Most states tax one thing when a house changes hands: the sale price. Georgia taxes two. There's a transfer tax on the price, and a separate intangible recording tax on the face amount of your mortgage note. Only one other state, Florida, works this way. So your loan size here isn't just a monthly-payment question — it's a line item due in cash on closing day.
Here's the part that surprises people who've closed elsewhere: the tax on the loan is bigger than the tax on the house. On the statewide median sale price of $360,000 with an 80% loan of $288,000, transfer tax runs about $360 and the intangible tax on the note is $864 — 2.4 times as much. Most states make the deed tax the scary number and recording pocket change. Georgia inverts it.
Georgia isn't an expensive state to close in overall, but it is an unusual one, and its two quirks — a tax on your loan, and a law requiring an attorney at the table — are easy to miss until they land on a Loan Estimate. For how the standard fees work everywhere, see our full line-by-line breakdown of closing costs. Below is what's specifically Georgian.
A note before you start: this is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every figure below is a statewide number from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset, and your county, lender, closing attorney, and contract will all move the total. Georgia median sale prices vary by metro and by the time window a source measures, so treat $360,000 as a reference point, not your price. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are authoritative — use this to sanity-check them, not to replace them.
1. What closing costs actually run in Georgia
Georgia buyers generally land toward the lower end of the national spread. A 2-5% range against the $360,000 median gives you roughly $7,200 to $18,000, midpoint near $12,600. On a $350,000 purchase the same range is about $7,000 to $17,500.
That excludes agent commissions and includes lender charges, title work, the closing attorney's fee, government taxes, and prepaids — our guide to what each closing-cost category actually pays for sorts out which is which.
Closing costs are separate from your down payment, and both are due the same day. With 20% down on $360,000 you finance $288,000 and put down $72,000; add the $12,600 midpoint and you need about $84,600 in cash. That total, not the down payment, is what to plan around.
See your all-in Georgia closing costs2. The transfer tax is small, and the seller usually pays it
Georgia's real estate transfer tax is charged on the deed at $1.00 for the first $1,000 of consideration plus $0.10 for each additional $100 — roughly 0.1% of the sale price.
Run it on the median: $1.00 for the first $1,000, then $359,000 remaining divided by $100 is 3,590 increments, times $0.10 is $359. Total: $360. On a $350,000 sale it's about $350.
By Georgia law the seller is the statutory default payer, and most contracts leave it there. It's small enough that it rarely becomes a negotiating point, though the contract can shift or split it. If you've bought where the deed tax ran into four or five figures, this is a genuine relief. Don't let it lull you.
3. Then Georgia taxes the loan
Georgia's intangible recording tax applies to a new long-term note secured by real property, at $1.50 per $500 of the face amount of the note or any fractional part of $500 — 0.30% of your loan.
On a $288,000 loan: $288,000 divided by $500 is 576 increments, times $1.50 each, is $864.
Four things worth knowing:
- It's driven by the loan, not the price. Put more money down and the tax falls. It's one of the few closing costs a bigger down payment directly reduces.
- It's capped at $25,000 per instrument — a cap that only binds above roughly $8.3 million of note ($25,000 ÷ 0.003), so residential buyers never reach it.
- Short-term notes are exempt. For instruments recorded on or after July 1, 2025, a note maturing in 62 months or less is exempt. Standard 15- and 30-year mortgages remain fully taxable.
- The lender is the nominal payer, but you'll see it — it's customarily passed through to the borrower under government charges.
Add both taxes and Georgia collects $1,224 on a $360,000 purchase with a $288,000 loan — nearly 10% of the $12,600 midpoint, and unlike lender charges, none of it is negotiable.
4. Refinancing triggers it again
This catches Georgia homeowners off guard. The intangible tax applies to purchases, refinances, HELOCs, and home equity loans alike. A refinance has no sale and no transfer tax, but you are recording a new note, and a new note is taxed.
Refinance $288,000 and you owe $864 on the new instrument, on top of the usual lender and title charges. At current rates of 6.65% on a 30-year fixed and 5.95% on a 15-year, that pushes the break-even on a marginal refinance further out than in a state without this tax. Same for a HELOC: the amount you record is the amount taxed.
5. An attorney has to close your loan
Georgia is one of a small number of states where a licensed attorney is legally required to conduct the closing. Georgia courts have held that conducting a closing is the practice of law, so there are no notary-only signings and no title-company-only settlements — and a 2012 tightening closed the loopholes that let out-of-state settlement companies work around that.
