This page walks through what lands on a buyer’s side of a Georgia closing, which lines the law fixes, and which lines you can only get from a quote. To add up your own numbers, use the closing cost estimator.
The short list
- Set by Georgia law: the intangible recording tax on a new loan, the clerk’s recording fee, and the transfer tax if your contract moves it to you.
- From your lender: lender charges, prepaid interest and insurance, and the escrow deposit, all on your Loan Estimate.
- From the closing attorney and title insurer: the settlement fee, the title search and exam, the lender’s title policy and, if you choose one, an owner’s policy.
- Adjustments: your share of the year’s property taxes, worked out to the closing date.
Charges set by Georgia law
Intangible recording tax on your loan
The intangible recording tax
- Georgia's intangible recording tax on a security deed is $1.50 for each $500 or fraction of $500 of the loan's face amount. Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax page, checked 2026-10-19
- The lender owes the intangible recording tax but may pass the cost on to the borrower; it may not be treated as a finance charge. Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax page, checked 2026-10-19
The tax belongs to the lender, but the lender may pass it on to you. Your Loan Estimate shows where your lender puts it.
Transfer tax on the deed
The Department of Revenue says the seller is liable for the transfer tax, though the parties frequently agree in the sales contract that the buyer will pay it. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page, checked 2026-10-19)
So the transfer tax is the seller’s by default and yours only if the contract says so. Read the closing-cost section of your purchase contract, or ask your agent, before you count it.
The clerk’s recording fee
Georgia law sets the clerk's fee for filing each instrument pertaining to real estate, including each deed and assignment of a security deed, at $25.00. (O.C.G.A. 15-6-77, via FindLaw Codes (marked 'Current as of March 28, 2024'), checked 2026-10-19)
Recording puts the deed and your lender’s security deed on the county’s public record. The filing fee for each document is set by state law (currently $25 per instrument). Your closing attorney can tell you which documents your closing will record.
Worked examples at four prices
These are illustrations, not quotes. The prices and loan amounts are examples we picked, and the taxes are computed exactly from the statute rates below. Lender, title and attorney charges are left out on purpose: no official source sets them, so the only honest figures are the ones on your own quotes.
The rates used in the examples
- Georgia's real estate transfer tax is $1.00 for the first $1,000 of value and 10 cents for each additional $100 or fraction of $100, on deeds transferring realty sold for more than $100. O.C.G.A. 48-6-1 (2025 Georgia Code), via Justia, checked 2026-10-19
- Georgia's intangible recording tax on a security deed is $1.50 for each $500 or fraction of $500 of the loan's face amount. Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax page, checked 2026-10-19
| Example price | Transfer tax on the deed | Example loan | Intangible tax on the loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $250.00 | $200,000 | $600.00 |
| $300,000 | $300.00 | $240,000 | $720.00 |
| $350,000 | $350.00 | $280,000 | $840.00 |
| $400,000 | $400.00 | $320,000 | $960.00 |
How the $400,000 row works: $1.00 for the first $1,000, then the remaining $399,000 is 3,990 steps of $100 at 10 cents each, or $399.00, for a total of $400.00. The $320,000 loan is 640 units of $500, and 640 times $1.50 is $960.00. The other rows follow the same steps.
Remember that the transfer tax column is not automatically a buyer cost. Georgia imposes it on the seller unless your contract says otherwise.
Lender charges, prepaids and escrow
Your lender's two forms
- The lender must provide a Loan Estimate within three business days of receiving your mortgage application. CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is a Loan Estimate? (page last modified Aug. 14, 2024), checked 2026-10-19
- The Closing Disclosure is a five-page form with final details of your loan, including loan terms, projected monthly payments and closing costs. CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is a Closing Disclosure? (page last modified Sept. 6, 2024), checked 2026-10-19
The lender’s own charges sit in section A of the Loan Estimate. Prepaid items and the opening deposit to your escrow account, which your lender uses to pay future tax and insurance bills, sit in sections F and G. These lines come from your lender, so compare them across lenders before you lock.
Title insurance: two different policies
What each policy protects
- Owner's title insurance protects the homeowner if someone sues claiming an interest in the home from before the purchase. CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is owner's title insurance? (page last modified Aug. 5, 2024), checked 2026-10-19
- Most lenders require a lender's title policy, while an owner's policy is something the buyer may choose to buy. CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is owner's title insurance? (page last modified Aug. 5, 2024), checked 2026-10-19
- You can usually shop for title insurance separately from your mortgage, and buying both policies from the same provider usually costs less overall. CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is owner's title insurance? (page last modified Aug. 5, 2024), checked 2026-10-19
Most lenders require the lender’s policy. The owner’s policy is optional, and it is the one that protects your own stake in the home. If you buy both, ask for the combined price from one provider.
