Who pays most of these costs is set by boxes in TREC form 20-19, the resale contract the Texas Real Estate Commission lists as effective July 1, 2026. Rates and rules here are as of October 30, 2026, and we update this guide when they change.

Who pays what when you sell a Houston home

Most seller costs in Texas are assigned by the contract, not by statute. Only a few amounts are fixed by a rule, chiefly the title premium, a tax collector’s certificate fee and the cap on an association’s resale certificate.

TDI sets the title premium, and the contract decides who pays it

Every title company in Texas charges the same basic premium for an owner’s policy of the same amount, because the Texas Department of Insurance sets it; your contract decides which side pays.

The basic premium rates in force since March 1, 2026

Commissioner’s Order 2025-9697, signed December 19, 2025, ordered a 6.2 percent reduction and set the rates in force since March 1, 2026. The policy amount is the sales price (paragraph 6.A), and under Rate Rule R-1 the premium includes title insurance, title examination and closing the transaction. Above $100,000, the chart works by price band:

From $5,000,001 to $15,000,000 the rate is 0.00335 on each dollar over $5,000,000, added to $21,466, and it steps down again above $15,000,000. TDI publishes the full rate chart. For closings after September 30, 2026, TDI also lists a $3.00 guaranty fee on each owner’s and lender’s policy, set by the Texas Title Insurance Guaranty Association.

Who pays for the owner’s policy

Paragraph 6.A of form 20-19 reads: “Seller shall furnish to Buyer at [ ] Seller’s [ ] Buyer’s expense an owner policy of title insurance,” in the amount of the sales price. TDI’s FAQ says “The buyer and seller may negotiate who pays the premium,” and in a Houston resale the seller customarily pays. The buyer’s lender policy is a buyer’s expense (paragraph 12.A(2)), with a $100 premium when issued simultaneously with the owner’s policy for no more than its amount (Rate Rule R-5). TDI also notes that federal law “prohibits sellers from conditioning the home sale on the use of a specific title insurance company.”

The survey exception amendment costs 5 percent

Paragraph 6.A(8) lets the parties amend the policy’s exception for area and boundary discrepancies to read “shortages in area,” at the buyer’s or the seller’s expense. Rate Rule R-16 prices that amendment at 5 percent of the basic premium on residential property, at least $20: $464 on a $2,000,000 policy.

Escrow and closing fees come from the title company

Escrow fees are not on TDI’s rate chart, and TDI’s FAQ says they “differ between agents”; the TREC contract gives one-half of the escrow fee to each side. Paragraph 12.A(1)(a) lists the seller’s expenses: “releases of existing liens, including prepayment penalties and recording fees; release of Seller’s loan liability; tax statements or certificates; preparation of deed; one-half of escrow fee; and other expenses payable by Seller under this contract.”

TDI adds that “Most title companies add extra charges for things like tax certificates and escrow fees, recording fees, and delivery expenses,” so ask the title company for its fee schedule and an estimated settlement statement early. A tax collector may charge no more than $10 for each tax certificate it issues (Tax Code section 31.08). No official figure is published for escrow fees, deed preparation or surveys.

The survey: your existing survey with a T-47 or T-47.1, or a new one

Paragraph 6.C offers three survey choices, and the one checked decides whether a survey costs you anything: you furnish your existing survey with a TDI affidavit or declaration, the buyer may buy a new survey at the buyer’s expense, or you buy a new survey.

Form T-47 is an affidavit sworn before a notary. Form T-47.1 is a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, without a notary, as Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 132.001 allows. The current versions of both took effect November 1, 2024, and both state that, to the signer’s actual knowledge, since the survey date there have been no new structures, pools or decking, no moved boundary fences, no replats and no new easements, except those listed. A seller who still has the survey from its own purchase customarily offers it this way. If you do not deliver both the survey and the affidavit or declaration on time, the contract has the buyer obtain a new survey at your expense.

Commissions are set by your listing agreement, not by law

Brokerage compensation in Texas is negotiated in writing: paragraph 12.B of the contract says it “is not set by law and is fully negotiable,” and each party pays its own broker under its own written agreement. Your listing agreement sets what you pay your listing broker.

Paragraph 12.B(1) adds a payment toward the buyer’s broker only if you check it, as a dollar amount or a percentage of the sales price. Since August 17, 2024, under the National Association of REALTORS® settlement, offers of compensation cannot be communicated on an MLS, and NAR’s consumer guide says such offers are not mandatory and need the seller’s written approval of the amount. Paragraph 12.A(1)(b) is the other seller contribution: an amount, up to the figure written in, toward the buyer’s other expenses.

IRS Publication 523 treats commissions, advertising and legal fees as selling expenses that reduce your amount realized. How the listing fits into the rest of the sale is covered in our guide to selling a home in River Oaks, Tanglewood, West University or the Memorial Villages.

Property taxes are prorated because Texas bills them late in the year

Texas property taxes for a year are billed in the fall and are not delinquent until February 1 of the next year, so a seller who closes before the bill is paid credits the buyer for January 1 through the closing date.

