How much are closing costs in New Hampshire? For a seller, closing costs in NH run about 1.3% to 2.2% of the sale price before commission — roughly $7,400–$10,900 on a $535,000 home — and about 1.6% to 2.8% for a financed buyer before prepaid taxes, insurance and interest. Both sides pay the state real estate transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 of the price ($4,013 each on $535,000, or $15 per $1,000 combined). Sellers then pay prorated property taxes, title and settlement fees, recording fees and a closing attorney; buyers pay lender fees, title insurance, recording and prepaid escrow items. Add commission and the full cost of selling a house in New Hampshire usually lands between 6% and 9%.
Those figures use the Lakes Region's $535,000 first-half-2026 median single-family price (per Roche Realty's H1 2026 market review) as the example; all-in with a 5% commission, that sale costs about $34,200–$37,700. Buyer concessions push seller closing costs closer to 3%. The two numbers that matter most are the transfer tax and the commission, and the commission is far more negotiable than most sellers think.
Our team builds seller net sheets — a line-by-line estimate of what you'll actually walk away with — every week from our offices on Route 49 in Campton and Main Street in Plymouth, from the Pemi Valley to the Waterville Valley condo market to the big lake. This guide answers who pays which closing costs in New Hampshire, breaks down every line on a seller's and a buyer's settlement statement, shows the math at five price points, and includes a closing cost calculator you can run on your own numbers. For the full process from listing to closing, see our guide to selling a house in New Hampshire and the New Hampshire home seller guide; buyers should start with the New Hampshire home buyer guide. This article is just the money.
In this guide
- NH closing cost calculator
- How much are closing costs in NH for sellers?
- Cost of selling a house in New Hampshire: full breakdown
- Who pays closing costs in New Hampshire?
- How much are closing costs in NH for buyers?
- How to reduce the cost of selling
- NH wrinkles that change the math
- Frequently asked questions
Key takeaways
- Seller taxes and fees in New Hampshire typically run about 1.3–2.2% of the sale price before commission and concessions; Clever's 2026 analysis of NH seller costs, which folds in average buyer incentives, puts the figure near 3.2%.
- The real estate transfer tax under RSA 78-B costs the seller $0.75 per $100 of the price — $4,013 on a $535,000 sale — and the buyer pays an equal share.
- Prorated property taxes vary widely because NH effective tax rates run roughly 1.2–2.6% depending on the town, and the town line itself can move the number.
- Commission is the largest single line — Clever's 2026 New Hampshire data puts the average at 5.03% total — and it has always been negotiable.
- New Hampshire charges no state capital gains tax on your sale profit; the transfer tax applies whether or not you made money.
NH Closing Cost Calculator
Use this New Hampshire closing cost calculator to estimate a seller's net proceeds or a buyer's cash to close. Enter the price and your own numbers; the transfer tax is computed exactly under RSA 78-B ($0.75 per $100 per side, rounded to the whole dollar, $20 minimum each). The other lines start at the figures this guide uses — a 5% total commission, $1,100 in title and settlement fees, $43 in recording fees, a $1,000 closing attorney and, for the sample net sheet, an $8,000 annual tax bill with 4½ months owed at closing and a $250,000 mortgage payoff. The buyer side assumes 20% down, loan origination at 0.75% of the loan (the midpoint of the 0.5–1% range), $1,000 in appraisal and other lender fees, title insurance at the filed $2.00 per $1,000 plus a $75 simultaneous lender's policy, $150 to record the deed and mortgage, a $1,000 closing attorney and two months of property-tax escrow. Every one of those is editable, and the tables further down show the same math at $300,000, $450,000 and $600,000 so you can check the calculator against them.
Interactive Estimate · RSA 78-B Transfer Tax Built In
New Hampshire Closing Cost Calculator
Enter a price and your own numbers. The transfer tax is exact; the fees start at the figures in this guide and every one can be changed.
Estimated seller net sheet
- Sale price
- $535,000
- Transfer tax, seller's half (RSA 78-B)
- −$4,013
- Prorated property taxes
- −$3,000
- Title & settlement fees
- −$1,100
- Recording fees
- −$43
- Closing attorney
- −$1,000
- Seller closing costs
- −$9,156
- Commission (5% total)
- −$26,750
- Total cost of selling
- −$35,906
- Mortgage payoff
- −$250,000
Estimated net proceeds
$249,094
- Closing costs as a share of price
- 1.7%
- Total cost of selling as a share of price
- 6.7%
Estimate only, not a settlement statement. Fees vary by lender, attorney and town; your closing attorney’s figures and the lender’s Loan Estimate govern. Transfer tax per RSA 78-B at $0.75 per $100 per side, $20 minimum each.
