How much does it cost to sell a house in Chicago?
Beyond your agent’s commission, which you negotiate, expect closing costs of roughly 1% to 1.5% of the price: transfer taxes, an attorney, and title charges. On a $405,000 home that’s roughly $5,150. You’ll also credit the buyer for property taxes your home has built up but hasn’t been billed for yet, which can come close to a full year’s tax bill.
Below is each cost in plain terms, who pays it, and a worked example you can adjust for your own home.
Table of Contents
What do Chicago sellers pay when they sell?
Chicago sellers usually pay six kinds of costs. Local custom sets most of them, so your contract and your attorney settle the details:
1. Your agent’s commission, agreed before you list.
2. Transfer taxes to the State of Illinois, Cook County, and, inside city limits, the City of Chicago.
3. Your attorney’s fee.
4. Title insurance and title company fees.
5. A property tax credit to the buyer, because Illinois bills a year behind.
5. Small fees and payoffs: a city water certificate, recording, your mortgage payoff, and any repairs or credits you agree to.
1. Your agent’s commission
This is usually the biggest line. Commissions are negotiable and not set by law, as the National Association of REALTORS® explains. You agree on your listing agent’s fee in the listing agreement, before your home goes on the market.
Paying part of the buyer’s agent’s fee is a separate decision. Since August 2024, offers of pay to buyer’s agents no longer appear on the MLS, so if the question comes up, it usually arrives with the buyer’s offer, and you can accept, decline, or counter.
A quick way to size it: every 1% of commission is $4,050 on a $405,000 home. Ask exactly what the fee covers before you sign.
2. Transfer taxes: state, county, and city
Three governments each take a small share of a Chicago sale, and the seller and buyer split them like this:
| Transfer tax | Rate | Usually paid by | Seller’s share on $405,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of Illinois | $0.50 per $500 | Seller | $405 |
| Cook County | $0.25 per $500 | Seller | $203 |
| City of Chicago | $5.25 per $500 in total | Buyer pays $3.75, seller pays $1.50 | $1,215 |
| Seller total | about $1,823 |
The state rate is set in Illinois law (35 ILCS 200/31-10), and the Illinois Department of Revenue notes that counties may add 25 cents per $500, which Cook County does. The city’s rates and its buyer-seller split come from the City of Chicago Department of Finance, which calls the seller’s $1.50 the “CTA portion” because it funds the Chicago Transit Authority.
Selling in Oak Park, Evanston, Schaumburg, Orland Park, or another suburban Cook town? The Chicago tax doesn’t apply outside city limits, but the state and county taxes do. Home rule towns can add their own transfer tax, per the Department of Revenue, and some suburbs require a final water reading or a village inspection before closing, so have your attorney confirm your town’s rules early.
3. Your attorney
Illinois home sales customarily run through attorneys on both sides. The law doesn’t require one, but the standard Illinois contract includes an attorney review period after you accept an offer, when each side’s lawyer can review terms and propose changes. Your attorney also prepares the deed and handles the closing.
Most Chicago-area real estate attorneys charge sellers a flat fee rather than an hourly rate, and quotes vary from firm to firm. Get two or three in writing and ask what each includes, since title problems or long negotiations can be billed separately.
4. Title insurance and title fees
In Illinois, the seller usually pays for the buyer’s owner’s title insurance policy, which protects the new owner against old liens or ownership claims, per Clever Real Estate’s Illinois seller closing cost guide (updated October 2026). The same guide puts Illinois title service fees at about 0.31% of the price and the owner’s policy at about 0.22%.
On a $405,000 home, that comes to roughly $2,150. Title companies price in tiers, so your quote may differ.
5. The property tax credit (the one that surprises people)
Illinois bills property taxes a year behind. The bill a Chicago homeowner pays in 2026 covers tax year 2025, as I explain in how Cook County property taxes work. So when you sell, this year’s taxes for the months you owned the home haven’t been billed yet. You settle them by giving the buyer a credit at closing, and it comes straight off your proceeds.
Your contract sets the formula. It’s usually based on your most recent full-year bill, and contracts often add a small cushion on top because the next bill tends to come in higher. Your attorney negotiates that percentage.
