Closing Costs in Tennessee: Sellers Save $11,429 in 2026

Closing costs in Tennessee are light on the seller. The transfer tax is the buyer’s by statute, a deed records in Knox County for $13, and property taxes are prorated at closing. The big line is the listing commission you choose. A $95 flat fee keeps $11,429 of it at the state median. Here’s every line and the math.

I’ve read a lot of “closing costs in Tennessee” pages this week, and nearly all of them are written by lenders, for buyers. They talk about origination fees and appraisals, which is fine if you’re borrowing money and useless if you’re the one signing the deed. So this is the seller’s version, with the statute cited for every number and the Knoxville fee schedule pulled straight from the register’s website.

Closing costs in Tennessee: the seller’s real list

Start with the two lines people worry about most: the transfer tax and the mortgage tax. Tennessee lumps both under one name, “recordation tax,” and the Department of Revenue is blunt about who owes each. The grantee (that’s the buyer) pays the realty transfer tax. The debtor (the buyer again, if they’re borrowing) pays the mortgage tax.¹

That leaves the seller with a short list. Here’s how it shakes out at Tennessee’s July 2026 median sale price of $384,125.⁹

Look at that last row. Everything above it, combined, is smaller than a used lawnmower. The commission line is the only one with five figures in it, and it’s the only one that’s entirely your decision. That’s the whole point of this article, so I’ll come back to it.

If you want the national version of this list, I keep one at seller closing costs explained. The rest of this page is Tennessee only.

The transfer tax lands on the buyer, by statute

Tennessee charges $0.37 per $100 of the purchase price when a deed is recorded.² On the $384,125 median that’s $1,421, and on a $390,000 East Tennessee sale it’s $1,443. Not nothing, but not yours either.

The County Technical Assistance Service, which trains Tennessee’s registers of deeds, puts it plainly: “The grantee must pay the tax on the value of the property or the consideration given, whichever is greater.”³ The grantee is the person receiving the deed. In a normal sale, that’s the buyer.

Two details from that same page matter to sellers. First, the tax is computed on the higher of value or consideration, so a below-market sale to a relative doesn’t shrink the bill. The exception is a quitclaim, where the grantee pays on the actual consideration.³ If you’re weighing a quitclaim against a warranty deed for a family transfer, read my note on quitclaim deed vs warranty deed first.

Second, the exemptions. No transfer tax is due on a transfer into your own revocable living trust, on deeds that adjust property between divorcing spouses, or on creating or dissolving a tenancy by the entirety between spouses.³ Those aren’t sales, but they’re the questions I get most.

One more thing sellers miss. Someone has to swear to the consideration on the face of the deed, under oath, and a false affidavit is perjury under T.C.A. § 39-16-702.³ Don’t let anyone talk you into writing a lower number to save the buyer a few hundred dollars.

Is the transfer tax negotiable? Yes, because statute sets who owes it to the register, not what your contract says. A buyer can ask you to cover it, and in a soft market some will, so I’ll come back to that below.

Knox County recording fees and property tax proration

Deeds in Knoxville record at the Knox County Register of Deeds, Suite 225 of the City County Building at 400 Main Street.⁶ The fee schedule is short. A warranty deed or quitclaim deed costs $12.00 for up to two pages and $5.00 for each additional page, plus a $1.00 fee added to every taxable document.⁵

So a two-page deed is $13 to record and a three-page deed is $18. Signatures must be notarized or witnessed by two people, and the register wants original signatures, not copies.⁶ That’s the entire county’s take on a sale, and I’ve seen sellers budget $500 for “recording” out of habit. Budget $13.

The mortgage tax is the buyer’s problem, but you should know the number because it shows up on the same settlement statement. It’s $0.115 per $100 of debt, with the first $2,000 exempt.² On an 80% loan against the state median, that’s about $351. CTAS is clear that “the incidence of the tax is declared to be on the mortgagor, grantor or debtor.”⁴ If your buyer pays cash, this line disappears.

Now the line that does hit you: property taxes. Tennessee county taxes are payable starting the first Monday in October each year, and they go delinquent on March 1 of the following year.⁷ CTAS gives the example straight: 2010 taxes are due the first Monday in October 2010 and delinquent March 1, 2011.⁸

Here’s what that means at closing. Sell in June and the bill for the current year hasn’t come due yet. The settlement statement will charge you for January through your closing date and credit that amount to the buyer, who pays the full bill in October. Sell in November, after you’ve paid, and the credit flips. The buyer reimburses you for the weeks they’ll own it. Either way, read that line on your closing statement before you sign. It’s the most common place I see a proration run the wrong direction.

Commission is the closing cost you actually control

Every statutory line in closing costs in Tennessee adds up to a few hundred dollars for the seller, most of it the tax proration you’d owe anyway. The commission is different. It isn’t a tax, and nobody in Nashville set it. It’s a fee you agree to in a listing contract, and the number you agree to is the difference between a good closing and a great one.

Let me use the real median. Tennessee REALTORS put the July 2026 statewide median at $384,125, up 2.4% from a year earlier.⁹ That’s below the national median of $434,100 that NAR reported for the same month.¹² Lower price, same percentage, so the commission still lands in five figures.