A calculator can't know your town's tax rate, your closing date or what your buyer will ask for after inspection. For a net sheet built on those, request a free home valuation and ask for the net sheet with it.
How Much Are Closing Costs in NH for Sellers?
Every sale is different, but the New Hampshire closing costs on a typical seller's settlement statement come down to six recurring lines:
- Real estate transfer tax — the seller's half is $0.75 per $100 of the sale price (0.75%) under RSA 78-B.
- Prorated property taxes — your share of the town tax bill through the closing date.
- Title and settlement fees — usually in the neighborhood of $1,000–$1,200.
- Recording and administrative fees — small; figure around $43 for the deed-related recordings.
- Closing attorney — commonly a flat $750–$1,250 for seller-side representation.
- Commission — averaging about 5% total in New Hampshire (5.03% in Clever's 2026 data), and negotiable.
Add a mortgage payoff if you carry one (that's your own equity settling a debt, not a fee, but it comes out of proceeds at the table) and any concessions you've negotiated with the buyer, and that's the whole picture. Concessions are the swing line: Clever's 2026 analysis put the average NH buyer incentive at about 2% of the price, which is why its all-in closing-cost figure (about $12,400 on a $391,000 home, or 3.17%) sits above the 1.3–2.2% you'll see in our tables, where concessions are left out. Notably absent from the list: New Hampshire has no state income tax on the gain from selling your home — we cover that in detail in our companion guide to capital gains tax when selling a home in New Hampshire.
Seller closing costs in New Hampshire at $400K, $535K and $750K
Here are the closing costs NH sellers typically see, using the same settlement statement at three realistic New Hampshire price points — roughly a Plymouth or Campton single-family, the Lakes Region median, and a higher-end lake or resort property. To see which column your house falls in, look at what similar homes for sale in New Hampshire are listed at. Property-tax prorations are shown as ranges because they depend on your town's rate and your closing date; everything else is arithmetic. Concessions are left out because they're negotiated deal by deal.
| Line item | $400,000 sale | $535,000 sale | $750,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax — seller's half (RSA 78-B, $0.75/$100) | $3,000 | $4,013 | $5,625 |
| Prorated property taxes (town + closing date) | $1,100–$3,400 | $1,500–$4,500 | $2,100–$6,300 |
| Title & settlement fees | ≈ $1,100 | ≈ $1,100 | ≈ $1,100 |
| Recording fees | ≈ $43 | ≈ $43 | ≈ $43 |
| Closing attorney (flat fee) | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 |
| Taxes & fees before commission | $6,000–$8,800 (1.5–2.2%) | $7,400–$10,900 (1.4–2.0%) | $9,600–$14,300 (1.3–1.9%) |
| Commission, if 5% total is paid | $20,000 | $26,750 | $37,500 |
| Estimated all-in | $26,000–$28,800 (6.5–7.2%) | $34,200–$37,700 (6.4–7.0%) | $47,100–$51,800 (6.3–6.9%) |
Two honest notes on the table. First, the all-in rows work out to roughly 6.3–7.2% at these price points; buyer concessions negotiated after inspection, or a closing date deep into a tax period in a higher-rate town, are what push real-world totals toward 9%. Second, every line keys off the price — which is why the first step of any net sheet we build is a free professional home valuation, not a guess.
Cost of Selling a House in New Hampshire: Full Breakdown
Closing costs are only part of the bill. The full cost of selling a house in New Hampshire also includes the money you spend before listing and after closing. Here's how the pieces typically stack up, as a share of the sale price:
| Cost bucket | Typical range | On a $535,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Seller closing costs (transfer tax, prorated taxes, title, attorney, recording) | ≈ 1.3%–2.2% | $7,400–$10,900 |
| Commission (listing plus any buyer-agent compensation) | ≈ 5% total on average; negotiable | ≈ $26,750 at 5% |
| Buyer concessions (inspection or closing-cost credits) | 0%–2%+ (NH average ≈ 2% per Clever) | $0–$10,700 |
| Pre-listing prep (repairs, paint, cleaning, staging) | 0%–2.7% (per HomeLight) | Varies with condition |
| Moving | Local ≈ $883–$2,568; out of state ≈ $3,000–$9,500 (per HomeLight) | Same |
| Typical total, commission included | ≈ 6%–9%, before prep and moving | ≈ $34,200–$48,400 |
You'll see much larger "cost to sell" headlines online — some national estimates for New Hampshire run past 13% — but those add every prep, staging, moving, and concession line at its average at once. A well-prepared house that doesn't need a big inspection credit usually lands in the 6–7% range; the 9% end is where sizable concessions or a steep tax proration come in. The sections below walk the $535,000 column from top to bottom, because the reasoning behind each line matters more than the totals.
