Illinois Closing Costs: Who Pays What, Buyer and Seller

The offer is accepted. Now the lender sends a Loan Estimate and the broker sends a net sheet. Neither one tells you who pays the Chicago transfer tax.

The answer sits in three places. The statute and the town ordinance say who owes each tax. The Multi-Board 8.0 contract assigns most of the other costs. The title company's rate card prices them.

This page puts every line in a buyer column and a seller column. Each rate comes from a statute, an ordinance, or a published 2026 rate card. If you are selling and want your net number, the free Chicago closing statement tool runs it in your browser.

Calculation, not a quote. Rates from 35 ILCS 200/31-10, Cook County Code Sec. 74-102, and Municipal Code of Chicago 3-33-030. The seller's $1,800 is state $400, Cook County $200, and the CTA portion $1,200.

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Every Closing Cost, Buyer Column and Seller Column

This table shows who pays under the Multi-Board 8.0 contract and the tax ordinances. The parties can change most contract lines during attorney review. They cannot change who owes a tax under an ordinance, only who funds it.

Sources: the Multi-Board 8.0 contract, Paragraphs 3, 12 and 17 to 21. Tax rates come from the statutes and ordinances cited below. (custom) marks a line that rests on local custom, not on the contract text. That is the custom in every county where I close.

Transfer Taxes: State, County, and Town

Three levels of government tax a transfer. Each level has its own rate. Each level also has its own rule on who pays.

The state tax

The state tax is 50 cents for each $500 of value or fraction of $500 (35 ILCS 200/31-10). Section 31-10 does not name the payer. The contract does. Paragraph 18 of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract says the seller pays the transfer stamps "unless otherwise designated by local ordinance."

The statute rounds up. A $450,100 sale is taxed on 901 increments of $500, not on 900.2. A calculator that multiplies by a flat rate comes out slightly low.

The county tax

A county may add 25 cents per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031). The statute says the county board "may" impose it, so the tax is optional. Cook County imposes it. The Cook County ordinance puts the tax on the seller (Cook County Code Sec. 74-102(d)).

Chicago Title's July 2026 transfer tax list shows the same 25 cents in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. The list marks those counties "either party, seller customary." In my closings in those counties, the seller pays it.

The Chicago tax: two portions, two payers

Chicago's tax has two parts, both in Municipal Code of Chicago 3-33-030. The city portion is $3.75 per $500 of price. The ordinance puts the city portion on the buyer.

The CTA portion is $1.50 per $500. It funds the Chicago Transit Authority. The ordinance puts the CTA portion on the seller.

The ordinance adds a catch for the buyer. A buyer may not accept a deed while the CTA portion is unpaid. If it goes unpaid, the buyer and the seller are jointly and severally liable for it.

Calculation: $400,000 is 800 increments of $500. City portion $3.75, CTA portion $1.50, state $0.50, Cook County $0.25, each times 800. Sources: Municipal Code of Chicago 3-33-030(A) and (F); 35 ILCS 200/31-10; Cook County Code Sec. 74-102.

Suburban towns: read the ordinance

Outside Chicago, each town writes its own rule. The rate is only half the question. The other half is who the ordinance makes liable.

Source: the Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund ordinance table, as published town by town on my selling without a realtor page. Chicago rows from Municipal Code of Chicago 3-33-030. Evanston's rate is for prices up to $1,500,000 and rises above that. Rounding rules differ by town and change the result.

Across the 194 Illinois jurisdictions in that table, 54 put the tax on the seller or split it. 18 put it on the buyer. 122 have no municipal transfer tax at all. The closing statement tool applies each town's rate, rounding rule and minimum.

Title Insurance and Title Company Fees

A financed closing usually issues two title policies. The owner's policy protects the buyer's title. The lender's policy protects only the lender.

Paragraph 20 of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract makes the seller deliver a title commitment at the seller's expense. The commitment is for an owner's policy in the amount of the purchase price, with extended coverage. So in a Multi-Board deal, the seller pays for the owner's policy. That is also the custom in Cook and the collar counties.

Paragraph 3 of the same contract makes a financed buyer pay the title company's escrow closing fee. In a cash deal, the buyer and the seller split it equally.

Source: Chicago Title, Schedule of Rates for Residential Title Insurance and Related Services, Chicago metropolitan area, effective January 1, 2026. It covers Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. This is one underwriter's published card, not a quote on your file. Above $1,000,000 the card quotes on request.

The same card prices the smaller title charges:

• Lender's policy (the card calls it a mortgage policy): $595.
• Each lender endorsement, such as the condominium endorsement: $185.
• Closing protection letter: $50 for the seller, $25 for the buyer, and $25 for the buyer's lender.
• Wire transfer fee: $60. E-recording service fee: $35.
• Chicago utility certification fee: $100.

Recording Fees

The county records the deed and the new mortgage. It also records the release of the seller's old mortgage. Each document carries its own fee.

Cook County charges a flat $107 for a standard deed, mortgage, or mortgage release. The $107 includes an $18 state Rental Housing Support fee. Page count does not change it. That schedule took effect April 1, 2024.

Each other county sets its own schedule. Your title company quotes the figure for your county. The closing statement tool leaves recording fees out for that reason.

Attorney Fees

My buyer fee is $500 flat for the whole closing. A multi-unit building adds $150 for each unit after the first. A 2-flat is $650, a 3-flat $800, and a 4-flat $950. The fee runs from attorney review through closing.

For a seller, my fee depends on how the sale is run. Seller representation is free when my firm is the title agent and a realtor handles the sale. The title work pays my fee. A private sale with no realtor is a $500 flat fee. In that sale I write the contract and run the deal.

