Chase's closing cost tool is designed to meet TRID federal disclosure requirements — it accurately discloses Chase's own fees and provides good-faith estimates of third-party and government costs. But “good faith” under TRID allows a 10% tolerance on transfer taxes — and it is met by using state averages, not municipal rate lookups.
When you apply for a mortgage, federal law (TRID — the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule) requires your lender to provide a Loan Estimate within 3 business days. That document must accurately disclose the lender's own fees and provide good-faith estimates of third-party costs. Chase's online closing cost tool is designed to pre-empt this process — it shows you approximately what your Loan Estimate will say.
It is very accurate for lender fees. It is a rough estimate for government fees.
Under CFPB's TRID rules, transfer taxes fall in the “10% tolerance” category. This means a lender's Loan Estimate can under-disclose transfer taxes by up to 10% without triggering a cure obligation. This exists because transfer taxes at the municipal level are genuinely difficult to estimate without a dedicated rate database.
On a $450,000 home in Pennsylvania with $19,000 in total transfer tax, a lender's Loan Estimate is allowed to show as low as $17,100 — a $1,900 underestimate — without any regulatory violation. In jurisdictions with city overlays like Philadelphia, the underestimate is typically far larger because the city layer is entirely missing, not just slightly wrong.
myClosingCost is not a lender tool and is not bound by TRID tolerances. It calculates the actual rates from government sources — so you know what to expect before you ever talk to a lender.
Pittsburgh has a 3% city transfer tax + 1% school district — on top of the 1% PA state rate. Total: 5%.
Chase's closing cost estimator is designed primarily for mortgage origination — it accurately discloses Chase's lender fees (origination, underwriting, appraisal) as required by the TRID regulations that govern Loan Estimates. However, the government fee section (transfer taxes and recording fees) is estimated using broad averages rather than jurisdiction-specific rates. If you are trying to budget for the government-side fees in a state with complex local transfer taxes, Chase's estimate will typically be incomplete.
Chase's tool includes: lender origination fees, discount points, appraisal fees, credit report fees, prepaid interest, homeowners insurance, and escrow setup. It estimates but does not precisely calculate: transfer taxes (state average, not municipal), recording fees (rough range, not county fee schedule), and title insurance (range, not filed rate brackets). These three government-side items are where the gap between a lender's estimate and actual closing costs is largest.
Lender closing cost tools are built to comply with TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) requirements, which require lenders to disclose their own fees accurately and estimate third-party fees in good faith. The "good faith" standard for transfer taxes is met by using state-level averages. Lenders are not required to resolve specific municipal or school district transfer tax rates — and building a database that does requires significant ongoing data maintenance they do not prioritize.
Under TRID rules, transfer taxes on a Loan Estimate can be under-disclosed by up to 10% without triggering a tolerance violation. This is a regulatory allowance for the inherent difficulty in estimating jurisdiction-specific government fees. In practice, transfer tax estimates on a Loan Estimate are often lower than actual costs in states with municipal overlays — because lenders use state averages and disclose based on good faith, not precision.
Get the jurisdiction-level breakdown before you even talk to a lender. No TRID tolerance ranges — the actual government rates for your specific address.
Try myClosingCost Free →