The transfer tax, explained
New Hampshire's real estate transfer tax (RSA 78-B) is the state's one unavoidable tax on the sale itself: $1.50 per $100 of the price, split evenly — $0.75 per $100 (or fractional part of $100) from the seller and the same from the buyer, with each side's tax computed to the nearest whole dollar. On $535,000, the arithmetic is $535,000 ÷ 100 × $0.75 = $4,012.50, which rounds to $4,013 per side. The seller reports the sale to the Department of Revenue Administration on Form CD-57-S (the buyer files CD-57-P), and the closing attorney collects the tax and handles payment so the deed can be recorded. There's a minimum of $20 per side on transfers with consideration of $4,000 or less, which mostly matters for nominal family transfers. The 50/50 split is statutory, but like nearly everything in a purchase contract, the parties can negotiate who actually funds it — in practice, each side paying its own half is the strong norm at every closing table we sit at. For the exemptions, the forms and how the NH real estate transfer tax fits alongside the state's other taxes, see our New Hampshire taxes guide.
Prorated property taxes: the line that surprises people
New Hampshire funds schools and town services primarily through property taxes, so rates are high by national standards and vary a lot town to town — effective rates roughly 1.2% to 2.6%. That spread is not abstract up here: two similar houses a few minutes apart on either side of the Campton–Thornton line can carry meaningfully different annual tax bills, and it's one of the first questions relocating buyers ask us. Most NH towns bill twice a year (summer and December), and at closing the attorney prorates the current period so you pay for exactly the days you owned the home. Sell mid-cycle in a higher-tax town and this line can quietly outweigh everything except the transfer tax and commission. If you escrow taxes with your lender, remember the escrow balance comes back to you after payoff — sellers often forget they have money coming the other way. Our guide to New Hampshire property taxes explains how town rates are set, and the Plymouth property tax guide shows what a real bill looks like in our area.
Title, settlement, recording, and the attorney
In New Hampshire, closings are customarily handled by a closing attorney or title company — customary, not legally required. The buyer typically pays for their lender's title insurance and their own owner's policy; the seller's side of the title work — settlement fees, payoff coordination, discharge tracking — usually lands around $1,000–$1,200, plus about $43 in county registry recording charges for the documents that clear your title. Many sellers also engage their own attorney to review the purchase and sale agreement (the P&S — the binding contract that governs the deal once signed) and prepare the deed, commonly a flat $750–$1,250. That's money well spent on a transaction this size.
Bottom line on the $535,000 example: roughly $7,400 to $10,900 in taxes and fees, and about $34,200–$37,700 all-in if a 5% total commission is paid. Subtract your mortgage payoff and what's left is your net.
Sample seller net sheet: what you walk away with on a $535,000 sale
Here is the same sale laid out the way a net sheet reads, using mid-range assumptions: an $8,000 annual property-tax bill with about 4½ months unpaid at closing, a $1,000 attorney fee, a 5% total commission, and a $250,000 mortgage balance. These are the calculator's starting values, so the sheet above reproduces this table until you change a number. Your own numbers will differ; the structure won't.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $535,000 |
| Transfer tax, seller's half | −$4,013 |
| Prorated property taxes ($8,000 × 4.5 ÷ 12) | −$3,000 |
| Title & settlement fees | −$1,100 |
| Recording fees | −$43 |
| Closing attorney | −$1,000 |
| Seller closing costs subtotal | −$9,156 (1.7%) |
| Commission (5% total) | −$26,750 |
| Total cost of selling | −$35,906 (6.7%) |
| Mortgage payoff | −$250,000 |
| Estimated net proceeds | $249,094 |
Two things move this number most in real life. A $5,000 inspection credit to the buyer takes the net to $244,094 and the total cost to 7.6%. And a mortgage payoff figure includes interest through the payoff date, so it's always a little higher than the balance on your last statement. When we prepare a listing proposal, we hand sellers a net sheet with these exact lines filled in for their town, their closing date, and their likely price — the Plymouth and Campton seller guides show what that looks like town by town.
