The Real Cost of Selling a House in Maryland (Full Breakdown + Calculator Math for 2026)

A Montgomery County seller nets roughly 93% of the sale price before the mortgage payoff: about 7% goes to commission, transfer and recordation taxes, and title fees at a typical 5.5% total commission. Once you add pre-listing prep, a buyer concession, and HOA or tax prorations, the all-in cost of selling usually lands at 8–9%.

The calculator right above this article runs the exact formulas from three real title-company net sheets. Plug in your price, your mortgage payoff, and your commission, and it shows every line. Below is where each number comes from, and the costs a net sheet leaves out. For everything else that happens between deciding to sell and the settlement table, see the full guide to how to sell a house in Maryland.

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Three real Montgomery County net sheets

Most closing-cost articles give you a vague "6–10%" and move on. These are three actual seller net sheets my title company ran in September 2026 for Montgomery County homes at $375,000, $570,000, and $800,000. The calculator reproduces all three to the cent.

	$375,000 sale	$570,000 sale	$800,000 sale
Maryland state transfer tax (seller's half)	$937.50	$1,425.00	$2,000.00
Montgomery County transfer tax (seller's half)	$1,875.00	$2,850.00	$4,000.00
Montgomery County recordation tax (seller's half)	$1,668.75	$2,697.50	$4,969.00
Title & settlement fees	$780.00	$780.00	$780.00
Listing-side commission (3% + $495 fee)	$11,745.00	$17,595.00	$24,495.00
Buyer-agent commission (2.5%)	$9,375.00	$14,250.00	$20,000.00
Total seller costs	$26,381.25	$39,597.50	$56,244.00
Seller nets	$348,618.75	$530,402.50	$743,756.00
Net as % of price	93.0%	93.1%	93.0%

Source: seller net sheets prepared by GPN Title, Inc. (Rockville, MD) via Qualia, September 2026, for a non-primary-residence cash sale with taxes split 50/50 between buyer and seller. Your figures will differ. See the exemptions section and what these sheets don't include.

How much does it cost to sell a house in Maryland in 2026?

The total cost of selling a typical Montgomery County home breaks down into five categories:

1. Real estate commission: 5–6% of the sale price, the biggest line by far
2. Transfer and recordation taxes (seller's share): about 1.2–1.4% of the sale price
3. Title and settlement fees: about $780 flat, plus an HOA resale package if you have one
4. Prep costs (repairs, touch-ups, staging): 0.5–1.5% of the sale price
5. Buyer concessions (if any): 0–2% of the sale price

The first three are what you see on a title company's net sheet, and together they come to about 7% at a 5.5% total commission. The last two are what push the all-in number to 8–9%.

How each closing cost is calculated

How much is realtor commission in Maryland?

The largest cost of selling a home in Maryland is the real estate commission. After the 2024 NAR settlement, commissions are negotiated more explicitly than they used to be, but the math hasn't changed dramatically.

Typical commission ranges in Montgomery County right now:

• Listing agent: 2.5–3% of the sale price, sometimes plus a flat brokerage fee. This pays for marketing, photography, MLS listing, open houses, negotiation, paperwork, contract management, and your agent's actual time.
• Buyer's agent: 2–2.5% of the sale price. This is now negotiated separately under the 2024 settlement, but in roughly 80% of MoCo listings I see, the seller is still offering it as part of the listing agreement.

Combined: 4.5%–5.5% is the most common total today on standard-tier homes. The three net sheets above used 3% plus a $495 brokerage fee on the listing side and 2.5% on the buyer side. Luxury homes ($1.5M+) sometimes negotiate down to 4–4.5%. Discount brokers offer 1.5% on the listing side, but you typically get less marketing, less negotiation, and longer days on market.

Whatever your rate, this is the line that dwarfs everything else, which is why pricing and marketing matter more than shaving $50 off a wire fee. For how commissions actually work in 2026, see how much a realtor charges to sell a house in Maryland and what a listing agent actually does.

What are the transfer and recordation taxes when selling in Maryland?

Three taxes hit the deed, and by local custom in Montgomery County the buyer and seller split each one 50/50 (the split is negotiable in the contract):

• Maryland state transfer tax: 0.5% of the sale price (Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation). The seller pays 0.25%. On $570,000 that's $1,425.
• Montgomery County transfer tax: 1% of the sale price. The seller pays 0.5%. On $570,000 that's $2,850.
• Montgomery County recordation tax: tiered, and the seller pays half of the total. This is the one nobody can do in their head.