Those percentages are illustrative, not published Tennessee averages, and I don’t have a state survey to cite, so I’m not going to pretend one exists. What I can tell you is that listing agreements I’ve reviewed cluster in that band, and the arithmetic is the same at any rate: a percentage of $384,125 versus a fixed $95.

In East Tennessee the gap is slightly wider. The regional association reported a June 2026 median of $390,000, up 3.3%, with sales up 14.1% and half of homes under contract in 20 days or less.¹¹ At $390,000 a 3% listing side is $11,700. Against $95, you keep $11,605.

How does a $95 listing get you the same MLS exposure? The same way it does anywhere. A flat fee MLS listing in Tennessee puts your home on the local MLS, and from there it syndicates to Zillow, Realtor.com and the rest. For Knoxville sellers specifically, the flat fee MLS Knoxville page shows what’s included. The listing looks identical to an agent’s listing because it is one.

In Tennessee the government’s share of your sale is $13. The commission is the closing cost, and it’s the one line you get to set.

If the paperwork side worries you, I wrote the step-by-step on how to sell a house by owner in Tennessee, including the disclosure form and contract. This page is only about the money.

Where a flat fee listing does not save you money

I’d be selling you something if I stopped there. A flat fee removes exactly one line, the listing side, and it does not touch the others. Three of them can bite.

Title and settlement fees stay. If your contract says the seller pays for the owner’s title policy or splits the settlement fee, a flat fee listing changes nothing about that. I haven’t quoted a Tennessee title fee here because I didn’t pull one, and I’m not going to invent a number. Ask the title company for a seller net sheet before you list, since it’s free and it takes a day.

Buyer-broker compensation is the big one. If you agree to pay the buyer’s agent, that becomes the largest line on your side after your own listing fee. Nothing in Tennessee law makes you offer it. Plenty of sellers still do, because it can widen the buyer pool. That’s a pricing decision, not a closing cost, and you should make it on purpose rather than by default. My for sale by owner guide covers how to handle that offer.

The transfer tax can come back to you. Statute puts it on the grantee, but contracts override custom every day. Statewide sales were down 7.2% year over year in July with 6.27 months of inventory,⁹ which is a buyer’s market by most definitions. Expect some buyers to ask you to cover the $1,421, and know that you can say no.

And the honest one: none of this matters if you overprice. Half of East Tennessee homes went under contract in 20 days or less this June,¹¹ but the other half didn’t. Every month a house sits costs you a mortgage payment, a tax accrual and a weaker negotiating seat. That will eat $11,429 faster than any commission. Price it off real comps, list it on the MLS, and keep the money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays closing costs in Tennessee, the buyer or the seller?

Both, but the statute tilts toward the buyer. Tennessee’s transfer tax and mortgage tax are owed by the grantee and the debtor, which in a sale means the buyer. The seller’s side of closing costs in Tennessee is a property tax proration, whatever title fees the contract assigns, and the commission.

How much are closing costs in Tennessee for a seller?

Without commission, a few hundred dollars: a $13 deed recording in Knox County, a tax proration that depends on your closing date, and any title fee the contract puts on you. Add a 3% listing commission and closing costs in Tennessee jump by $11,524 at the state median.

Is the Tennessee transfer tax negotiable?

Yes, and it’s the largest negotiable piece of closing costs in Tennessee. The $0.37 per $100 is fixed and the register collects it from the grantee, but your purchase contract can shift it to the seller. In a slower market some buyers ask, and you’re free to decline or trade it for something else.

What does it cost to record a deed in Knox County?

$12.00 for up to two pages, $5.00 per additional page, plus a $1.00 fee on each taxable document, per the Knox County Register of Deeds fee schedule. A two-page warranty deed is $13. Signatures need a notary or two witnesses.

When are Tennessee property taxes due, and how does that affect my closing?

County property taxes are payable from the first Monday in October and delinquent on March 1 of the next year. That makes the proration the one line in closing costs in Tennessee that moves with your closing date. Close before October and you’ll credit the buyer for your share of the unpaid year. Close after you’ve paid and the buyer reimburses you for the balance.

Does a flat fee MLS listing change closing costs in Tennessee?

It changes one line. The listing commission drops from a percentage of the price to $95, which is $11,429 at the July 2026 median. Transfer tax, recording, proration and title fees stay exactly where the statute and your contract put them.

Sources

1. Tennessee Department of Revenue, Recordation Taxes overview
2. Tennessee Department of Revenue, Recordation Taxes: Due Date and Tax Rates
3. UT County Technical Assistance Service, e-Li: Transfer Tax (CTAS-798)
4. UT County Technical Assistance Service, e-Li: Mortgage Tax (CTAS-799)
5. Knox County Register of Deeds, Fee Schedules
6. Knox County Register of Deeds, office location and recording FAQ
7. UT County Technical Assistance Service, e-Li: Tax Due Date (CTAS-1575)
8. UT County Technical Assistance Service, e-Li: Delinquency Date (CTAS-1580)
9. Tennessee REALTORS, Market Snapshot, July 2026
10. East Tennessee REALTORS, July 2026 Market Pulse Newsletter
11. East Tennessee REALTORS, Market Pulse July 2026 full report (June 2026 Home Sales Report)
12. National Association of REALTORS, Existing-Home Sales, August 11, 2026