Federal law (RESPA Section 9) bars a seller from requiring, as a condition of sale, that the buyer purchase title insurance from a particular title company when the buyer uses a federally related mortgage loan. (12 U.S.C. 2608 (RESPA Section 9), via Cornell LII, checked 2026-10-19)
The closing attorney’s charges
A Georgia closing is run by a Georgia attorney, and the attorney’s office charges for the settlement, the title search and exam, and handling items such as courier and wire costs. This guide prints no fee figure for that work because no official source publishes one. Ask for a written, itemized quote and compare it with the steps in closing attorney fees explained.
A Northeast Georgia law firm describes the closing attorney's primary function as representing the lender and overseeing the transaction. (Stewart, Melvin & Frost (Gainesville, Ga. law firm), 'Real Estate – What is the role of a closing attorney' (page modified 2022-11-03), checked 2026-10-19)
In a typical financed purchase, the closing attorney is often engaged on the lender’s behalf. Ask the attorney at the start whom they represent. If you want your own lawyer, you can hire one.
Prorated property taxes
Federal Closing Disclosure rules include lines for prorated city and county taxes between buyer and seller at closing. (CFPB eRegulations, 12 CFR 1026.38 (Regulation Z, Closing Disclosure content) and official interpretations, checked 2026-10-19)
Your contract decides how the year’s property taxes are split, and the closing attorney applies it on the settlement statement. For how Lumpkin County bills and values property, see Lumpkin County recording and property taxes.
Paying cash
With no loan there is no security deed, so there is no intangible tax and no lender’s title policy. You still have the attorney’s charges, title work if you want it, recording, prorations, and the transfer tax if your contract gives it to you. Before you send any money, read wire fraud and good funds.
A statewide figure, with its source
If you want a sense of scale, Bankrate, citing 2025 data from LodeStar Software Solutions, a private data firm, publishes a statewide figure for Georgia. It is a statewide average across purchases, not a Dahlonega quote, and your own Loan Estimate will not match it.
Bankrate, citing LodeStar Software Solutions 2025 data, puts Georgia's average purchase closing costs including taxes at $5,106, or 1.24 percent of the average sale price. (Bankrate, 'Average closing costs' by state (LodeStar Software Solutions 2025 data; page modified 2026-03-26), checked 2026-10-19)
When you see the final numbers
Your lender must give you the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close on the mortgage loan. (CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is a Closing Disclosure? (page last modified Sept. 6, 2024), checked 2026-10-19)
Hold the Closing Disclosure next to your Loan Estimate and check each line. Questions about lender lines go to the lender; questions about the title and settlement lines go to the closing attorney’s office.
Questions buyers ask
How much is the intangible tax on a $280,000 mortgage in Georgia?
$840.00, as an illustration. Georgia's intangible recording tax is $1.50 for each $500 or part of $500 of the loan. A $280,000 loan is 560 units of $500, and 560 times $1.50 is $840.00.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax page
How much are closing costs for a $350,000 house in Georgia?
Only the government lines can be worked out in advance. On a $350,000 price the transfer tax is $350.00: $1.00 for the first $1,000 plus 3,490 steps of $100 at 10 cents. Lender, title and attorney charges come from your own Loan Estimate and written quotes.
Does the buyer pay the transfer tax in Georgia?
Only if the contract says so. The Department of Revenue says the seller is liable for the transfer tax, though the parties frequently agree in the sales contract that the buyer will pay it.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page
Does a Georgia buyer have to buy owner's title insurance?
No. Most lenders require a lender's title policy, which protects the amount they lend. An owner's policy, which can help protect your own investment in the home, is something you may choose to buy.
Source: CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is owner's title insurance? (page last modified Aug. 5, 2024)
When do I see my final closing costs?
Your lender must give you the Closing Disclosure, which shows your final closing costs, at least three business days before you close on the mortgage loan.
Source: CFPB, Ask CFPB: What is a Closing Disclosure? (page last modified Sept. 6, 2024)
Before you rely on this
This page is education, not legal advice. Dahlonega Closing Guide is published by Gold Peach Realty, a real estate brokerage, not a law firm. For advice about your own contract, title or taxes, ask a Georgia attorney or a tax professional.
Education, not legal advice. Statutes, fees and forms change; every rule on this page links to the law or office that sets it. Your closing attorney and your contract decide what applies to your closing.