The county charges recordation tax per $500 of price in escalating tiers (Montgomery County Department of Finance):

Portion of sale price	Rate per $500	Effective rate
First $500,000	$4.45	0.89%
$500,000 – $600,000	$6.75	1.35%
$600,000 – $750,000	$10.20	2.04%
$750,000 – $1,000,000	$10.78	2.156%
Over $1,000,000	$11.35	2.27%

Worked example, $800,000 sale: $4,450 (first $500K) + $1,350 (next $100K) + $3,060 (next $150K) + $1,078 (last $50K) = $9,938 total, seller's half $4,969, exactly the number on the net sheet above. The tiers are why costs rise faster than the sale price does: the seller's recordation tax is 0.45% of a $375K sale but 0.62% of an $800K sale.

Add it up and the seller's share of all three taxes runs about 1.2–1.4% of the price on the three real sheets. Other Maryland counties set their own transfer and recordation rates, so a Prince George's or Howard County sale will come out differently. For more on how these taxes interact, see Montgomery County real estate transfer and recordation tax.

What are the settlement and title costs for a Maryland seller?

The seller's side of title work in Montgomery County is small and mostly flat. On all three real net sheets it was $780:

• Settlement fee: $395
• Release procurement (clearing your old mortgage lien): $185
• Deed preparation: $150
• Wire fee: $50

The buyer pays for the title insurance policies in Maryland, which is why there's no four-figure title line on the seller's side. If you're in an HOA or condo, add the resale package (see below). For the full seller-vs-buyer split of every line, see who pays closing costs when selling a house in Maryland.

What these net sheets don't include

The three examples above are deliberately clean: cash buyer, no loan on the seller's side, no negotiation. Real closings add some or all of these:

• Mortgage payoff. The single biggest deduction for most sellers. Subtract your loan balance (plus interest through the closing date) from the "seller nets" line. That's the "mortgage payoff" field in the calculator.
• Property tax and HOA prorations. Montgomery County taxes are billed on a July–June fiscal year; you'll credit or be credited for the portion of the year you owned. See when Montgomery County property taxes are due.
• HOA/condo resale package: typically $150–$400, seller-paid, required by Maryland law.
• Seller credits or repairs negotiated after inspection, the number that actually varies most deal to deal. Enter them in the "seller credits" field above, and read what to do about home inspection problems.
• Home warranty if you offer one ($450–$700).
• Maryland non-resident withholding. If you've already moved out of state before closing, Maryland withholds a percentage of the proceeds at settlement (recoverable when you file). Ask your title company early.
• Capital gains. Not a closing cost, but a real one. If your gain exceeds the federal exclusion ($250,000 single / $500,000 married filing jointly), see capital gains tax when selling your home in Maryland and the Maryland capital gains calculator.

Two more costs never appear on a net sheet at all, because you pay them before you list: prep and concessions.

How much should I budget for prep costs before listing?

This is the category most sellers underestimate. Pre-listing prep work falls into three buckets:

1. Repairs and touch-ups (~$500–$5,000) The cosmetic fixes that aren't really fixes: touching up paint, repairing a few drywall dings, replacing burnt-out bulbs, deep-cleaning carpets, regrouting a bathroom. Almost every home I list needs $500–$2,000 of this kind of work to look its best.

2. Strategic upgrades that pay off (~$0–$15,000) For some homes, targeted upgrades return 2x–3x what they cost. Repainting interior walls in neutral colors, refinishing hardwood floors, swapping outdated light fixtures, modernizing kitchen and bathroom hardware. I walk through every listing and recommend only the upgrades that will recover their cost.

For the ROI data on which upgrades pay off and which don't, see the 268% ROI home improvement that pays for itself and home upgrades ROI for selling in Maryland 2026.

3. Staging and photography

• Professional photography: typically included by your listing agent (I cover this for every client). If buying separately, $400–$800.
• Virtual staging (digital): $30–$80 per photo, useful for empty rooms.
• Physical staging (rented furniture): $1,500–$4,000 for a one-month rental on a typical 3-bedroom home. Higher for luxury homes. More on that in what staging costs and whether it's worth it.

Total prep budget for most Montgomery County sellers: $2,000–$10,000, depending on the home's current condition and how much you choose to invest.

What's a buyer concession and how much should I budget?

A buyer concession is when the seller credits the buyer at closing to cover closing costs or a rate buydown. It works like a price reduction but happens at the closing table instead of in the contract price.

In a balanced market, buyer concessions on MoCo homes typically run 0–2% of the sale price. On a $700,000 home, that's $0–$14,000 depending on negotiation.

