If you are selling a home in Arizona, the number that matters is not the sale price. It is what is left after closing costs, your mortgage payoff and any credits to the buyer. This guide walks through each line a Maricopa County seller usually sees on the settlement statement, what Arizona sellers do not pay, and a worked example with the arithmetic. The example uses illustrative amounts. The rules and customary allocations come from the Arizona REALTORS purchase contract, Arizona statute and a title company's published customs, listed at the end.
One rule applies to everything below: the purchase contract allocates the negotiable costs, subject to Arizona law and your buyer's lender requirements. The items here are customary starting points.
Broker compensation
Compensation is usually the largest closing cost for a seller, and it is negotiable. The Arizona REALTORS disclosure form says it plainly: "Compensation to brokers is not set by law, is fully negotiable and shall be paid pursuant to separate agreement(s)." The National Association of REALTORS says the same about the 2024 practice changes: "Compensation remains fully negotiable by buyers and sellers and their agents."
Since August 2024, offers of compensation to a buyer's broker can no longer be published on the MLS, and any such offer needs the seller's written approval of the specific amount. Sellers can still offer concessions, such as help with the buyer's closing costs.
Your listing agreement sets what you pay your listing broker. Whether you also pay anything toward the buyer's broker is a separate decision. Discuss it when you list, and nothing is owed until you approve a specific amount or rate in writing. Ask any real estate agent you interview for both numbers.
Title insurance and escrow fees
In Arizona, the seller customarily buys the owner's title insurance policy for the buyer. The Arizona REALTORS Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract (November 2025) reads: "Buyer shall be provided at Seller's expense an American Land Title Association ("ALTA") Homeowner's Title Insurance Policy or, if not available, a Standard Owner's Title Insurance Policy." If there is a loan, the buyer pays for the lender's policy. Confirm the owner's policy coverage and any additional premium allocation in your contract.
The escrow fee is the title company's charge for running the closing. Chicago Title's state customs guide lists Arizona closing fees as "Divided equally between Buyer and Seller." Your contract can allocate it differently. Each title company sets its own premiums and fees, so ask your escrow officer for a seller's estimated closing costs statement, often called a net sheet, before you accept an offer.
Recording fees and HOA fees
Recording is a small, fixed cost. Arizona's county recorders charge a standard fee of "$30 per instrument," with statutory exceptions. That $30 already includes Arizona's only real estate "transfer fee," a two-dollar charge collected before a deed is recorded. Escrow will identify each party's recording charges on the settlement statement. In practice a seller with a mortgage pays to record the release of that loan, and the buyer pays to record the deed.
If your home is in a planned community or condominium, the association charges for the resale disclosure package. Arizona caps that fee: "The association may charge the member a fee of not more than an aggregate of $400" for the disclosure documents, plus up to $100 for rush service within 72 hours and up to $50 for an update after 30 days. The $400 aggregate cap applies per association to the disclosure and transfer-related services the statute lists; any other fee the association's documents authorize needs separate review, and the association must disclose it in the resale package. The Arizona REALTORS HOA addendum lists four fees payable at closing (transfer, capital improvement, prepaid association fees and disclosure fees) and records which party pays each one.
Prorated property taxes
Arizona sellers do not pay a full year of property tax at closing; escrow adjusts for the period you owned the home and for what has already been paid. The purchase contract states: "Real property taxes payable by Seller shall be prorated to COE based upon the latest tax information available." Unpaid taxes for your ownership period are generally debited to you; taxes you prepaid past the closing date can produce a seller credit. HOA dues, irrigation fees and similar recurring items are prorated the same way. In Maricopa County, first-half taxes are due October 1 and become delinquent after 5 p.m. on November 2, 2026, so the proration on a fall closing looks different from a spring one.
Mortgage payoff and liens
Your mortgage balance is not a closing cost, but it comes out of the proceeds before you see a dollar. The contract requires the seller to "convey title by warranty deed" subject to matters of record. Title and escrow identify every lien that needs a payoff, a release or another approved resolution before closing: a second mortgage, a HELOC, a solar loan secured by the property, a judgment, or past-due HOA dues. Special-district assessment liens, such as a Community Facilities District, are prorated as of closing.
Get a payoff statement from each lender early. It includes interest through the closing date, so it runs higher than your last statement balance. If the payoff plus liens exceed what the sale will net, you either bring cash to closing or pursue a short sale, which requires your lender's approval to accept less than it is owed and a different process from the start.
