Iowa Closing Cost Calculator
Closing costs for a home in the Des Moines metro, worked out the Iowa way. Iowa sets a few of these costs by law or by a state schedule, and those are figured exactly. Everything else is a blank for you to fill in from your own quotes.
The sale
Iowa Title Guaranty
Recording (page counts)
Page counts are not fixed. Your closer or attorney will know them.
Your quotes
None of these has a fixed Iowa figure. Leave a box empty and it stays out of the sums.
There is no single total, because these costs are not all one person's. Iowa law makes the seller liable for the transfer tax (Iowa Code §428A.3). Who pays each of the other lines, buyer or seller, is for your purchase agreement to say, so check it.
| Fixed by Iowa law or ITG's schedule | Amount | Basis |
|---|
| From your quotes | Amount | Basis |
|---|
This is an estimate, not legal or financial advice. It adds up the items listed and nothing else. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure from the lender are the documents that count, and your purchase agreement decides who pays what. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Iowa Title Guaranty, not title insurance
Iowa's insurance code excludes title insurance from the additional kinds of insurance the insurance commissioner can approve (Iowa Code §515.48(10)). Title protection for Iowa property comes from Iowa Title Guaranty, a division of the Iowa Finance Authority, which calls itself Iowa's exclusive title coverage provider. Its stated mission is to offer title guaranties as an adjunct to Iowa's abstract and attorney's title opinion system (265 IAC 9.2).
Iowa Title Guaranty's residential premium schedule (effective July 1, 2023) is flat:
- Lender-only coverage: $175 for coverage up to $750,000, plus $1 per $1,000 above that.
- Owner-only coverage: $175 up to $750,000, plus $1 per $1,000 above that.
- Lender and owner coverage issued together: one premium of $175 up to $750,000, plus $1 per $1,000 above that, based on the certificate with the higher coverage amount. Iowa Title Guaranty's owner coverage page describes this as free owner coverage up to $750,000 when the lender obtains coverage at the same time. Above $750,000 it is not free, because the one premium is figured on the larger certificate: for a $900,000 home with a $720,000 loan, lender and owner coverage together cost $325, against $175 for the lender's certificate alone. The calculator follows the same rule.
- Additional concurrent coverage for a junior loan or home equity line issued with a lender certificate: $35.
The schedule does not say how a partial $1,000 above the threshold is charged, so for a price over $750,000 the calculator charges the excess proportionally. Whether your lender uses Iowa Title Guaranty is the lender's choice, so ask.
The abstract and the title opinion
An abstract of title is a written summary of every recorded matter affecting a parcel (265 IAC 9.1), and Iowa's way of proving title rests on the abstract and an attorney's written opinion on it. Bringing the abstract up to date and getting the opinion are separate services with no statewide price: abstractors and attorneys set their own fees. So the calculator leaves both blank. Ask the abstractor and the attorney for quotes, and check your purchase agreement for who pays each.
The real estate transfer tax
Iowa taxes the deed, not the mortgage. The rate is 80 cents for each $500, or fraction of $500, of the price over $500 (Iowa Code §428A.1). In practice that is about $1.60 per $1,000:
| Price | Transfer tax |
|---|---|
| $200,000 | $319.20 |
| $300,000 | $479.20 |
| $400,000 | $639.20 |
| $500,000 | $799.20 |
- Who owes it. The law makes the person conveying the property, the seller, liable for it (§428A.3). A purchase agreement can still say otherwise about who pays at closing.
- What it is charged on. The full sale price, including any mortgage the buyer takes over. Personal property is taken out only if its dollar value is stated on the deed (§428A.1).
- Where it is paid. To the county recorder where the property is, and the amount is shown on the deed (§428A.5). A declaration of value signed by a buyer, a seller or an agent has to go with the deed (§428A.1).
- Common exemptions (§428A.2): mortgages and their releases; deeds between spouses, or between parent and child, with no actual consideration; deeds between former spouses under a divorce decree; deeds distributing an estate to heirs or under a will; deeds that, with no added consideration, only correct or confirm an earlier deed; and deeds where the consideration is $500 or less. The full list has 22 items. A deed claimed as exempt needs a signed statement saying so (§428A.4).
County recording fees
Every county recorder in Iowa charges the same: $5 per page, plus a $1 records-management fee and a $1 electronic-transaction fee for each recorded transaction (Iowa Code §331.604). A one-page document costs $7, and each extra page adds $5. A purchase can involve recording a deed, a new mortgage if there is a loan, and a release of the seller's mortgage if there was one. The page counts vary, so the calculator asks for them.
Property taxes at closing
Iowa property taxes are paid in two installments, in September and March, and they lag the value they are based on: the bills paid in September 2026 and March 2027 use values as of January 1, 2025. Because of that lag, the purchase agreement says how taxes are divided between buyer and seller at closing, so ask your agent or closing attorney how yours handles it. The property tax estimator shows how the bill is figured for each taxing district in the metro.
What the calculator cannot know
Lender fees, the interest rate, prepaid interest, escrow deposits, homeowner's insurance, inspection and appraisal fees, HOA dues and commissions all depend on the lender, the agent and the house. None of them is set by Iowa law, so none has a default here. Your lender's Loan Estimate lists the loan costs, and the Closing Disclosure gives the final figures before you close.
Sources
- Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026, chapter 428A (real estate transfer tax), sections 428A.1 to 428A.15. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026, section 331.604 (recording and filing fees). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026, section 515.48 (kinds of insurance; subsection 10 excludes title insurance). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Finance Authority (Iowa Administrative Code), 265 IAC chapter 9, Title Guaranty Division (ARC 0262D, effective June 17, 2026). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Title Guaranty (Iowa Finance Authority), Iowa Title Guaranty Residential Premium Rates, effective July 1, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Title Guaranty (Iowa Finance Authority), Owner Coverage. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Title Guaranty (Iowa Finance Authority), Iowa Title Guaranty. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
An estimate for planning, not legal, tax or financial advice. Iowa law and Iowa Title Guaranty's schedule change; check the sources above, and rely on your Closing Disclosure and your attorney.