Buyers are usually told to expect closing costs of a few percent of the price and left to find out the rest at the settlement table. In Pennsylvania you can do better than that. The realty transfer tax is set by statute and local ordinance, title insurance is sold at rates filed with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, and the county publishes its recording fees. Those lines can be calculated to the dollar before you sign an agreement of sale.
What cannot be calculated in advance are the lender's own fees, the interest and insurance you prepay, and the reserves your lender collects for future taxes. Those come from your Loan Estimate, and the law gives you a way to compare them. This guide covers both, in the order they appear on a settlement statement.
Realty Transfer Tax
Pennsylvania charges 1% of the price on every sale, and in most of Luzerne County the municipality and school district add another 1% between them, for 2% in total. A few towns are higher. Kingston Borough is 2.5% and Wilkes-Barre City is 3.5%. Pittston City is higher as well, and our transfer tax guide covers what the county and the state register each say about it. Every municipality is listed there.
The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors standard agreement of sale divides transfer tax equally between buyer and seller unless the parties agree otherwise, so in a 2% town the buyer's share is 1% of the price. On a $225,000 purchase that is $2,250. The split is negotiable, and the state holds both parties jointly liable for the full amount if it goes unpaid.
Title Insurance
Pennsylvania is an all-inclusive rate state for title insurance. Title insurers that belong to the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania charge from its rate manual, which the Pennsylvania Insurance Department approves, unless the Department has approved a specific deviation for a company. When a title company or agent handles the closing, that single charge covers the title search, the examination, and the settlement itself. The current manual is approved as amended through August 1, 2024. We found no rate change approved for 2026.
| Purchase Price Band | Sale Rate |
|---|---|
| Up To $30,000 | $569.00 Flat |
| $30,001 To $45,000 | $7.41 Per $1,000 |
| $45,001 To $100,000 | $6.27 Per $1,000 |
| $100,001 To $500,000 | $5.70 Per $1,000 |
| $500,001 To $1,000,000 | $4.56 Per $1,000 |
The bands stack, the way income tax brackets do. On a $225,000 purchase the charge is $569.00 for the first $30,000, plus $111.15 for the next $15,000, plus $344.85 for the next $55,000, plus $712.50 for the last $125,000, which comes to $1,737.50. The manual's own worked example, $1,595.00 at $200,000, checks out the same way.
When a buyer takes out a mortgage, the owner's policy and the lender's policy are issued together and priced as one policy at the higher of the two amounts. There is no second full premium for the lender's policy. Your Loan Estimate may still show the two separately, because federal disclosure rules require the lender's policy to be shown at its full rate, but the total should match the manual.
| Purchase Price | Standard Policies | Enhanced Policies | Approved Attorney Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,310.00 | $1,841.00 | $557.50 |
| $225,000 | $1,737.50 | $2,311.25 | $792.25 |
| $300,000 | $2,165.00 | $2,781.50 | $1,027.00 |
Enhanced coverage costs more. When the owner's policy is the homeowner's policy with broader protection and the lender's policy is the expanded-coverage loan policy, the manual adds 10% of the charge plus a flat $400, which is what the table shows. An enhanced owner's policy issued with a standard lender's policy is the charge plus 10%. The approved attorney rate is lower because the attorney's search, examination and settlement fees are charged separately and are not set by the manual. Lenders also commonly require a few endorsements, which are priced in the manual too. The survey endorsement (PA 300) and the environmental endorsement (PA 900) are $100 each, and the comprehensive endorsement (PA 1030) is 10% of the charge with a $150 minimum. A closing protection letter, which covers the lender or buyer against certain errors by the closing agent, is $125 per transaction.
Recording Fees
The Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds charges $87.75 to record a deed and $87.75 to record a mortgage under the schedule effective July 1, 2026. Each base fee covers up to four pages, four names and one parcel number. Every page over four is $2.00, and the statement of value that accompanies many deeds counts as pages at $2.00 each. Mortgages usually run well past four pages, so expect that line to be higher than the base.
County Council approved a new $15 demolition fee on deeds and mortgages in May 2026, and the county's fee page notes that its online fee calculator has not been updated to include it. Comparing the two schedules suggests the $87.75 already does. Deeds and mortgages rose $16 from $71.75, while other recordings rose $1. The schedule does not say so directly, so confirm the total with the title company.
The Assessor's Office also certifies the parcel number on each recorded document, at $20 per parcel number, which in a typical purchase means one certification for the deed and one for the mortgage.
Property Tax Prorations
Real estate taxes are divided between buyer and seller by the day. Under the standard agreement the seller pays up to and including the day of settlement and the buyer pays from the day after. What makes this confusing in Luzerne County is that the bills cover two different years. County and municipal bills run from January 1 to December 31, and the 2026 bills were issued on February 20, 2026. School district bills cover the school year, July 1 to June 30. The Pittston Township tax collector, for example, reported in July 2026 that the 2026-27 Pittston Area School District bills had been mailed, with the discount period starting July 13.
So a buyer closing in the fall usually reimburses the seller for school tax the seller has already paid through the following June, plus the rest of the calendar year on the county and municipal bill if it has been paid. On a hypothetical $3,000 school bill and a settlement on October 1, the buyer's share runs from October 2 through June 30, which is 272 of 365 days, or $2,235.62. A buyer closing in the spring can see the reverse, a credit from the seller for a bill the buyer will pay.
