What do seller closing costs add up to in Illinois?
Seller closing costs in Illinois are the charges that come out of your sale price at the title company closing: your mortgage payoff, the real estate commission, state and county transfer tax, title and escrow charges, and your share of prorated property taxes. For Yorkville, Oswego, and Montgomery sellers, the commission is the largest line by a wide margin, and the transfer tax and tax proration are the ones that surprise people most.
By Kealan O’Neil | October 6, 2026
You can estimate your seller closing costs on the back of an envelope before you ever list, and you should. Sellers who wait until the closing statement lands in their inbox are the ones who call me the week of closing, upset about a number that was predictable three months earlier. I walk every seller through this list before we sign a listing agreement, and these are the four items I see sellers miss most often.
Where seller closing costs show up on your closing statement
Illinois closings run through a title company with an attorney representing each side, and the settlement statement lists every dollar in and out. Your net proceeds are the sale price minus everything on the seller side of that statement. In my experience sellers pay more in total than buyers, because the commission and transfer taxes sit on the seller side.
Here is the typical stack, in the order it usually appears:
- Your mortgage payoff, including interest through the closing date
- Real estate commission, including any contribution toward the buyer’s broker
- Illinois state transfer tax and county transfer tax
- Title, escrow, and recording-related charges allocated to the seller
- Prorated property taxes and any association dues
- Credits you agreed to give the buyer after inspection or appraisal
Four of those items cause most of the trouble in seller closing costs, so let’s take them one at a time.
1. Prorated property taxes are an estimate, not the real bill
Illinois bills property taxes in arrears, which means the bill due this year covers last year. At closing, you credit the buyer for the days you owned the home since January 1, and the title company calculates that credit from the most recent bill, not the one that will eventually arrive. If your assessment or exemptions changed, the estimate can be off.
That credit comes straight off your proceeds, and its size depends on your tax bill and your closing date. I wrote a full walkthrough in our guide to property tax proration at closing in Yorkville, including how the estimated credit gets calculated and when it makes sense to ask for a reproration.
2. Transfer taxes change by town, and so does who pays them
The Illinois state transfer tax is $0.50 for each $500 of value, or roughly $1 per $1,000 of sale price. Kendall County’s recorder ordinance adds a county tax of 25 cents for each $500 of value, collected by the Recorder when the deed is filed. The tax is filed on Form PTAX-203, which the Illinois Department of Revenue lets title companies prepare through MyDec. By custom the seller pays the state and county tax, though the contract controls.
On a $350,000 sale, that math works out to about $350 in state tax and $175 in county tax, or roughly $525 together. That is small next to the commission, which is exactly why it gets overlooked.
Municipal transfer tax is where the Fox Valley differs from town to town. Oswego, for example, adopted a transfer tax of $3 per $1,000 of the sale price, and the village states that new buyers, not sellers, are responsible for paying it, with exemptions for some current Oswego homeowners. Other towns have no municipal tax at all. Our breakdown of the real estate transfer tax in Yorkville and Oswego goes town by town. Confirm the rule for your specific address, because municipal rates and exemptions vary and can change.
3. Commission and buyer-agent compensation are negotiable and now written into the contract
Of all your seller closing costs, the commission is the biggest piece. An Illinois real estate attorney describes the customary range as around five to six percent of the sale price, split between the listing broker and the buyer’s broker. On a $350,000 home, that is roughly $17,500 to $21,000 as an illustration, though the actual figure is whatever you and your brokerage agree to in the listing agreement.
What changed is how buyer-agent compensation gets documented. The Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 8.0 lets the parties select the seller’s obligation to contribute toward the buyer’s broker inside the contract itself, rather than in a separate addendum. If a buyer asks you to cover part of their agent’s fee, that request shows up as a line you can accept, counter, or decline. Buyers now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring, which we cover in our post on the buyer agreement in Yorkville, so the compensation conversation starts earlier than it used to.
4. Title charges, payoff details, and credits that raise seller closing costs
The last bucket is the one with the most moving parts. Who pays for the owner’s title policy, the survey, and the escrow fee depends on the contract and local custom, and it is worth reading the title paragraphs of your contract before you accept an offer. Our post on title insurance in Yorkville explains the difference between the lender’s policy and the owner’s policy and what each side normally pays under the contract.
Then there are the items you agreed to after the contract was signed. A repair credit following the inspection, a concession to cover the buyer’s costs, or a price adjustment after a low appraisal all become seller closing costs the moment they land on the settlement statement. Your payoff also moves: the figure on your lender’s statement is not the figure you owe on closing day, because interest accrues daily. Ask your lender for a payoff letter with a per diem so the title company can calculate it exactly.
How to estimate your seller closing costs before you list
Run the numbers at the listing appointment, not the closing table. To estimate seller closing costs, start with a realistic sale price from a comparable-sales analysis, then subtract the pieces in this order: your payoff, commission, transfer taxes, estimated tax proration, title and escrow charges, and a cushion for credits. A cushion of a few thousand dollars for inspection and appraisal negotiations keeps you from being surprised later.
Your specific number depends on your loan balance, your town, your tax bill, and how the offer is structured. That is why a printed net sheet from a national website will not match what you see at the title company. The only way to get your real figure is to work it up with someone who closes in your town every month.
If you plan to buy again right after you sell, the timing of these costs matters too, because your proceeds fund your next down payment. Build the estimate before you write an offer on your next home, not after.
Common Questions About Seller Closing Costs in Yorkville
These are the questions Fox Valley sellers ask most often when they start planning a sale.
What are the typical seller closing costs in Illinois?
Who pays the transfer tax in Illinois, the buyer or the seller?
Do I need an attorney to sell my house in Illinois?
Will I owe property taxes at closing even though I already paid them?
Can I ask the buyer to cover some of my closing costs?
What to do next
Seller closing costs are predictable once you know the lines to look for, and the sellers who plan for them keep more control over their timeline and their next purchase. Get a written estimate before you list, confirm your town’s transfer tax rules, and ask your lender for a payoff letter early in the process.
If you’re planning a sale in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, or anywhere in the Fox Valley, I’m happy to run the numbers with you before you commit to a price. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.
About Kealan O’Neil
Kealan O’Neil is the Designated Managing Broker and founder of O’Neil Property Group, an independent real estate brokerage based in Yorkville, Illinois. He and his team help buyers and sellers in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, and the surrounding Kendall and Kane County communities, and he owns and manages a local rental portfolio, so he approaches every decision as both a broker and an investor. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.
This post is general information about real estate in the Fox Valley, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Real estate laws, tax rules, and municipal ordinances change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. Talk with a licensed attorney, CPA, or lender before making decisions about a purchase, sale, or tax matter. O’Neil Property Group is a licensed Illinois real estate brokerage.