rates are presumed not unfairly discriminatory if they otherwise meet subsection A, which requires rates to be “reasonable and adequate.” Before disbursing funds on a residential sale, the settlement agent must obtain the buyer’s written statement accepting or declining owner’s coverage (§ 38.2-4616).
Settlement agents: lawyers and non-lawyers
§ 55.1-1003(A) lets six kinds of settlement agent run a closing, provided the person has no felony conviction without restored civil rights or a writ of actual innocence: a Virginia-licensed attorney, a title insurance company, an appointed title agent, a licensed real estate broker, a financial institution, or its subsidiary or affiliate. Under § 55.1-1002(B)(1), a registered lay settlement agent “may provide escrow, closing, and settlement services for any real property located within the Commonwealth.” The purchaser or borrower picks the agent (§ 55.1-1006).
Contracts for homes of up to four units must carry a boldface notice stating that “No settlement agent can provide legal advice to any party to the transaction” unless the agent practices law in Virginia and was retained by that party (§ 55.1-1007).
Virginia Housing grants and the Plus second mortgage
As read on the Virginia Housing Development Authority’s pages on September 24, 2026:
- Down Payment Assistance Grant: “a true grant, meaning you never need to repay it,” for first-time buyers or repeat buyers purchasing in Areas of Economic Opportunity who “Have a bond FHA/Conventional loan from Virginia Housing,” within income and price limits. The page gives no amount.
- Closing Cost Assistance Grant: “may be worth up to 2% of your home’s purchase price,” for first-time buyers or repeat buyers purchasing in Areas of Economic Opportunity who “Have a bond Rural Housing Service (RHS) or Veterans Affairs (VA) loan from Virginia Housing,” within income and price limits.
- Plus Second Mortgage: a loan paired with an eligible Virginia Housing first mortgage, “a 30-year, fixed-rate loan with no prepayment penalty.” The amount depends on credit score and first-mortgage type, with “the maximum” at “5% of your home’s purchase price”; a 680 or higher score lets it finance part of closing costs.
Virginia closing questions
I’m refinancing. Do I pay recordation tax again?
Yes, at 18 cents per $100 on the first $10 million instead of 25 cents, if the loan being refinanced was secured by a deed of trust that paid the tax (§ 58.1-803(E)). The new instrument must cite the book and page or instrument number of that earlier deed of trust.
We’re paying less than the assessed value. What is taxed?
The assessment. Both the deed tax and the grantor tax use the greater of consideration or value, and § 58.1-801 defines value as the most recent property tax assessment.
Is a gift deed to a family member taxed?
No recordation tax is required when no consideration passes (§ 58.1-811(D)), and the deed must state that it is a deed of gift or a “quitclaim deed without consideration.”
Can the buyer take over the grantor tax?
Yes. § 58.1-802 lets “the grantor and grantee” arrange for the grantee to pay all or part, and §§ 58.1-802.3 through 802.5 say the same of the regional fees. Put any such arrangement in the purchase contract.
Can the seller insist on their own settlement company?
No. The seller “may not require the use of a particular settlement agent as a condition of the sale of the property” (§ 55.1-1006).
Related: closing costs by state, Virginia real estate guide, Virginia homeowner insurance, pre-approval, down payment calculator, affordability calculator, mortgage calculator, refinance guide. Neighbors: West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland.