Recording fees and transfer taxes on a refinance: the government lines on your closing statement
Most closing costs are prices set by businesses: the lender, the appraiser, the title company. The government lines are different. Recording fees are charged by the county or city office that files your new mortgage in the public record. Transfer and mortgage taxes are levied by state and local governments under their own tax codes. Neither your lender nor this site sets them, neither can be negotiated, and both vary so much by location that any national figure would mislead you. What you can do is understand what each line pays for, learn which section of the Loan Estimate holds them, and verify the exact amount against your own county and state sources before closing.
Recording fees: paying to make the mortgage public
A mortgage is not fully effective against the world until it is recorded, entered into the public land records of the county or city where the home sits. The recording office charges for that filing, typically computed from the document and its page count under a fee schedule the local government publishes. On a refinance, the new mortgage is recorded and the old mortgage is released or satisfied in the records, so more than one document can generate a charge.
Because the schedule belongs to the local recording office, the amount is whatever that office's published schedule produces for your documents. It is not a lender markup and not a profit item for anyone at your closing table. CFPB's closing guidance groups these as government recording charges among the fees paid when closing on a mortgage, distinct from lender charges and from prepaids. If a recording line looks wrong, the check is the recorder's own fee schedule, not a competing lender's quote.
Transfer taxes and mortgage taxes: the state-by-state problem
Beyond recording, many states and some cities levy taxes on real estate transactions or on the mortgage itself, under names that differ by jurisdiction: transfer tax, deed tax, mortgage recording tax, intangible tax. The base differs too. Some charge on the property's value, some on the loan amount, some on the new money only when a loan grows. Rates, exemptions, and who legally owes the tax are set state by state and sometimes city by city.
This is the line where borrowed numbers do the most damage, so this guide states the rule plainly: we do not publish state-by-state figures, because a rate copied from the wrong state, the wrong year, or a purchase transaction applied to your refinance would cost you real money. What we can tell you is where the tax is determined: your state's tax code as published by its revenue department, and your county or city recording office's current schedule. Your Loan Estimate must show the lender's best figure for these government charges, and the sections below explain where to find it and how to check it.
A refinance is not a purchase, for tax purposes
On a purchase, both a deed and a mortgage are usually transferred and recorded, and purchase transfer taxes apply as the state defines them. On a refinance, no deed changes hands: you keep owning the home, the old loan is paid off, and a new mortgage is recorded. Many jurisdictions therefore tax a refinance differently from a purchase, taxing only the new mortgage, or only the increase over the old loan in some structures, or exempting certain refinance recordings altogether.
Do not import a purchase figure into a refinance estimate, in either direction. Assuming the full purchase transfer tax applies overstates your costs; assuming a refinance is tax free understates them. The correct figure is the one your state and county apply to a refinance recording, and the official source for it is the taxing jurisdiction itself. Your settlement agent computes it for the closing statement, and their worksheet should show the rate and base they used, in writing, if you ask.
Where these charges sit on the Loan Estimate
The Loan Estimate separates government charges from lender and third-party charges, in the taxes and other government fees section of the closing cost details. CFPB's Loan Estimate guide makes the general principle clear: government charges such as property taxes are set by government, outside the lender's pricing. That separation is your comparison tool. When two lenders' estimates differ wildly in the government section on the same property, one of them has used a wrong rate, base, or schedule, and the recorder's published schedule settles the argument.
These lines also carry change rules. CFPB's tolerance guidance lists government recording charges among the fees where estimates are held to limits on how much they can grow by the Closing Disclosure, while transfer taxes sit in a stricter category still. A jump between the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure in this section is therefore worth a direct question, with the county schedule in hand.
Verifying your own figure in ten minutes
Three checks, all free. First, open your county or city recorder or clerk's published fee schedule and confirm the recording charge per document. Second, find your state's revenue department page for its mortgage, deed, or transfer tax and confirm whether a refinance is taxed, on what base, and at what current rate, if your state has one. Third, compare both against the government fees section of your Loan Estimate and ask the settlement agent to show the rate and base behind any line that does not match.
However the check comes out, keep the classification straight in your own math. Recording fees are true closing costs, spent once and never returned, so they belong in the break-even total you run in the calculator. The government share of that total is fixed by your address, which is one more reason the break-even guide insists on your actual closing cost figure rather than a percentage guessed from a national average.
Worked example
Stated example: a $400,000 balance, 27 years left on the current loan, a new 30-year term, $6,000 of total closing costs, and a planned stay of seven years. The government lines, the county recording charge and any state or local mortgage tax your jurisdiction levies on a refinance, are one part of that $6,000, shown in the government fees section of the Loan Estimate. Because those charges are set by your county and state rather than your lender, verify them against the recorder's published schedule before closing; if the verified total changes, re-run the $6,000 figure in the calculator so the break-even month still reflects your real costs.
The trap most people miss
The trap is copying a transfer tax figure from a purchase article, another state, or a neighbor's closing in a different county. Government charges are set by the jurisdiction where your home sits, for a refinance specifically, and only the recorder's and revenue department's current publications settle them.
Checklist
- Find the government fees section of the Loan Estimate and list each government line separately.
- Check the recording charge against your county or city recorder's published fee schedule.
- Check any mortgage or transfer tax against your state revenue department's current refinance rules.
- Ask the settlement agent for the rate and base behind any tax line, in writing.
- Count verified recording and tax charges inside your total closing costs for the break-even test.
Common questions
Who sets recording fees?
The county or city recording office where your home is located, under its published fee schedule. Your lender collects and passes the charge through; the lender does not set it and cannot discount it.
Do all states charge a transfer or mortgage tax on refinances?
No. States and some cities differ: some tax the mortgage, some tax transfers, some tax only new money, and some have no such tax on a refinance. The names, bases, and rates all differ by jurisdiction, which is why this site does not publish state figures.
Where do I verify the exact tax for my refinance?
Your state revenue department's published rules for mortgage, deed, or transfer taxes, and your county or city recording office's current fee schedule. Ask your settlement agent to show the rate and the base they applied.
Where are government charges on the Loan Estimate?
In the taxes and other government fees section of the closing cost details, separate from lender charges. CFPB's Loan Estimate materials treat government-set charges as outside lender pricing, so two lenders quoting the same property should land in the same place.
Are recording fees part of my break-even?
Yes. Recording charges are true closing costs paid once and never refunded, so they sit inside the total your monthly saving has to repay. Count the verified amount, not an estimate borrowed from another state.
Sources and verification
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Loan Estimate explainer: consumerfinance.gov page-by-page guide to the Loan Estimate: closing cost categories, Section A origination charges, third-party service sections, and the appraisal copy right. Checked October 4, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What fees or charges are paid when closing on a mortgage?: consumerfinance.gov Ask CFPB: common closing fees include government taxes and government recording charges, separate from lender and prepaid items. Checked October 4, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Can my final mortgage costs increase from what was on my Loan Estimate?: consumerfinance.gov Ask CFPB on tolerance categories: transfer taxes among charges that generally cannot increase, government recording charges held to a cumulative limit. Checked October 4, 2026.
Educational explanation, not tax advice and not a quote. Your recording and tax charges are set by your state, county, or city and confirmed by your settlement agent on your Closing Disclosure.