Lender Fees

Lender fees belong to the buyer. Paragraph 3 of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract makes the buyer pay the origination fees and the lender's closing costs. The buyer also pays discount points, up to the cap written in the contract.

I do not publish a typical lender figure. Each lender prices its own loan. Federal law gives you two documents to check instead:

• The lender must deliver a Loan Estimate within three business days after your application (12 CFR 1026.19(e)(1)(iii)).
• You must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you sign the loan (12 CFR 1026.19(f)(1)(ii)).

A seller credit can cover part of these costs. The 8.0 form lets the seller credit the buyer for prepaid expenses and closing costs. If the lender caps the credit, the form reduces it to the amount the lender permits.

Property Tax Prorations: Why the Seller Credits the Buyer

Illinois property taxes are billed and collected in arrears. The DuPage County Treasurer states it directly: 2025 taxes are billed and collected in 2026. Cook County works the same way. Its first installment each year is an estimate, 55% of the prior year's total bill (35 ILCS 200/21-30).

So at closing, nobody has paid this year's tax. The buyer will pay it next year. The seller therefore credits the buyer for each day the seller owned the home this year.

Paragraph 12(a) of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract sets the base. It is a percentage of the most recent full-year tax bill. The blank is the negotiation. Contracts commonly use 100% to 110%. My closing statement tool defaults to 105%.

Illustration, not a client figure. The credit is the last full-year bill times the contract percentage times the share of the year owned. A higher percentage favors the buyer.

On a Chicago condo purchase in September 2026, the sellers accepted 110% tax prorations under Paragraph 12. They accepted it in answer to my attorney review letter.

If an earlier installment is still unpaid at closing, the seller owes that too. The seller pays it at closing as one lump sum, in the amount billed.

Other items prorate the same way under Paragraph 12: rents and tenant deposits, utilities, water and sewer, and association fees. Association reserves do not prorate. My Multi-Board 8.0 guide walks through Paragraph 12 line by line.

Condos: The Paid Assessment Letter

A condo sale adds one document. The paid assessment letter confirms that the seller's assessments are paid through closing.

Paragraph 17(b) of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract makes the seller pay regular assessments due before closing. The seller also pays special assessments confirmed before the Date of Acceptance.

The seller orders the letter from the association or its manager. The fees and the timing are in my paid assessment letter guide.

Water Certification and Other Town Paperwork

In Chicago, a transfer needs a Full Payment Certificate from the Department of Finance. The certificate shows the water and sewer account is paid. City ordinance requires the transferor, the seller, to obtain it.

The certificate controls the stamps. Without it, nobody can buy the city transfer stamps. Without the stamps, the deed does not record. The application fee is $50 per water account. The City waives the fee for transfers exempt from the city tax.

Condos billed through the association follow one extra rule. If the association's water account is past due, the City requires a paid assessment letter.

Many suburbs run their own version. They require a final water reading and a paid final bill before the town issues its stamp. The town-by-town table on my selling without a realtor page lists each requirement.

Chicago also requires a zoning certificate for single-family homes, townhouses, 2 to 5 flats and mixed-use buildings. Condo units do not need one. The Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund table records that rule.

A $400,000 Chicago Closing, Both Columns

Here is the arithmetic for one deal. The home is a Chicago house. The buyer finances the purchase. A realtor lists the home, and my firm is the seller's title agent.

Calculation from the sources on this page, not a quote on your file. It leaves out lender fees, prorations, broker compensation, the survey, endorsements, wire and delivery fees, and the zoning certificate. The lender's policy and recording lines follow the custom noted above.

A seller can run the same arithmetic for 194 towns in the closing statement tool. A buyer can see the whole process, contract to keys, in my home buying guide. A seller can see it in my home selling guide.

I handle the whole closing for a buyer for a $500 flat fee. A seller pays nothing when my firm is the title agent and a realtor runs the sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

• Chicago closing statement tool. A seller's net sheet for 194 Illinois towns.
• The Multi-Board 8.0 contract, clause by clause.
• The Chicago home buying guide.
• The Chicago home selling guide.
• The paid assessment letter guide, for condo sellers.
• Selling without a realtor, with the town-by-town transfer tax table.
• The attorney review period, where the open terms get negotiated.
• Closing attorney services, with flat fees.

Sources

• 35 ILCS 200/31-10, Illinois real estate transfer tax.
• 55 ILCS 5/5-1031, county real estate transfer tax.
• Cook County Code Sec. 74-102(a) and (d), Real Property Transfer Tax, current codified text (Municode, Supplement 63, June 2026; last amended by Ordinance 20-4415).
• Municipal Code of Chicago 3-33-030, Chicago Real Property Transfer Tax, subsections (A), (C) and (F).
• 35 ILCS 200/21-30, accelerated billing in Cook County.
• DuPage County Treasurer, tax information for 2025 taxes payable in 2026.
• 12 CFR 1026.19(e) and (f), Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure timing.
• Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 8.0, Paragraphs 3, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.
• Chicago Title, Schedule of Rates for Residential Title Insurance and Related Services, Chicago metropolitan area, effective January 1, 2026.
• Chicago Title, Transfer Taxes, Chicago Metropolitan Area, as of July 1, 2026.
• Cook County Clerk, recording fee schedule effective April 1, 2024.
• City of Chicago Department of Finance, Full Payment Certificates page and FPC application.
• Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, real estate tax ordinance table (atgf.com/tax-ordinance/all), read 2026-09-08.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Rates and fees change. The statutory and ordinance rates were checked against their text in October 2026.