Seller concessions and repairs
A seller credit is money you agree to give the buyer at closing. The Arizona contract has a line for it: "Seller will credit Buyer % of the Purchase Price OR $ (Seller Concessions)," and the credit "may be used for any Buyer fee, cost, charge, broker compensation, or expenditure to the extent allowed by Buyer's lender." Concessions and price cuts both reduce your proceeds, but lender limits on credits and price-based charges can make the two differ.
Repairs are the other variable. After the buyer's inspection period you may agree to fix items, credit the buyer instead, or decline. Pre-listing spending, such as paint, landscaping or a clean-out, belongs in your net calculation even though it never appears on the settlement statement.
You will also complete the Residential Seller's Property Disclosure Statement. The contract requires the seller to "deliver a completed AAR Residential SPDS form to Buyer within three (3) days after Contract acceptance." It is paperwork, not a closing cost. Accurate disclosures help the buyer evaluate the property; they do not prevent renegotiation.
What Arizona sellers do NOT pay
Arizona has no real estate transfer tax. The Arizona Constitution bars the state, counties and cities from imposing "any new tax, fee, stamp requirement or other assessment, direct or indirect" on the sale or transfer of real property, with only charges in existence on December 31, 2007 grandfathered. The statutory two-dollar transfer fee is included in the $30 recording charge. Chicago Title's customs guide lists Arizona transfer tax as "Not applicable." Articles that say "most states charge a transfer tax" are describing other states.
You also do not pay a deed stamp. Arizona closings run through an escrow company, and the purchase contract serves as the escrow instructions; legal fees apply only if you retain counsel. You will generally sign an Affidavit of Property Value, recorded with the deed, unless the transfer is exempt.
A worked example
Here is a Maricopa County sale using the same entries as our calculator. The figures are illustrative, not a quote.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $500,000 |
| Mortgage payoff | $200,000 |
| Other liens | $10,000 |
| Seller-paid broker compensation | $15,000 |
| Other closing costs (title, escrow, recording, HOA, prorations) | $5,000 |
| Credits to the buyer | $3,000 |
| Other sale-related spending (repairs, clean-out, staging) | $1,500 |
The arithmetic:
$200,000 + $10,000 + $15,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $1,500 = $234,500 in payoffs, costs and credits.
$500,000 minus $234,500 = $265,500 estimated net proceeds.
Notice what moves the number. Broker compensation and the buyer credit were both negotiated. The $5,000 "other closing costs" line is an estimate that depends on the property and the transaction: title and escrow, recording, the capped HOA disclosure fee, and your share of the year's property tax. Proceeds at closing in this example are $267,000; the $265,500 figure also subtracts the $1,500 spent outside escrow.
Run your own numbers
Put your own sale price, payoff and cost estimates into the Arizona Seller Net Proceeds Calculator. The result shows on the page. For a personal net sheet with actual title and escrow rates for your home, request one from the same page.
Talk with The Penrose Team
When you list with The Penrose Team at eXp Realty, you get a written plan for price, preparation and marketing, with updates on a set schedule. If your situation involves a short sale or a probate sale, we have handled both. If the house needs a clean-out or an estate sale first, we have partners for that.
Call or text (480) 401-1485, or book a seller introduction call to go through your numbers together.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Ask your escrow officer, a CPA or an attorney about your own situation.
Sources
- www.azleg.gov/const/9/24.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): Arizona Constitution Article IX, Section 24 says the state, counties, cities, towns and districts "shall not impose any new tax, fee, stamp requirement or other assessment, direct or indirect" on real property transfers, and "does not apply to any tax, fee, or other assessment in existence on December 31, 2007."
- www.azleg.gov/ars/11/01132.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): A.R.S. 11-1132 "Real estate transfer fee": the county recorder "shall collect a fee of two dollars for the deed or contract," and the fee "is included in the amount charged pursuant to section 11-475, subsection A."
- www.azleg.gov/ars/11/00475.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): A.R.S. 11-475(A)(1) sets the recording fee at "$30 per instrument" for papers required or authorized by law to be recorded. (recorder.maricopa.gov's own fee page is behind a Cloudflare bot check and could not be read; the statute is the source.)
