Louisiana has no general statewide real estate transfer tax — but New Orleans (Orleans Parish) is a real, documented exception: a flat $325 Documentary Transaction Tax on every qualifying deed, regardless of price.
Documentary Transaction Tax and deed-recording fee only — excludes title insurance, escrow, lender fees, and mortgage-recording fees.
| New Orleans Documentary Transaction Tax (flat) | $325.00 |
| Orleans Parish recording fee (1–10 pages) | $20.00 |
| Total included amount | $345.00 |
This is a tax-module example, not a complete settlement statement — title, escrow, lender, and mortgage-recording charges are not included. The tax does not change with price — a $200,000 sale and a $2,000,000 sale in Orleans Parish both pay $325 (absent the small-mortgage exemption).
No general statewide tax on an ordinary living-person real estate conveyance was identified in the primary sources reviewed. Louisiana's Department of Revenue page on transfer taxes concerns the state's estate-transfer/death-tax framework, not a tax on ordinary sales. But Orleans Parish (the City of New Orleans) is a real, separately documented exception: its Documentary Transaction Tax applies to sales, donations, transfers, mortgages, and commercial leases recorded there, at a flat $325.00 regardless of price (mortgages under $9,000 are exempt).
Unlike California's Measure ULA or Washington's REET, New Orleans's Documentary Transaction Tax does not scale with sale price at all — it is the same $325 whether the property sells for $150,000 or $1,500,000. This calculator only applies the $325 charge when Orleans Parish is selected; no documented equivalent tax was identified for other Louisiana parishes in the sources reviewed.
Closing costs are the fees and charges required to finalize a real estate purchase, separate from your down payment and the home's purchase price. Beyond the Louisiana transfer tax and recording fee calculated above, a typical closing includes a handful of other charges: a loan origination fee charged by your lender, an appraisal fee to confirm the home's value, a home inspection fee, a title search and title insurance premium (a lender's policy is required by most lenders, and an owner's policy is optional but recommended), an escrow or settlement agent fee, and prepaid items such as homeowners insurance and the property tax and mortgage interest your lender collects upfront into escrow. Which of these apply, and how much each one costs, depends on your lender, your loan program, and the title or escrow company handling your closing — this calculator covers only the government-charged transfer tax and recording fee shown above, not the full closing cost picture.
Several factors shape how much you'll actually pay at closing on a Louisiana property, beyond the transfer tax and recording fee shown above. Loan type matters: FHA loans add an upfront mortgage insurance premium, VA loans add a funding fee (waived for some veterans and service members), and USDA loans add a guarantee fee, while conventional loans typically don't carry a comparable upfront charge. Property type matters too — condos and homes in planned communities often require an extra fee for HOA document review or a resale certificate, and multi-unit or investment properties can carry higher title insurance premiums than a standard single-family purchase. County and municipality matter as well: recording fees, and in some states local transfer taxes, can vary from county to county, so the figures on this page reflect the Louisiana statutory default — always confirm with the specific county recorder's or clerk's office where you're closing. Finally, purchase price and loan amount drive costs that scale with value, including title insurance premiums, percentage-based origination fees, and the transfer tax calculated above.