Estimate your own seller closing costs in five steps
Online closing cost calculators for New Hampshire mostly get the transfer tax right and guess at everything else. The math is simple enough to do on the back of an envelope, and doing it yourself shows you which lines actually move:
- Transfer tax: multiply your expected price by 0.0075 and round to the nearest dollar ($450,000 × 0.0075 = $3,375).
- Property-tax proration: take your annual tax bill, divide by 12, and multiply by the months since the period your last payment covered. Your town's tax bill shows the billing periods.
- Fixed fees: add about $1,100 for title and settlement, $43 for recording, and $750–$1,250 for a closing attorney.
- Commission and concessions: multiply the price by the total commission in your listing agreement, then add any credit you expect to give the buyer.
- Net: subtract all of it, plus your mortgage payoff, from the price. That's your estimated walk-away number.
The calculator above does exactly these five steps. For a figure built on your actual town rate and a real price opinion rather than an average, request a free home valuation and ask for the net sheet with it.
Who Pays Closing Costs in New Hampshire?
Both sides pay closing costs in New Hampshire, in different buckets. Everything is ultimately negotiable in a purchase contract, but here's how costs customarily fall between buyer and seller:
| Cost | Seller | Buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (RSA 78-B) | $0.75 per $100 | $0.75 per $100 |
| Property taxes | Prorated through closing day | Prorated from closing day |
| Listing-side commission | Yes, per the listing agreement | — |
| Buyer-agent compensation | Only if offered/negotiated | Negotiated case by case post-settlement |
| Title insurance (lender's & owner's) | — | Typically yes |
| Appraisal, inspection, loan fees | — | Yes |
| Deed preparation / seller's attorney | Yes | Own attorney, if hired |
| Recording fees | Documents clearing seller's title | Deed and mortgage recordings |
| Association resale documents (condo/resort) | Customarily yes | Capital contribution, if the association charges one |
The buyer-agent line deserves a note. Since the 2024 National Association of Realtors settlement changed how buyer-agent compensation works nationally, whether and how much a seller contributes toward the buyer's agent is negotiated deal by deal. Many New Hampshire sellers still offer buyer-side compensation because it widens the buyer pool, but it's a strategy decision now, not an assumption — and it's one of the first things we discuss when we sit down with a seller.
How Much Are Closing Costs in NH for Buyers?
A financed buyer's closing costs in New Hampshire typically run about 1.6% to 2.8% of the price before prepaid items. Four groups of costs make up the total:
- The buyer's half of the transfer tax. The same $0.75 per $100 the seller pays under RSA 78-B: $3,375 on a $450,000 purchase, $4,013 on $535,000. It's the largest single buyer line in this state, and a bigger one than buyers moving from most other states expect.
- Lender fees. Origination (commonly 0.5–1% of the loan) or separate application, processing and underwriting charges, plus the appraisal. Discount points, if you buy down the rate, are extra.
- Title insurance and recording. The lender requires a lender's policy; an owner's policy protects you and is customarily bought at the same time. At the filed rate of $2.00 per $1,000 with a $75 simultaneous lender's policy, that's about $975 on a $450,000 purchase. Recording the deed and the mortgage, each with its $25 LCHIP surcharge, adds roughly $150.
- Prepaid items and escrow. Interest from the closing date to the end of the month, the first year of homeowners insurance, and a starting balance in the escrow account for property taxes. The tax piece follows the town: on a $450,000 home in a town with an $8,100 annual bill, every two months of escrow is $1,350. Because NH towns bill twice a year, the amount depends on how close your closing falls to the next bill.
Inspections, a radon or water test and a septic evaluation are paid before closing, but they belong in the same budget. Cash buyers skip the lender fees, the lender's policy, the mortgage recording and escrow, so their costs are mostly the transfer tax, the owner's title policy, the deed recording and an attorney — set the calculator's down payment to 100% to see that version.
Every loan-related line varies by lender, loan type and down payment, so the lender's Loan Estimate, which itemizes all of these charges, is the number to trust. What matters to a seller is the pressure point: when a buyer's cash to close is tight, a request for a seller credit toward closing costs is common, and that credit comes straight out of your net. Our New Hampshire home buyer guide and buyers page cover the purchase side in more detail.