- www.azleg.gov/ars/11/01133.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): A.R.S. 11-1133 requires an affidavit of legal value, on a Department of Revenue form, "appended at the time of recording" of each deed; signed by seller and buyer or their agents; no fee stated.
- azdor.gov/forms/property-tax-forms/affidavit-property-value (checked Nov 6, 2026): ADOR Form 82162 "is used to record the selling price, date of sale and other required information about the sale of property."
- www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01806.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): A.R.S. 33-1806(D): "The association may charge the member a fee of not more than an aggregate of $400" for disclosure documents, plus a rush fee up to $100 (72 hours) and an update fee up to $50 (after 30 days); (A)(4)(e) requires disclosure of "the amount and purpose of any title transfer fee"; (E) fees "collected not earlier than at the close of escrow," once per transaction, civil penalty up to $1,200 for violations.
- www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01260.htm (checked Nov 6, 2026): A.R.S. 33-1260(D) sets the same caps for condominiums ($400 aggregate, $100 rush, $50 update), collected "not earlier than at the close of escrow."
- www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/06/SAMPLE-Residential-Res (checked Nov 6, 2026 (read in Edge; the site blocks automated fetches)): Section 3: "Buyer shall be provided at Seller's expense an American Land Title Association ("ALTA") Homeowner's Title Insurance Policy or, if not available, a Standard Owner's Title Insurance Policy"; "If applicable, Buyer shall pay the cost of obtaining the ALTA Lender Title Insurance Policy"; "Real property taxes payable by Seller shall be prorated to COE based upon the latest tax information available"; assessments and fees "including homeowner's association fees, rents, irrigation fees ... shall be prorated as of COE"; assessment liens "such as a Community Facilities District, shall be prorated as of COE"; "This Contract shall be used as escrow instructions"; "Seller shall convey title by warranty deed, subject to existing taxes, assessments, covenants, conditions, restrictions, rights of way, easements and all other matters of record." Section 2: "Seller will credit Buyer % of the Purchase Price OR $ (Seller Concessions). The Seller Concessions may be used for any Buyer fee, cost, charge, broker compensation, or expenditure to the extent allowed by Buyer's lender." Section 4: "Seller shall deliver a completed AAR Residential SPDS form to Buyer within three (3) days after Contract acceptance."
- www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/28/Discl-of-Buyer-Agency- (checked Nov 6, 2026 (read in Edge)): "Compensation to brokers is not set by law, is fully negotiable and shall be paid pursuant to separate agreement(s)."
- www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/30/HOA-SAMPLE.pdf (checked Nov 6, 2026 (read in Edge)): the HOA Condominium / Planned Community Addendum's "FEES PAYABLE UPON CLOSE OF ESCROW" section lists Transfer Fees, Capital Improvement Fees, Prepaid Association Fees and Disclosure Fees, with "Pursuant to Arizona law, Disclosure Fees cannot be more than an aggregate of $400.00 per association," and cites A.R.S. 33-1260 and 33-1806.
- www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-02/real-estate-practice-chang (checked Nov 6, 2026): "Compensation remains fully negotiable by buyers and sellers and their agents"; offers of compensation can no longer be communicated on an MLS; "the seller must approve the specific amount or rate of payment in writing"; "Sellers can still offer, and buyers can still accept, concessions such as offers to pay the buyer's closing costs"; graphic reads "Fully negotiable and not set by law."
- www.nar.realtor/the-facts/what-the-nar-settlement-means-for-home-buyer (checked Nov 6, 2026): "Agent compensation for home buyers and sellers continues to be fully negotiable"; "Sellers can offer buyer concessions on an MLS (for example, concessions for buyer closing costs)."
- media.ctic.com/ncs/flipbooks/LawsAndCustoms/5/ (checked Nov 6, 2026): Chicago Title "Real Estate Laws and Customs by State," Arizona entry: owner's policy "Seller pays; Buyer pays difference if Extended Coverage Policy required"; lender's policy "Buyer pays"; closing fees "Divided equally between Buyer and Seller"; recording fees "Generally divided equally between Buyer and Seller unless contract specifies otherwise"; transfer tax "Not applicable," deed transfer tax "No."
- treasurer.maricopa.gov/PropertyTaxInformation/calendar/ (checked Nov 6, 2026): "First half 2026 taxes are due" October 1, 2026, and "become delinquent on November 2, 2026, after 5 pm"; full-year taxes can be paid through December 31 without interest.