When concessions happen most:

• The buyer is stretched on cash and needs help covering closing costs
• The buyer wants a rate buydown to lower their monthly payment
• Inspection turned up issues and the seller offers a credit in lieu of repairs
• The home has been on the market longer than expected

Concessions are a negotiation lever, not a fixed cost. But plan for the possibility: most listings end up giving up something at the table.

Are there any other hidden costs of selling?

A few that sellers consistently forget:

Mortgage payoff overage. Your mortgage balance on closing day isn't your balance today. It includes accrued interest since the last payment plus a small payoff processing fee ($30–$75). Typically a few hundred dollars more than expected.

Pre-sale inspection (optional). Some sellers pay $400–$600 for a pre-listing inspection so they know what will come up before buyers do. A smart move on older homes. Not required.

Primary residence and first-time buyer exemptions

The three real net sheets were run as not a primary residence, with no first-time-buyer exemption, and the calculator uses the same non-exempt case. Two things can change the tax lines:

• Owner-occupied principal residence: County Code §52-16B provides that the first $100,000 of consideration may be exempt from county recordation tax when the home will be an owner-occupied principal residence, worth about $890 in total. Confirm eligibility with your title company.
• First-time Maryland homebuyer: if your buyer has never owned a principal residence in Maryland and will live in the home, the state transfer tax drops to 0.25% and you, the seller, pay all of it (Tax-Property §13-203), the same dollar amount as your normal half of 0.5%. But by default you also pay the full county transfer tax and the full recordation tax, unless the contract expressly says otherwise (Real Property §14-104). On a $570,000 sale that adds $2,850 + $2,697.50 = $5,547.50 to your costs.

The calculator above assumes a 50/50 split, so it understates your costs if your buyer is a first-time Maryland buyer and the contract leaves the default in place. Your title company applies the allocation the contract specifies; read that paragraph of any first-time-buyer offer before you ratify.

A worked example: a $700,000 sale, all-in

Here's the full math for a typical $700,000 Montgomery County sale in 2026, using the same commission as the real net sheets, then layering on the costs they leave out:

Item	Cost
Listing commission (3% + $495 fee)	$21,495
Buyer-agent commission (2.5%)	$17,500
Maryland state transfer tax (seller's half)	$1,750
Montgomery County transfer tax (seller's half)	$3,500
Montgomery County recordation tax (seller's half)	$3,920
Title & settlement fees	$780
Closing-table subtotal (what the calculator shows)	$48,945 (7.0%)
HOA resale package	$400
Pre-listing prep / painting / staging	$5,000
Buyer concession at closing	$5,000
Prorations (property tax, HOA dues; can go either way)	$1,500
Mortgage payoff overage	$400
Total cost of sale, all-in	$61,245 (8.7%)

Net to seller before mortgage payoff: $700,000 − $61,245 = $638,755. If the payoff is $350,000, cash to the seller at closing is $288,755.

That's the reconciliation in one table: about 7% at the closing table on a typical commission, and 8–9% once prep, a concession, and prorations are in. Type $5,000 into the seller-credits field above to watch the concession move your net.

Lowering the cost and estimating your net

Can I sell my house without paying these costs?

The two biggest costs, commission and transfer taxes, are the ones sellers most often try to avoid.

FSBO (For Sale By Owner) eliminates the listing agent commission but typically doesn't eliminate the buyer's agent commission, and FSBO sellers in Maryland statistically net less than agent-listed sellers even after the commission savings. See FSBO vs agent in Maryland: why it costs you more for the data, and why FSBO sellers end up cutting price for the pattern I've seen play out dozens of times.

Discount brokers (1% listing brokers) cut some of the listing commission but typically offer less marketing, less negotiation, and longer days on market. For most sellers, the net is worse.

Transfer taxes can be negotiated to shift more to the buyer in a strong seller's market. In a buyer's market, the seller typically absorbs more.

The realistic answer: the cost of selling is what it is. The lever that matters isn't reducing the costs, it's getting the highest sale price with the least time on market. That's where the real money is made or lost.

How do I estimate my net proceeds?

The fastest way is the calculator at the top of this page. By hand:

1. Taxes: 0.75% of price (state + county transfer, your halves) plus half of the tiered recordation total from the table above.
2. Title fees: about $780.
3. Commission: your agreed rate × price (5–6% is typical for both sides combined).
4. Subtract your mortgage payoff and any credits you negotiate.

Rule of thumb that matches all three real sheets: taxes + title ≈ 1.4–1.5% of price; commission ≈ 5.5%; you net ≈ 93% before your loan payoff. On a $650,000 home, roughly the county median right now, that's about $45,300 in closing costs and a net around $604,700 before the mortgage.