The tax lien attaches on January 1 (Tax Code section 32.01), bills go out “by October 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable” (section 31.01), and taxes are delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the following year (section 31.02). Paragraph 13 of the contract says current-year taxes and association dues “will be prorated through the Closing Date,” and if the bill differs, “the parties shall adjust the prorations when tax statements for the current year are available.”

Before the bill is out, the title company customarily estimates it from the prior year’s bill. If you already paid the year’s bill, at a December closing for example, the buyer reimburses you for the days after closing. Rates by taxing unit are in our guide to Houston property taxes, Village by Village, and exemptions in our guide to the Texas homestead exemption in Harris County.

A hypothetical proration

Hypothetical, round numbers: the estimated 2026 tax bill on a home is $36,500, or $100 a day over 365 days. The sale closes June 30, 2026, and the seller is charged for January 1 through June 30, 181 days. The seller credits the buyer $18,100 at closing, and the buyer pays the full bill when it comes due.

Your loan payoff and the release of lien come out of the proceeds

The title company pays off your mortgage and any other lien from the sale proceeds, and the release costs are yours. The contract promises that no lien will remain “which will not be satisfied out of the sales proceeds” (paragraph 9.B(4)) and puts releases, prepayment penalties and their recording fees on the seller (paragraph 12.A(1)(a)). The payoff, including any home equity loan or line of credit, is a line on your settlement statement, not a fee. If your proceeds are wired, follow TDI’s advice: “Verify the electronic payment instructions with your title agent.”

Association costs: the resale certificate and transfer fees

If the property is subject to mandatory membership in a property owners association, Texas law caps the resale certificate at $375 and an update at $75, and the TREC addendum decides who orders and pays for it. Whether it is subject to mandatory membership is a box in paragraph 6.E(2), and the recorded restrictions and title commitment show it.

Property Code section 207.003 requires the association to deliver the restrictions, bylaws, rules and resale certificate within 10 business days of a proper written request, and it may not charge the fee if it is late. TREC addendum 36-11 lets you obtain and pay for these documents or has the buyer obtain them at the buyer’s expense, or the buyer can waive them. Its paragraph C makes the buyer pay association transfer fees up to an amount written in, and “Seller shall pay any excess.” A private transfer fee, as Property Code chapter 5, subchapter G defines it, is the seller’s obligation unless the contract says otherwise (paragraph 9.B(5)).

Repairs, the option period and a home warranty cost what you agree to

Repairs and a home warranty are seller costs only when you agree to them in writing. The buyer’s option fee is credited to the sales price at closing (paragraph 5.A(4)), and repairs requested during the option period are negotiated.

• Agreed repairs: those listed in paragraph 7.D(2) or in a later written amendment, made by persons licensed or commercially engaged in the trade, with any required permits (paragraph 7.F).
• Lender-required repairs: “neither party is obligated to pay” unless agreed in writing, and if they exceed 5% of the sales price the buyer may terminate (paragraph 7.E).
• Home warranty: “The purchase of a residential service contract is optional”; you reimburse it only up to the amount in paragraph 7.H.
• Utilities: you keep them on at your expense while the contract is in effect (paragraph 7.A).

Texas adds no transfer tax and no state tax on your gain

Texas imposes no transfer tax on a home sale and no state income or capital gains tax on an individual seller’s gain; federal income tax still applies to any gain. The Texas Legislative Council’s 2015 analysis states that “The state and political subdivisions of the state do not currently impose any tax on transfers of real property,” and Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, provides that “After January 1, 2016, no law may be enacted that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.”

Section 24-a of the same article bars a state tax on individuals’ net incomes, and Section 24-b, added November 4, 2025, bars a state tax on an individual’s capital gains. Federally, IRS Topic 701 says you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain on your main home, or $500,000 on a joint return, if you meet the ownership and use tests of two years out of the five before the sale. Selling to a builder? See our guide to selling a Houston home as a lot or teardown to a builder.

If you are not a U.S. person, FIRPTA withholding comes out of your proceeds

When the seller is a foreign person, the buyer must generally withhold 15 percent of the amount realized and file Form 8288 by the 20th day after the sale; the IRS says “In most cases, the buyer (transferee) is the withholding agent.” Paragraph 20.A of the TREC contract requires that withholding if you are a foreign person or fail to deliver a certificate of non-foreign status. The IRS describes no withholding at $300,000 or less, and reduced withholding between $300,000 and $1 million, when the buyer will live in the home. On a hypothetical $2,000,000 sale, 15 percent is $300,000. A foreign seller can apply on Form 8288-B for a withholding certificate.

A worked example: seller costs on a hypothetical $2,000,000 sale

Hypothetical, round numbers: a Houston home sells for $2,000,000 and closes June 30, 2026. The seller pays for the owner’s policy and the “shortages in area” amendment, and the 2026 tax bill, estimated at $36,500, is unpaid.

The proration is not a fee: it is the part of the year’s taxes that belongs to your months of ownership.

Marnie Greenwood’s closed sales on Compass

Her closed sales on Compass include 162 as the seller’s agent. Her closed sales on Compass also include 25 in the Memorial Villages, 9 in River Oaks and Afton Oaks, 16 in the Tanglewood area and 6 in West University Place. She works with sellers in English and Spanish.

Frequently asked questions