The credit covers tax for the months you lived in the home, so it’s money you would owe anyway. A late-year closing can still mean a credit close to a full year’s bill, and it’s the line that most often catches sellers off guard. If last year’s bill isn’t fully paid when you close, that gets paid from your proceeds too.
6. Smaller fees, payoffs, and extras
➡ Water certificate (Chicago only). The city won’t issue transfer stamps until you have a Full Payment Certificate showing your water bill is paid. It costs $50, and applications dropped off by an agent can take up to 10 business days, per the City of Chicago. Start it as soon as you’re under contract.
➡ Recording. Around $125 in Illinois, per Clever.
➡ Condo extras. Condo sellers pay the association for the resale disclosure package that Section 22.1 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act requires. State law caps that fee, and rush orders cost more, as the law firm KSN explains.
➡ Your mortgage payoff, including interest through the closing date.
➡ Repairs or credits you agree to after the buyer’s inspection, plus any prep, cleaning, and moving costs.
Example: what a $405,000 Chicago sale might cost
$405,000 was the City of Chicago’s median sale price in August 2026, per Illinois REALTORS. For illustration, this example assumes a 5% total commission, a mid-November closing, and a $7,700 annual tax bill credited at 105%. Your numbers will differ.
| Line | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $405,000 |
| Commission (example: 5% total) | −$20,250 |
| Transfer taxes (seller’s share) | −$1,823 |
| Attorney (example flat fee) | −$1,000 |
| Title insurance and title fees | −$2,150 |
| Water certificate and recording | −$175 |
| Selling costs | −$25,398 (about 6.3%) |
| Property tax credit to the buyer (January 1 to November 15) | −$7,066 |
| Before your mortgage payoff | about $372,536 |
Leave room for anything negotiated after the inspection. If your home sells for more or less, the percentage-based lines move with the price, while the attorney and small fees stay about the same.
How can you lower your cost to sell?
➤ Ask what each fee covers before you sign a listing agreement or hire an attorney, and compare quotes.
➤ Price it right the first time. A home that sits tends to draw lower offers and bigger credit requests.
➤ Start the paperwork early. Order the water certificate and your mortgage payoff letter as soon as you’re under contract.
➤ Fix the obvious before you list. A known repair handled up front can’t turn into an inspection credit later, though not every repair pays for itself.
If you’re selling in Chicago to buy in Jacksonville or Atlanta, closings work differently there, and the timing of two sales matters as much as the costs. The guides to moving from Chicago to Jacksonville and moving from Chicago to Atlanta walk through both ends.
Chicago seller cost FAQs
Who pays the transfer tax when you sell a house in Chicago?
Both sides pay part of it. The seller customarily pays the Illinois tax of $0.50 per $500, the Cook County tax of $0.25 per $500, and the $1.50-per-$500 “CTA portion” of the City of Chicago tax. The buyer pays the city’s $3.75 per $500. On a $405,000 home, the seller’s share comes to about $1,823 and the buyer’s city tax to about $3,038. Outside Chicago city limits the city tax doesn’t apply, though the state and county taxes do and some suburbs add their own.
Do you need a lawyer to sell a house in Illinois?
Illinois law doesn’t require one, but most sellers hire a real estate attorney anyway, because the standard Illinois residential contract includes an attorney review period after an offer is accepted. The attorney handles that review, prepares the deed, and runs the closing. Most charge sellers a flat fee, so compare a few written quotes.
Why do sellers pay property taxes at closing in Illinois?
Because Illinois bills property taxes a year behind. When you sell, the current year’s taxes haven’t been billed yet, so you credit the buyer for the part of the year you owned the home, usually based on your last full bill plus a small cushion. On a late-year closing, that credit can come close to a full year of taxes.
What will you actually walk away with?
The sale price is the easy number. Most of these costs are predictable once you know your price, your commission, and your closing date, which is why a net sheet before you list beats a surprise at the closing table. The two lines worth checking first are the property tax credit and anything the buyer asks for after inspection.
Wondering what your own sale would net? Email Nia at listwithnia@gmail.com and you’ll get a seller net sheet built on your address, your last tax bill, and recent sales near you. As a Realtor licensed in Illinois, Florida, and Georgia with LPT Realty, Nia can walk you through every line before you decide whether, or when, to list.
