The purchase price on a listing is never the full cost of buying a home. Every major market adds its own layer of taxes, legal fees, inspections, and lender charges on top, and the total can run into the tens of thousands of dollars before a buyer even gets the keys. The categories are broadly similar everywhere, but the amounts, and which single line item dominates, differ enough between the US, UK, and Canada that it’s worth understanding before budgeting a purchase.

United States: 2% to 5% of the Loan Amount

US closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of the loan amount, meaning $6,000 to $15,000 on a $300,000 purchase. The list is long: loan origination fees (0-1% of the loan), processing and underwriting fees ($600-$1,650 combined), a home appraisal ($500-$1,000+), a home inspection ($300-$500), title search and insurance ($300-$2,500+), escrow fees ($350-$1,000+), and prepaid property taxes and insurance that can add another $1,000 to $4,500 or more upfront. Buyers generally cover the lender-related fees and their own inspection and appraisal costs, while sellers typically pay the real estate agent commission, usually 5-6% of the sale price, split between both agents, though specific items are often negotiated between the parties as part of the sale agreement.

Canada: 3% to 4%, With One Line Item That Dwarfs the Rest

Canadian buyers should budget 3% to 4% of the purchase price for closing costs on a resale home. Legal fees for the real estate lawyer who handles the transaction typically run $1,100 to $1,800, a home inspection costs around $500, title insurance is relatively modest at $200 to $500, and a property survey, when needed, can range from $1,500 to $6,000. But the single largest cost by far is land transfer tax, typically 1% to 2% of the purchase price, though it varies significantly by province and can be far steeper in major cities. A $500,000 home in Toronto, for example, can trigger land transfer tax of roughly $12,950 before any first-time buyer rebate is applied, more than all the other closing costs combined.

United Kingdom: Stamp Duty Does the Heavy Lifting

In the UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax plays the same outsized role that land transfer tax plays in Canada. For a standard, non-first-time, buyer in England, stamp duty on a £200,000 property runs about £1,500, climbing to roughly £5,000 on a £300,000 property and £10,000 on a £400,000 property. On top of that, conveyancing and solicitor fees average around £1,509 including VAT and disbursements, a survey runs anywhere from £300 for a basic check to £1,500 for a full structural survey, and mortgage arrangement fees can add up to £1,500 more. All told, UK buyers should budget for fees that can add more than 10% to the total cost of a purchase once stamp duty, legal costs, surveys, and mortgage fees are all accounted for, a notably higher all-in percentage than either the US or Canada, driven almost entirely by how steeply stamp duty scales with price.

Who Actually Pays What

The buyer-pays, seller-pays split looks broadly similar across all three markets: buyers cover the taxes, legal fees, and loan-related costs tied to their own purchase and financing, while sellers typically cover the real estate agent’s commission out of the sale proceeds. The UK and Canada both route a meaningful share of buyer costs through a single government tax, stamp duty and land transfer tax respectively, while the US spreads buyer costs across a longer list of smaller lender and third-party fees with no single dominant line item.

Why This Trips Up International Buyers

The practical risk for anyone buying across borders, or simply used to one system, is assuming closing costs scale the same way everywhere. A UK buyer moving to Canada might reasonably expect land transfer tax to behave like stamp duty, when in fact provincial and municipal rates, and available rebates, vary far more locally than England’s national stamp duty bands. An American buyer looking at the UK might be caught off guard by how steeply UK closing costs scale with price compared to the flatter percentage range typical in the US. In every case, the safest approach is to get a locally sourced closing cost estimate for the specific property and province, state, or local authority in question, rather than applying a percentage rule of thumb learned in a different country.

Budgeting for the Real Total Cost

Closing costs add a meaningful amount on top of any home’s purchase price everywhere, roughly 2-5% in the US, 3-4% in Canada, and potentially over 10% in the UK once stamp duty is included, but the specific line item driving that total differs by country. Budgeting accurately means looking past the headline percentage and understanding which single cost, a transfer tax, a stamp duty band, or a collection of lender fees, is actually doing the heavy lifting in your market.