Lender Costs
Everything your lender charges appears on a standard federal form, the Loan Estimate, in the same place every time. Section A is origination charges, the lender's own fees. Sections B and C are third-party services such as the appraisal, credit report and flood certification, split between those you cannot shop for and those you can. Section E is taxes and government fees, which is where transfer tax and recording appear. Section F is prepaids, such as the first year of homeowners insurance and interest from settlement to the end of the month. Section G is the initial deposit to your escrow account.
We do not publish typical lender fees for Luzerne County, because there is no official local survey of them, and a national average would mislead you. Get Loan Estimates from two or three lenders on the same day and compare Section A line by line. That is the part of your closing costs you can shop.
Two federal rules put limits on this part. A lender can hold a cushion in your escrow account of no more than one sixth of the year's estimated tax and insurance payments, which is two months. And government-backed loans carry their own upfront fees, set nationally.
| Loan Type | Upfront Fee | How It Is Paid |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | 1.75% Of the Base Loan | Financed Into the Loan or Paid in Cash |
| VA, First Use, Under 5% Down | 2.15% Of the Loan | Can Be Financed |
| VA, First Use, 5% to 9.99% Down | 1.5% Of the Loan | Can Be Financed |
| VA, First Use, 10% or More Down | 1.25% Of the Loan | Can Be Financed |
| USDA Guaranteed | 1% Of the Loan | Can Be Financed |
On a $225,000 FHA purchase with the minimum 3.5% down, the base loan is $217,125 and the upfront premium is $3,799.69. VA also caps seller concessions at 4% of the home's reasonable value.
Inspections and Local Certificates
Home, radon and wood-destroying insect inspections are the buyer's choice and the buyer's cost, and prices vary by inspector and by house, so we do not quote them. Several municipalities also require an inspection or certificate before a property changes hands. Wilkes-Barre City charges $90 per unit for its buyer notification inspection. Hazleton City charges $75 for a single home and asks for 15 working days' notice. The standard agreement puts a certification required by law on the seller, at the seller's expense, unless the parties agree otherwise.
One optional item is worth knowing about in the coal region. Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection sells mine subsidence insurance directly. Residential coverage of $150,000 costs $41.25 a year.
A Worked Example At $225,000
Here are the lines that can be calculated before you make an offer, for a $225,000 purchase with 10% down on a conventional loan, in a municipality where the transfer tax is 2%. The lines below the subtotal come from your Loan Estimate.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer Tax, Buyer Half Of 2% | $2,250.00 |
| Title Insurance, Owner and Lender Policies | $1,737.50 |
| Closing Protection Letter | $125.00 |
| Record the Deed, Up to Four Pages | $87.75 |
| Record the Mortgage, Up to Four Pages | $87.75 Plus $2 per Extra Page |
| Parcel Number Certification, Deed and Mortgage | $40.00 |
| Subtotal | $4,328.00 |
| Lender Fees, Prepaid Interest, Insurance, Escrow Deposit | From Your Loan Estimate |
| Tax Proration | Depends on the Settlement Date |
| Down Payment | $22,500.00 |
Who pays each line other than transfer tax follows the agreement of sale and local custom. The standard agreement assigns title insurance and the buyer's customary settlement costs to the buyer, and everything in it can be negotiated, including a seller credit toward closing costs.
Help With Closing Costs
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency offers several assistance programs. These three are the most widely used. Each can be used only for the minimum down payment and closing costs, and each requires a credit score of at least 660.
- Keystone Advantage Assistance. Up to 4% of the price or $6,000, whichever is less, repaid over 10 years at 0% interest.
- Keystone Forgivable in Ten Years (K-FIT). 5% of the price or appraised value, whichever is lower, forgiven at 10% a year over 10 years. Available only with PHFA's Keystone Home Loan.
- Keystone Deferred Assistance (K-DATE). 8% on loans of $150,000 or less and 5% above that, at 0% interest, repaid when the home is sold or refinanced.
You may see references to a Pennsylvania first-time homebuyer savings account. It is not law yet. House Bill 818 passed the House in May 2025 and Senate Bill 803 was re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee in June 2026, and neither has been enacted.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax, for the 1% state rate and joint liability
- Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, Standard Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate (Form ASR), paragraphs on transfer tax, proration and settlement costs
- Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania, Rate Manual, approved by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department as amended through August 1, 2024, sections 1.6, 2.1, 3.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.50, 5.51 and 5.9 and the endorsement schedule
- Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds, Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026, and the county Fee Schedule page
- Luzerne County Treasurer, County Tax Collection, 2026 issue date
- Pittston Township Tax Collector, July 2026 notice of 2026-27 Pittston Area School District bills
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Loan Estimate form and explainer, and Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.37
- Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.17(c)(1)(i), escrow account cushion
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Handbook 4000.1, Appendix 1.0, upfront mortgage insurance premium (revised August 12, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Funding Fee and Loan Closing Costs
- USDA Rural Development, Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program overview (January 2026)
- City of Wilkes-Barre, Buyer Notification Inspection, and City of Hazleton, Request for Occupancy Inspection
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Mine Subsidence Insurance
- Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 818 and Senate Bill 803 of the 2025-2026 session
Talk to a Local Broker Who Knows This Market
Jonathan J. Nelson Real Estate works the Greater Pittston and NEPA market every day, residential, commercial, industrial, and land. If you are buying, selling, or investing, let's talk.
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