Cash to close
The money you actually wire or bring to the closing table.
Down payment + closing costs − earnest money − seller credit.
Closing cost calculator
What you will actually bring to a Colorado closing.
Short answer: cash to close is your down payment plus closing costs, minus any earnest money and seller credit. Colorado has no statewide real estate transfer tax, so for most buyers the only transfer charge is a tiny documentary fee.
Planner
Colorado cash-to-close estimate
Cash to close is your down payment plus closing costs, minus any earnest money and seller credit. Good news for Colorado: there is no statewide real estate transfer tax.
Estimated cash to close
$146,315
- Down payment
- $130,000
- Buyer closing costs (lender, title, escrow, prepaids)
- $16,250
- Colorado documentary fee ($0.01 per $100)
- $65
- Cash to close
- $146,315
This is a planning estimate, not a quote or financial advice. Your real cash to close comes from the lender's Loan Estimate and the title company's Closing Disclosure — title, escrow, prepaids, lender fees, HOA or metro-district transfer fees, and credits vary by deal.
Plain English
The words on your closing statement
A few terms that decide how much you bring to the table.
Documentary fee
Colorado's tiny statewide recording fee: $0.01 per $100 of price.
About $65 on a $650,000 home — the closest thing Colorado has to a transfer tax.
Real estate transfer tax (RETT)
A percentage tax when a property sells. Colorado bars new ones; only twelve grandfathered towns still charge one.
Telluride is 3%; most of Colorado is 0%.
Closing costs
Lender, title, escrow, recording, and prepaid items — usually about 2–3% of price for a buyer.
This is separate from, and on top of, your down payment.
Cash to close, in plain English
Cash to close is what you wire or bring to the closing table. Start with your down payment, add your closing costs, then subtract the earnest money you already deposited and any credit the seller agreed to. The lender's Loan Estimate and the title company's Closing Disclosure are the documents with your real, deal-specific number.
The Colorado transfer-tax story
Colorado has no statewide real estate transfer tax — the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights barred new ones in 1992. What you do pay is a small statewide documentary fee of one cent per $100 of price, collected by the county clerk and recorder. The exception is a dozen mountain and resort towns — Aspen, Avon, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Frisco, Gypsum, Minturn, Ophir, Snowmass Village, Telluride, Vail, and Winter Park — whose older transfer taxes were grandfathered in. Rates run roughly 1–3%, and who pays is set by the town's code and the contract.
What buyer closing costs include
Closing costs are the lender, title, escrow, recording, and prepaid items — things like the appraisal, lender origination, title insurance, an escrow setup, and prepaid property tax and homeowner's insurance. For a Colorado buyer they commonly run about 2–3% of the price, on top of the down payment. HOA or metro-district transfer or working-capital fees can add to that in some communities.
FAQ
Quick answers
Does Colorado have a real estate transfer tax?
Not statewide. Colorado charges a small documentary fee of $0.01 per $100 of price. Only twelve grandfathered mountain and resort towns — such as Aspen, Vail, Telluride, and Breckenridge — levy a real estate transfer tax, usually 1–3%.
How much are buyer closing costs in Colorado?
Commonly about 2–3% of the price for lender, title, escrow, and prepaids, on top of your down payment. The lender's Loan Estimate has your real number.
What is the Colorado documentary fee?
It is Colorado's statewide recording fee: $0.01 per $100 of consideration — about $65 on a $650,000 home — paid to the county clerk and recorder when the price is over $500.
Who pays the transfer tax in a resort town?
It depends on the town's municipal code and the contract — sometimes the buyer, sometimes the seller, sometimes split. Check the specific town before you rely on an estimate.
Sources and review
Where this information comes from
Colorado Porch gives the plain-English version, then points back to official sources for the rule that matters.
- Data used
- Colorado documentary fee, grandfathered municipal transfer-tax (RETT) towns, and federal buyer closing-cost guidance
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
- CFPB — Loan Estimate & Closing Disclosure for the federal forms that itemize your real closing costs and cash to close.
- Colorado documentary fee (C.R.S. 39-13-102) for the statewide $0.01-per-$100 recording fee on real estate transfers, collected by the county clerk & recorder.
- Colorado DOLA — local governments for the dozen grandfathered mountain/resort towns set their own real estate transfer tax rates in municipal code.
Use this carefully: Colorado has no statewide real estate transfer tax; only a handful of grandfathered mountain/resort towns charge one, and who pays (buyer, seller, or split) is set by contract and municipal code. Your real cash to close comes from the lender's Loan Estimate and the title company's Closing Disclosure — title, escrow, prepaids, and lender fees vary by deal.
Next steps
The rest of the buying picture
Closing cost is one number. These are the other Colorado checks worth running.
Timeline
Homebuyer & mover timeline
Turn your closing date into the Colorado deadlines that follow.
Build my timeline ->Estimator
Property tax estimator
Estimate the ongoing annual property tax once you own.
Estimate property tax ->Checklist
Moving to Colorado
The broader first-month checklist for taxes, cars, water, wildfire, and local rules.
Open checklist ->Page feedback
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