Quick formula:

Net ≈ (Sale Price × 0.93) − Mortgage Payoff

If you're also budgeting for prep and a concession, use 0.91–0.92 instead of 0.93.

The way I explain it to sellers: your listing commission, a buyer-agent commission of 2–3% (which is usually worth paying), and transaction closing costs add up to as much as about 7% total, and then you deduct your mortgage payoff. I give every seller a net sheet upfront with about three scenarios (different price points or commission structures) so there are no surprises at the settlement table.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much are seller closing costs in Maryland?

In Montgomery County, about 7% of the sale price including commission, based on real 2026 title-company net sheets: roughly 1.4–1.5% in transfer/recordation taxes and title fees, plus commission (5.5% plus a $495 fee in the examples). On a $570,000 sale that was $39,597.50 in total costs and a net of $530,402.50 before mortgage payoff. Add prep, a buyer concession, and prorations and the all-in cost is usually 8–9%.

Who pays transfer and recordation taxes in Montgomery County?

By local custom they're split 50/50 between buyer and seller: the seller pays 0.25% state transfer tax, 0.5% county transfer tax, and half of the tiered county recordation tax. In a sale to a first-time Maryland homebuyer who will occupy the home, the seller by default pays the full state transfer tax (0.25%), plus the full county transfer and recordation taxes unless the contract says otherwise, so a 50/50 net sheet understates the seller's costs in that case.

Does the seller pay for title insurance in Maryland?

No. In Maryland the buyer pays for both the owner's and lender's title policies. The seller's title-side costs are limited to the settlement fee, deed preparation, mortgage release procurement, and wire fee, about $780 total at a typical Montgomery County title company.

What are the closing costs on a $500,000 house in Maryland for the seller?

Using the Montgomery County formulas: $1,250 state transfer tax (seller's half), $2,500 county transfer tax, $2,225 recordation tax (half of $4,450), and about $780 in title fees, roughly $6,755 in taxes and fees. Add commission at 3% + $495 on the listing side and 2.5% on the buyer side ($27,995) and total seller costs come to about $34,750, for a net of roughly $465,250 before mortgage payoff.

What does a seller in Gaithersburg pay in closing costs on a $600,000 sale?

Using the same formulas: $1,500 state transfer tax (seller's half of 0.5%), $3,000 county transfer tax (seller's half of 1%), $2,900 recordation tax (half of $4,450 on the first $500K plus $1,350 on the next $100K), and about $780 in title and settlement fees, roughly $8,180 in taxes and fees. Add commission at the 5.5% + $495 used in these examples ($33,495) and total seller costs come to about $41,675, for a net of roughly $558,325 before mortgage payoff.

How can I get an exact seller net sheet?

Ask your agent or title company. I run these through my title company in minutes for any Montgomery County address and price. It's the first thing I do with every seller before we set a list price, because the net, not the list price, is the number that matters.

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The bottom line

Selling a home in Montgomery County in 2026 costs about 7% at the closing table on a typical commission, and 8–9% all-in:

• ~5.5% in real estate commission (the biggest line)
• ~1.2–1.4% in seller-side transfer and recordation taxes
• ~$780 in title and settlement fees
• 0.5–1.5% in prep costs (typical)
• 0–2% in buyer concessions (depending on negotiation)

The fastest way to lose money on a sale isn't paying these costs, it's mispricing your home so it sits for 60+ days and you end up cutting below where you should have started. For the pricing math, see how to price your home and why overpricing costs you money. For the full selling process, start with the complete guide to selling a home in Montgomery County, and for where prices are heading, how the 2026 market has gone so far.

If you'd like a free seller net sheet for your specific Montgomery County address, call me at (301) 357-1170 or email [email protected]. I'll run the numbers and send you a one-page estimate within 24 hours.

Sources & further reading

The primary sources behind the tax and fee figures in this post:

• Seller net sheets prepared by GPN Title, Inc. (Rockville, MD) via Qualia, September 2026, for $375,000, $570,000 and $800,000 Montgomery County sales
• Montgomery County Department of Finance: current county tax rates, billing dates and transfer/recordation figures
• Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation: state transfer tax and property records
• Maryland Real Property Search (SDAT): ownership, assessed value and deed history for any Maryland parcel
• IRS Topic 701, Sale of Your Home: the capital-gains exclusion rules in the IRS's own words

Estimates only. Confirm with your settlement agent before closing. Edward Dumitrache is a REALTOR® with Pearson Smith Realty, licensed in MD, DC, and VA. Want a net sheet for your home? Send me the address or call (301) 357-1170.