Orange County, California transfer tax, closing costs and net sheet

About $52,662 on a $965,000 sale, or 5.5% of the price. The 5% agent commission is $48,250 of that. Your share of the transfer tax is $1,062. Title insurance, the escrow fee, recording and other fees add about $3,350. Your loan payoff also comes out of the sale, but it is not a closing cost.

Here is who pays what in Orange County, by custom. The seller pays the agent commission, the owner's title policy and the transfer tax. The buyer pays for the lender's title policy and the fee to record the deed. Buyer and seller split the escrow fee. An escrow company runs the closing.

At closing, the year's tax bill is split by the day. Taxes here are paid in arrears, after the time they cover, so the seller usually credits the buyer for the days the seller owned the home. Homeowners in the county pay a median property tax bill of $6,330 a year. That is about 0.66% of the median home value of $962,600. Fiscal year Jul-Jun; installments due Nov 1 (Jul-Dec) and Feb 1 (Jan-Jun). Prorated on a 30-day month (California purchase agreement). Seller credits buyer for the unpaid part of the current installment; supplemental taxes are billed to the buyer after closing. Under Prop 13, a California tax bill follows the seller's assessed value, not the sale price. If the seller has owned the home a long time, the real bill is often lower than this estimate. So is the split at closing.

Rates verified 2026-10-10. Home value and tax bill: Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2020–2024. A net sheet is an estimate; final figures come from the escrow company.