Seller and buyer closing costs side by side at $300K, $450K and $600K
This is the worked version of the calculator: the same sale at three prices, with every line for both sides of the table. The transfer tax is exact ($0.75 per $100 per side, rounded to the whole dollar). The seller's property-tax proration is a range because it depends on your town's rate and your closing date. Buyer lines assume a conventional loan with 20% down; lender fees vary by lender, so treat them as a range and check them against your Loan Estimate.
Seller closing costs in NH (before commission)
| Seller line item | $300,000 sale | $450,000 sale | $600,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax, seller's half ($0.75/$100) | $2,250 | $3,375 | $4,500 |
| Prorated property taxes | $800–$2,600 | $1,200–$3,800 | $1,700–$5,100 |
| Title & settlement fees | ≈ $1,100 | ≈ $1,100 | ≈ $1,100 |
| Recording fees | ≈ $43 | ≈ $43 | ≈ $43 |
| Closing attorney (flat fee) | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 |
| Seller total before commission | $4,900–$7,200 (1.6–2.4%) | $6,500–$9,600 (1.4–2.1%) | $8,100–$12,000 (1.4–2.0%) |
| Commission, if 5% total is paid | $15,000 | $22,500 | $30,000 |
Buyer closing costs in NH (20% down, before prepaids)
| Buyer line item | $300,000 purchase | $450,000 purchase | $600,000 purchase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax, buyer's half ($0.75/$100) | $2,250 | $3,375 | $4,500 |
| Loan origination (0.5–1% of the loan) | $1,200–$2,400 | $1,800–$3,600 | $2,400–$4,800 |
| Appraisal and other lender fees | $300–$1,800 | $300–$1,800 | $300–$1,800 |
| Owner's + lender's title insurance | ≈ $675 | ≈ $975 | ≈ $1,275 |
| Deed and mortgage recording (incl. $25 LCHIP each) | ≈ $150 | ≈ $150 | ≈ $150 |
| Buyer's closing attorney / settlement | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 | $750–$1,250 |
| Buyer total before prepaids | $5,300–$8,500 (1.8–2.8%) | $7,400–$11,200 (1.6–2.5%) | $9,400–$13,800 (1.6–2.3%) |
| Prepaids and escrow (taxes, insurance, interest) | Set by your lender and town; see the buyer section above | ||
Where the buyer numbers come from: origination fees commonly run 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount, and some lenders charge separate application, processing and underwriting fees instead (per Zillow and Credible). Title insurance uses the filed New Hampshire rate of one major underwriter, CATIC: $2.00 per $1,000 for the owner's policy, with the lender's policy issued simultaneously for $75. Recording follows RSA 478:17-g: $10 for the first page, $4 for each additional page, plus a $25 Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) surcharge on each deed and mortgage. Lower-priced homes carry a higher percentage on both sides because the flat fees don't shrink with the price.
How to Reduce the Cost of Selling a House in New Hampshire
Negotiate the commission — it's the biggest line
Commission dwarfs every other cost, and it has always been negotiable. Clever's 2026 New Hampshire data puts the average at 5.03% total (about 2.59% listing side and 2.44% buyer side), but the right structure depends on your property, price point, and how much competition exists for your listing. Ask any agent you interview to justify their fee with a marketing plan and results — our recent sold listings are the kind of receipts you should expect to see, and our sellers page explains how we earn ours.
Prep beats price cuts
The most expensive "closing cost" is one that never appears on the settlement statement: selling below your home's potential because it went to market unprepared. A price reduction on a $535,000 listing is measured in five figures; the prep that prevents it is usually measured in hundreds or low thousands. That's the logic behind our Ready-to-Sell Program, which advances up to $2,500 in approved prep costs — reimbursed at closing — and includes a complimentary pre-listing inspection for qualifying listings, so the house hits the market at full strength and surprises surface before a buyer's inspector finds them.
Control concessions before they exist
Concessions — credits to the buyer for repairs after inspection — are the least predictable cost on the sheet, and the most controllable. A pre-listing inspection converts unknown repair leverage into a known, managed number: you either fix the item on your own schedule and terms, or you price it in openly. Sellers who skip this step routinely give back more at the negotiating table than the inspection would have cost.
