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Closing Disclosure doesn't match my Loan Estimate — is that legal?

Use the free tool — Closing Cost Check FL

Why your numbers don't match

The Loan Estimate is a prediction. The Closing Disclosure (CD) is the real numbers, and you must get it at least three business days before closing (CFPB — Closing Disclosure explainer). Some differences between the two are normal. Others are not allowed unless something about your loan actually changed.

Three tolerance categories

Federal rules (Regulation Z / TRID) put every fee into one of three groups (CFPB — Loan Estimate vs Closing Disclosure):

• Zero tolerance — lender fees, transfer taxes, and fees for services you could not shop for. These generally cannot increase at all from the Loan Estimate.
• 10% tolerance — recording fees and third-party services you could shop for but chose from the lender's list. These may rise, but only up to 10% in total, added together.
• No tolerance — prepaids, escrow, homeowners insurance, and services you shopped for yourself. These can change by any amount, because no one can lock in taxes or insurance months in advance.

If a fee in the zero-tolerance group went up, the lender needs a valid changed-circumstance reason, and any overage must be refunded within 60 days of closing.

Florida costs that often move the number

A few Florida-specific charges show up on almost every Florida Closing Disclosure:

• Documentary stamp tax on the deed — $0.70 per $100 of the price, customarily paid by the seller in most counties but negotiable by contract (Florida Dept. of Revenue — Documentary stamp tax).
• Documentary stamp tax on the note — $0.35 per $100 of the loan — plus the intangible tax on the mortgage, both customarily paid by the borrower.
• Owner's title insurance — Florida sets the premium by rule, so the price is the same at any agent; only the title agent's own fees differ (Florida OIR — Title insurance). Who pays it — buyer or seller — is a county custom set out in your contract, not a state law.

None of these are lender fees, so a change here is not automatically a tolerance violation. Check your contract's title section and ask the title agent to walk you through the math.

Lines to question before you sign

Ask your lender or closing agent about any line where:

• A fee in the zero-tolerance category increased — ask for the changed-circumstance documentation.
• The same fee appears twice.
• A fee that's customarily the seller's is charged to you, the buyer, without the contract saying so.
• A down-payment assistance or seller credit you expected is missing from the Closing Disclosure.
• Cash-to-close jumped by more than prepaids, escrow, and insurance would explain.

None of this automatically means fraud or overcharging. It means the line is worth a phone call before you sign.

Verify wires by phone, not email

Never wire money based on instructions in an email, especially a last-minute "updated instructions" message — that is the classic scam (FBI — Real estate wire fraud). Call the title company at a number from your contract or its known website to confirm before sending anything.

What to do next

Paste your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure — or just describe the price, loan, county, and which lines changed — into the free tool. It reads your own numbers and shows which changes are customary in Florida, which fall in a category that generally can't increase, and the exact questions to ask your closing agent. Nothing you paste is stored. This is not legal or financial advice — confirm everything with your lender, closing agent, or a HUD counselor before you sign.

Closing Cost Check FL explains Florida closing costs and federal disclosure rules in plain language from official sources; it can be wrong, and it is not legal, financial or tax advice. Your contract and the closing agent's figures control. Nothing you paste is stored.