Closing Costs in DC, Maryland & Virginia: What Buyers Actually Pay in 2026

A buyer purchasing a $750,000 home in Bethesda will write a different check at the closing table than a buyer purchasing the same $750,000 home in Arlington — or in Capitol Hill. Sometimes the difference is more than $10,000. The home is the same. The lender can be the same. The closing costs are not.

If you're shopping across the DMV, this is one of the most important numbers most buyers don't think about until the loan estimate lands in their inbox. Here's what to expect in DC, Maryland, and Virginia in 2026 — and why the differences are larger than most buyers realize.

Why DMV closing costs are unusual

In most metros, "closing costs" mean roughly the same thing whether you're shopping in one suburb or another. Not in the DMV. Three separate jurisdictions overlap in a single metropolitan area, and each writes its own rules for transfer taxes, recordation taxes, and first-time-buyer exemptions. A buyer comparing a townhouse in Falls Church to a townhouse in Silver Spring is comparing two different tax regimes — even if the home prices are identical.

The biggest swings show up in three line items: state and local transfer taxes, recordation taxes, and first-time-buyer exemptions. Lender fees, appraisal, and title insurance are roughly comparable across the three. The transfer and recordation taxes are not.

Maryland: mid-range, but the county matters

Maryland buyers pay a 0.5% state transfer tax plus a county transfer tax that varies by jurisdiction — Montgomery County charges 1.0%, Howard County 1.0%, Anne Arundel 1.0%, and Prince George's 1.4%. On top of that, Maryland charges a state recordation tax of roughly $5.00 per $500 of the purchase price (about 1.0% effective).

Customary practice in Maryland is to split transfer and recordation taxes equally between buyer and seller, but this is negotiated in every contract. As a buyer, plan on roughly 1.25% to 1.7% of purchase price in transfer and recordation costs alone, depending on county and how the contract is written.

First-time Maryland homebuyers get a meaningful break: they're exempt from the buyer's half of the 0.5% state transfer tax. That's roughly $1,875 saved on a $750,000 purchase — small, but worth claiming.

Virginia: the lowest closing costs in the DMV

Virginia is the cheapest jurisdiction to close a purchase in. The state recordation tax is roughly 0.25% on the deed, plus a grantee tax of about 0.083%, plus a small local recordation tax of another 0.083%. Total buyer-side transfer and recording costs come in around 0.42% of purchase price — meaningfully lower than either Maryland or DC.

There's one wrinkle for Northern Virginia: counties subject to the regional congestion relief tax (Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, Prince William, and others) add roughly 0.10% — but this is paid by the seller, not the buyer.

For buyers stretching to make a number work, this can be a real factor. A $750,000 home in Arlington costs the buyer roughly $3,000–$3,500 in transfer and recordation. The same purchase in Montgomery County costs the buyer closer to $9,500–$13,000 once county transfer is split.

DC: the highest closing costs of the three

DC has the highest transaction taxes in the DMV. The DC recordation tax is paid by the buyer at 1.1% of purchase price for homes under $400,000 and 1.45% for homes $400,000 and above. The DC transfer tax is paid by the seller at the same rates — but is sometimes negotiated as a buyer concession.

On a $750,000 DC purchase, recordation alone is $10,875. That's the buyer's line item, before any lender or title fees.

The good news: first-time DC homebuyers can claim a reduced recordation tax of 0.725% (versus 1.45%), provided they meet the income and ownership-history requirements. On the same $750,000 purchase, that's a savings of roughly $5,400. If you're a first-time DC buyer, this exemption is worth structuring your offer around.

Side-by-side: $750,000 home, buyer-side closing costs

Arlington, VA: ~$3,200 — Lowest in the DMV
Montgomery County, MD: ~$9,750 — Assumes 50/50 split per custom
Washington, DC: ~$10,875 — Drops to $5,440 for first-time buyers

These numbers exclude title insurance (typically 0.5–1.0%), lender fees, prepaid taxes and insurance, and appraisal. Add roughly 2–3% of purchase price total when budgeting for buyer closing costs across the DMV — and use the higher end if you're closing in DC or a high-county-transfer Maryland jurisdiction.

What this means for your offer

If you're shopping across state lines, factor closing costs into your budget the same way you factor interest rate or property tax. A buyer who can stretch to $800,000 in Arlington may only be able to stretch to $775,000 in Bethesda once the transfer math is done.

If you're a first-time buyer in DC, claim the reduced recordation rate. It's the single largest concession available to you, and it's only granted at closing if your contract requests it.

If you're buying in a high-transfer Maryland county, negotiate the split. The 50/50 convention is exactly that — a convention. In a soft market, sellers will often absorb more.

If you're stretching budget, ask your lender for a side-by-side estimate before you write an offer. The loan estimate is a federal disclosure that has to land in your inbox within three days of application — and the closing-cost line items are the most negotiable parts of the entire transaction.

Get a real number, not an estimate

Online closing-cost calculators get you in the right ballpark. They miss the local nuances — first-time-buyer programs, county-specific rates, lender credits, and seller concessions — that move the number by thousands.

Channel Marker Mortgage is licensed across DC, Maryland, Virginia, and five other states, and we run real loan estimates for every jurisdiction in the DMV. If you're trying to figure out which side of the river makes the most sense for your purchase, we'll model both — same lender, same loan, side-by-side numbers — so you can write the offer with confidence.

Book a 15-minute call and we'll walk you through your numbers.

The transfer, recordation, and grantee tax rates in this post reflect 2026 schedules in the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland (including Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Prince George's Counties), and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Rates and exemption thresholds change. Verify current figures with your lender or settlement attorney before relying on them for a transaction.