Two consequences:
- There will be an attorney fee on your Closing Disclosure, and it isn't optional. Budget for it as a standard part of closing here, not an extra.
- The closing attorney is not your attorney. With a new loan they represent the lender. They'll run the title search, prepare documents, and disburse funds, but not advocate for you. You can retain your own counsel separately, and on a messy title that's money well spent.
The upside: title problems get caught by someone with a law license. Title insurance works the same here as anywhere — see what it covers and who it actually protects.
6. Who pays what, and what's negotiable
The Georgia default splits along the two taxes covered in section 3: the seller pays the deed transfer tax, about $360 at the median, and the buyer absorbs the $864 intangible tax on the loan along with lender fees, the attorney's closing fee, the lender's title policy, and prepaids.
Custom is a contract default, not a rule. Seller credits are common here, and because the buyer carries the larger tax, asking for a credit sized to cover it is a specific request rather than a vague one.
Beyond the taxes the usual hierarchy holds: lender charges have room in them, shoppable services can be shopped, government fees and prepaids are fixed. Our rundown of which closing fees you can push back on and which you can't shows where the leverage is.
7. How to lower the bill before you sign
- Watch the loan size, not just the price. Every extra $500 borrowed adds $1.50 of intangible tax — the only Georgia closing cost a bigger down payment shrinks.
- Shop lenders on fees, not only on rate. Origination and underwriting charges vary between lenders quoting the same rate.
- Ask for a seller credit sized to the intangible tax. On a $288,000 loan that's $864 — a number a seller can evaluate.
- Confirm what the attorney fee covers. Since attorney involvement is mandatory, compare what's bundled in against what's billed separately.
- Compare your Loan Estimate to your Closing Disclosure. Some items may change between the two and some may not; how to read a Loan Estimate line by line explains the tolerances.
And plan for prepaids: the first year of insurance and the tax escrow are real cash, covered in how escrow accounts get funded.
Frequently asked questions
How much are closing costs in Georgia?
At the statewide median sale price of $360,000, a 2-5% range works out to roughly $7,200 to $18,000, midpoint near $12,600, excluding agent commissions. Georgia buyers generally fall toward the lower end of that spread.
What is Georgia's intangible recording tax?
It's a tax on the face amount of a new long-term note secured by real property, charged at $1.50 per $500 of the loan, or 0.30%. On a $288,000 mortgage that's $864. It's capped at $25,000 per instrument, and for instruments recorded on or after July 1, 2025, notes maturing in 62 months or less are exempt.
Does Georgia have a transfer tax?
Yes, but it's small: $1.00 for the first $1,000 plus $0.10 for each additional $100, about 0.1% of the sale price. On a $360,000 home that's $360, and the seller is the statutory default payer.
Why does Georgia tax both the sale price and the loan?
Two separate taxes with two separate bases: the transfer tax attaches to the deed, the intangible tax to the mortgage instrument. Georgia and Florida are the only states that levy both.
Do I need a lawyer to close on a house in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia law requires a licensed attorney to conduct the closing, because Georgia courts treat conducting a closing as the practice of law. With a new loan that attorney represents the lender, not you, so you can hire your own counsel separately if the deal warrants it.
Do I pay the intangible tax again if I refinance?
Yes. It applies to refinances, HELOCs, and home equity loans as well as purchases, because each records a new note. Refinancing $288,000 means another $864, though no transfer tax is due.
How much cash do I need to close on a $360,000 Georgia home?
Closing costs and the down payment are separate. With 20% down you bring $72,000 plus about $12,600 at the midpoint, roughly $84,600. See also ways to reduce what you bring to closing.
What to do next
Put your real purchase price and down payment into Georgia's payment calculator. Because the intangible tax scales with the loan rather than the price, changing your down payment moves the closing math here, not just the monthly payment.
- Georgia mortgage payment calculator
- Georgia affordability calculator
- Georgia first-time buyer calculator
- How to buy a home in Georgia
- First-time home buyer programs explained
Every figure on this site is sourced and dated, and you can see where each one comes from on our methodology page.
The figures above are illustrations drawn from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset. They are statewide numbers, not county-level quotes, and Georgia median sale prices vary by source and time window. Your own costs depend on your address, lender, closing attorney, loan amount, and contract. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed real estate professional, mortgage lender, or attorney in Georgia.