Watch the calendar
Your property-tax proration is a function of your closing date relative to the town's billing cycle, so if timing is flexible, it's worth a conversation — and the calendar affects price too. For more on timing the market itself, see our guide to the best time to sell a house in New Hampshire and our 2026 New Hampshire housing market outlook. If speed matters more than the last dollar, our guide to selling a house fast in New Hampshire weighs the trade-offs.
Shop the flat fees
Attorney and settlement fees are small next to commission, but they're flat fees in a competitive market — a phone call comparing two or three closing attorneys' seller-side packages takes twenty minutes and occasionally saves a few hundred dollars. Just don't pick on price alone; a responsive closing attorney who chases your mortgage discharge properly is worth every dollar.
What about selling by owner?
Some sellers look at the commission line and consider going it alone. It's a fair impulse, and we wrote an honest guide to selling a house by owner in New Hampshire — but know that FSBO sellers still pay the transfer tax, attorney, and marketing costs, still usually offer buyer-side compensation, and per National Association of Realtors research, FSBO homes typically sell for meaningfully less than agent-assisted sales. The commission saved is often smaller than the price left behind. If you do sell by owner, the closing itself works the same way: a closing attorney or title company prepares the deed, collects the transfer tax, and handles your payoff for a flat fee.
New Hampshire Wrinkles That Change the Math
These are the line items we see catch sellers off guard in our corner of the state — the ones a national closing-cost calculator won't show you.
Resort and condo association paperwork
If you're selling a condo or a home in an association — common in Waterville Valley and at Owl's Nest Resort — budget for the association resale package: the documents, budget, and statement of account the buyer's lender will require. Associations set their own document and statement fees, and some charge the buyer a capital contribution on top. None of these are huge, but they take lead time — we order association documents the week a property goes under agreement, not the week before closing. Second-home sellers have a few more wrinkles, covered in our guide to selling a lake house or second home in NH.
Current use land and the 10% change tax
Plenty of properties in Grafton County carry acreage enrolled in current use under RSA 79-A, which taxes the land at its undeveloped value. The land stays enrolled through a sale — but if the buyer (or you, pre-sale) takes it out of current use to develop, a Land Use Change Tax of 10% of the land's full market value comes due. Who bears that risk is a negotiation point that belongs in the P&S, not a surprise at the registry. If you own acreage, check your enrollment status before you list; our guide to selling land in New Hampshire goes deeper.
Private roads, wells, and septic
Off the state highways, many of the homes we sell sit on private roads — and buyers' lenders increasingly want a recorded road maintenance agreement before they'll close. If your road has only a handshake arrangement among neighbors, papering it properly is a modest legal cost that's far cheaper to handle before listing than during a financing contingency. Similarly, buyers commonly ask sellers of homes with private septic to pump and inspect the system as a condition of sale; New Hampshire law (RSA 477:4-c) already requires you to disclose what you know about private water and septic in writing, so getting ahead of it is usually smart. Our guide to NH seller disclosure requirements covers the full list.
Know Your Number Before You List
Every line on the settlement statement keys off one number: your sale price. Start with a free professional home valuation and we'll build you a full seller net sheet — transfer tax, your town's proration, fees, commission options, and your realistic walk-away number. Then talk to our team in Campton or Plymouth — we'll walk you through every dollar, no obligation. Our sellers page shows how we market homes town by town, and our housing market forecast, linked above, covers where prices and inventory stand right now.
This guide is general information for New Hampshire home sellers and buyers, not tax or legal advice. Rules and customary fees change — confirm the specifics of your closing with your CPA and your closing attorney.
Sources and further reading
- NH RSA Chapter 78-B — Tax on Transfer of Real Property
- NH Department of Revenue Administration — Real Estate Transfer Tax FAQ
- NH Department of Revenue Administration — Real Estate Transfer Tax at a glance ($0.75 per $100 on buyer and seller, $20 minimum)
- IRS Topic No. 701: Sale of Your Home ($250,000 / $500,000 exclusion)
- NH RSA 478:17-g — Registry of deeds recording fees and LCHIP surcharge
- CATIC — New Hampshire title insurance premium rates
- NH RSA Chapter 79-A — Current Use Taxation
- NH RSA 477 — Seller Notification and Disclosure Requirements
- Clever Real Estate — Seller Closing Costs in New Hampshire (2026)
- HomeLight — Cost of Selling a House in New Hampshire
- National Association of Realtors — Research and Statistics
- Roche Realty Group — Lakes Region H1 2026 Market Review
Frequently asked questions
How much are closing costs in New Hampshire?
