Closing costs calculator

What counts as Kaufnebenkosten (closing costs) when buying a house?

Kaufnebenkosten (closing costs) consist of transfer tax, notary, land register and, if one is involved, the agent. With the calculator defaults (1.5% notary, 0.5% land register, 3.57% agent) and a transfer tax of 3.5% to 6.5% depending on the federal state, they come to 9.07% to 12.07% of the purchase price. Without an agent it is 5.5% to 8.5%.

The calculator shows each item in euros, the total in euros and as a percentage of the purchase price, and the total investment of purchase price plus closing costs.

How do you calculate the closing costs of a house purchase?

Each item is a percentage of the purchase price: closing costs = purchase price × (transfer tax rate + notary + land register + agent). The calculator sets the transfer tax rate from the federal state, and you can change the other three rates.

Transfer tax is charged on the consideration, as a rule the purchase price (§ 8 Abs. 1 GrEStG, the Transfer Tax Act). Notary and land register fees follow the Gerichts- und Notarkostengesetz (GNotKG, the court and notary fees act) and depend on the purchase price and the size of the registered land charge. 1.5% and 0.5% are common approximations, not fixed rates.

The agent commission is freely negotiable, and 3.57% is 3% plus 19% VAT. If you buy a flat or a single-family house as a consumer and the seller hired the agent, you bear at most half of the commission (§§ 656c, 656d BGB, the Civil Code).

When do you have to pay the closing costs?

In the weeks after the notary appointment, separately from the purchase price. Transfer tax falls due one month after the tax assessment is issued (§ 15 GrEStG). Notary, land registry and agent each send their own invoice.

The agent is entitled to the commission once the purchase contract is effective (§ 652 Abs. 1 BGB), and the invoice usually arrives shortly after notarisation. The land register costs come in parts: first for the Auflassungsvormerkung (priority notice of conveyance), later for the transfer of ownership.

So the money has to be available early. The bank generally pays out the loan only when the purchase price falls due, and it often does not finance the closing costs at all. Plan them as equity.