A seller’s closing is mostly subtraction: the sale price, minus what is owed and what the contract assigns to you. This page goes through each piece. To run your own net figure, open the closing cost estimator and choose the seller sheet.
The transfer tax on your deed
Who the transfer tax is imposed on
- 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
- By the Department's description, the tax must be paid by the person who signs the deed or the person for whose benefit it is signed. Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page, checked 2026-10-19
The tax is yours by default because you sign the deed. Many contracts move it to the buyer, so check the closing-cost section of your purchase contract before you count it.
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)
Two illustrations, computed from that rate on example prices. A $400,000 sale: $1.00 for the first $1,000, plus 3,990 steps of $100 at 10 cents ($399.00), for $400.00. A $412,350 sale: the $411,350 above the first $1,000 is 4,113.5 steps, and the part step counts as a whole one, so 4,114 steps at 10 cents is $411.40, plus $1.00, for $412.40. The transfer tax calculator does this for any price.
The transfer tax must be paid before a deed can be recorded with the clerk of superior court, and the clerk attaches a certification that it was paid. (Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page, checked 2026-10-19)
Paying off your loan
How the money moves
- In Georgia, a deed to secure debt passes title to the lender until the debt is paid, and courts treat it as an absolute conveyance, not a mortgage. O.C.G.A. 44-14-60, via FindLaw Codes (marked 'Current as of March 28, 2024'), checked 2026-10-19
- Georgia's good-funds law defines the 'settlement agent' as the lender or an active member of the State Bar of Georgia responsible for conducting the settlement and paying out the proceeds. O.C.G.A. 44-14-13 (2025 Georgia Code), via Justia, checked 2026-10-19
If you have a mortgage, your lender holds a security deed on the home until the debt is paid. At closing the settlement agent, who in a Georgia sale is the closing attorney or the lender, pays out the proceeds. Your payoff comes off the top. Ask your lender for a written payoff figure good through the closing date, and tell the closing attorney about every loan or line of credit on the property.
Brokerage commission
If you listed with a brokerage, the commission is whatever your listing agreement says. It is not set by law. It shows on the settlement statement as a deduction from your proceeds.
The attorney’s charges to the seller
The closing attorney’s office usually charges the seller for preparing the deed and handling payoffs. This guide prints no fee figure because no official source publishes one; ask for a written, itemized quote. Closing attorney fees explained lists the questions to ask.
A Georgia deed to land must be in writing, signed by the maker, attested by an officer (such as a notary) and attested by one other witness. (O.C.G.A. 44-5-30 (2024 Georgia Code), Justia page via Internet Archive capture of 2025-05-12 (also matches FindLaw text), checked 2026-10-19)
Property taxes and your homestead exemption
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 taxes are split. If the bill has not been paid yet, the Closing Disclosure can show a credit from you to the buyer for the part of the year you owned the home.
Once granted, a homestead exemption renews automatically each year unless ownership changes or the owner seeks a different exemption. (Lumpkin County Tax Commissioner, '2026 Tax Information Flyer' ('Important Tax Information', Mike Young, Tax Commissioner), PDF (image; read visually), checked 2026-10-19)
Your homestead exemption ends with the change of ownership. It does not pass to the buyer, who has to apply in their own name. More on Lumpkin County recording and property taxes.
Seller concessions
A seller concession is an amount the seller agrees, in the purchase contract, to put toward the buyer’s closing costs. It shows as a credit to the buyer and a charge to you on the settlement statement. How much a buyer’s lender will allow is a lender rule, so the buyer’s lender is the one to ask.
Title insurance and the buyer’s choice
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)
If you live outside Georgia
When a nonresident of Georgia sells Georgia real property, the buyer generally must withhold 3 percent of the purchase price and send it to the Georgia Department of Revenue. (O.C.G.A. 48-7-128 (2025 Georgia Code), via Justia, checked 2026-10-19)
That withholding can be large, and there are ways to reduce or avoid it, so read nonresident seller withholding and tell your closing attorney early. Federal FIRPTA withholding, which applies to foreign sellers, is a separate rule covered on the same page.
Questions buyers ask
Is the seller responsible for Georgia transfer tax?
By default, yes. The Department of Revenue says the tax must be paid by the person who signs the deed or the person for whose benefit it is signed, and that the seller is liable, though the sales contract often has the buyer pay it.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page
How much is the transfer tax on a $250,000 sale in Georgia?
$250.00, as an illustration: $1 for the first $1,000, plus 10 cents for each of the 2,490 additional $100 steps, which is $249.00. That is the Department of Revenue's published rate applied to an example price.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax page
What happens to my homestead exemption when I sell?
It ends. Once granted, a homestead exemption renews automatically each year unless ownership changes, so the sale ends yours and the buyer has to apply in their own name.
Can a seller require the buyer to use a certain title company?
Not when the buyer is using a federally related mortgage loan. 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.
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.