For a seller, closing costs in New Hampshire are typically 1.3% to 2.2% of the sale price before commission: about $6,500–$9,600 on a $450,000 home, or $7,400–$10,900 on $535,000. For a buyer with a mortgage, they typically run about 1.6% to 2.8% before prepaid taxes, insurance and interest: about $7,400–$11,200 on a $450,000 purchase. Each side pays $0.75 per $100 of transfer tax. With a 5% total commission, the seller's all-in cost is usually 6% to 7%, and up to about 9% with sizable buyer concessions.
Who pays closing costs in New Hampshire, the buyer or the seller?
Both, in different buckets. The transfer tax is split evenly ($0.75 per $100 from each side under RSA 78-B). Sellers customarily pay the listing commission, their prorated property taxes, deed preparation, and their own attorney; buyers pay their loan costs, title insurance, inspections, and their own half of the transfer tax. Buyer-agent compensation is negotiated case by case.
What is the cost of selling a house in New Hampshire?
Usually about 6% to 9% of the sale price. Commission (about 5% total on average) is the biggest piece; taxes and fees add roughly 1.3–2.2%, and buyer concessions can add up to about 2% more. On a $535,000 home that's roughly $34,200–$37,700 without concessions, before prep and moving costs.
Is there a closing cost calculator for NH?
Yes — the calculator at the top of this guide estimates a seller's net proceeds or a buyer's cash to close from your price, town tax bill and fees, with the RSA 78-B transfer tax computed exactly. To run the number by hand, multiply the price by 0.0075 for each side's transfer tax and round to the whole dollar, add your town's tax proration, then add the fixed fees: about $1,100 title and settlement, $43 recording and $750–$1,250 attorney for a seller; lender fees, title insurance, about $150 recording and an attorney for a buyer.
What are average closing costs in New Hampshire?
There is no official statewide average, because property-tax prorations and concessions vary sale to sale. Built from the fixed lines (transfer tax, title and settlement, recording and attorney fees) plus a typical tax proration, average seller closing costs in New Hampshire land around 1.3–2.2% of the price. Clever's 2026 analysis, which includes average buyer incentives, puts the figure at about 3.17%, or roughly $12,400 on a $391,000 home.
What are buyer closing costs in New Hampshire?
About 1.6% to 2.8% of the price for a financed buyer, before prepaids. Buyers pay their own half of the transfer tax ($0.75 per $100, or $3,375 on a $450,000 home), lender origination and appraisal fees, owner's and lender's title insurance (about $975 on $450,000 at the filed rate), roughly $150 to record the deed and mortgage, an attorney, and prepaid property taxes, insurance and interest. The lender's Loan Estimate is the reliable number for the loan-related lines.
Does the seller pay the transfer tax in NH?
The seller pays half. New Hampshire's real estate transfer tax under RSA 78-B is $1.50 per $100 of the sale price, split $0.75 per $100 to the seller and $0.75 per $100 to the buyer, with a $20 minimum per side. On a $535,000 sale, each side owes $4,013 after rounding to the nearest dollar.
How much are seller closing costs on a $400,000 house in New Hampshire?
Figure roughly $6,000–$8,800 in taxes and fees before commission: $3,000 in seller-side transfer tax, about $1,100–$3,400 in prorated property taxes depending on your town and closing date, roughly $1,100 in title and settlement fees, about $43 in recording fees, and $750–$1,250 for a closing attorney. A 5% total commission would add $20,000 on top.
Are real estate commissions negotiable in New Hampshire?
Yes — they always have been, and since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation in particular is negotiated on every deal. Clever's 2026 data puts the New Hampshire average at about 5% total, but rate, structure, and what's included vary by brokerage and property.
Are there closing costs if I own my home free and clear?
Yes, though the list shortens: you'll still owe the transfer tax, prorated property taxes, title, settlement and recording fees, and attorney costs — you just skip the mortgage payoff and discharge tracking. Commission depends on how you choose to sell.
Do I pay capital gains tax on top of closing costs when I sell in NH?
Not to New Hampshire, which has no state capital gains tax. Federally, up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) on a main home is excluded if you owned and lived in it for 2 of the last 5 years. Closing costs such as commission and your share of the transfer tax also reduce the taxable gain. Our guide to capital gains tax when selling a home in New Hampshire has worked examples.