Property
Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement
A Closing Disclosure (and the related settlement statement) is the document that itemizes every cost in a real estate transaction at closing — the loan terms, purchase price, fees, taxes, prepaid items, and the exact cash to close. It's the final accounting of who paid what when a property changes hands.
By law, your lender must provide the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before your mortgaged closing, so you can compare it to your Loan Estimate before signing.
Written & maintained by the Granite team · Last updated June 2026
Overview
For mortgaged home purchases, the lender provides a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing, so you can compare final terms against your Loan Estimate. It details the interest rate, monthly payment, closing costs, and the bottom-line cash you bring to the table. Cash deals and reverse mortgages still use the older HUD-1, and an ALTA settlement statement is often used alongside the Closing Disclosure to itemize both the buyer's and seller's sides.
It's the single most important record of a real estate closing — proof of your purchase price, the costs you paid, and prepaid taxes and interest, several of which carry tax consequences.
When you’ll get your Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement
- You bought or sold a home with a mortgage
- You refinanced a mortgage
- You closed a cash real estate purchase (HUD-1 or ALTA statement)
- You need to document your cost basis for taxes
- You're verifying closing costs against your Loan Estimate
What’s on your Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement
These are the fields Granite reads and extracts automatically the moment you upload one.
- Loan Terms
- The loan amount, interest rate, and monthly payment.
- Purchase Price
- The agreed sale price of the property.
- Closing Costs
- Itemized lender, title, and third-party fees.
- Prepaid Items
- Prepaid taxes, insurance, and interest collected at closing.
- Cash to Close
- The exact amount the buyer must bring to closing.
- Parties & Closing Date
- Buyer, seller, lender, and the date the deal closed.
How long to keep it
Keep your Closing Disclosure permanently — it establishes your cost basis.
The closing statement documents your purchase price plus many closing costs that add to your home's cost basis, which determines your taxable gain when you eventually sell — sometimes decades later. Per IRS Publication 523, settlement and closing costs from buying the home add to basis (loan-origination costs don't), and the statement also proves deductible points and prepaid interest. Discarding it can mean overpaying tax on the sale for lack of basis records.
How Granite handles your Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement
Granite reads your Closing Disclosure — loan terms, purchase price, closing costs, prepaid items, and cash to close — and files it with your property and tax documents. Because the cost-basis figures it contains matter at sale time years later, keeping it findable means you can compute your taxable gain accurately and substantiate deductible points without digging through old closing binders.
FAQ
Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement: common questions
- What is a settlement statement?
- A settlement statement is an itemized document summarizing every cost, credit, and fund exchanged in a real estate closing — the sale price, loan details, title and escrow fees, taxes, prorations, and commissions. It shows exactly how much cash the buyer brings and the net proceeds the seller receives. For financed home purchases, a Closing Disclosure serves this role.
- What's the difference between a Closing Disclosure and a HUD-1?
- The Closing Disclosure replaced the HUD-1 for most consumer mortgages in 2015 under the CFPB's TRID rule. HUD-1 settlement statements are now used mainly for reverse mortgages and certain cash deals. ALTA settlement statements are also common, often used alongside the Closing Disclosure. All serve the same purpose: itemizing every cost and credit in a real estate closing.
- Who prepares the settlement statement?
- The settlement agent — usually the title company or closing attorney — prepares the settlement statement. On a mortgaged purchase, the lender issues the Closing Disclosure. On a cash deal, the settlement agent typically circulates the statement one or two days before the scheduled closing date for the parties to review and approve.
- Where can I get my settlement statement?
- Your lender provides the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before a mortgaged closing, and your settlement agent or title company provides the settlement statement. If you've misplaced it, request a copy from the title or escrow company, your closing attorney, or your lender — they retain records of the transaction.
- Why do I need to keep my closing statement for taxes?
- It documents your purchase price and many closing costs that increase your home's cost basis, which reduces your taxable gain when you sell — possibly decades later. IRS Publication 523 says settlement and closing costs from buying the home add to basis (mortgage-getting costs don't). It also evidences deductible mortgage points and prepaid interest.
- How long should I keep a Closing Disclosure?
- Permanently. It establishes your home's cost basis, which determines your taxable gain at sale — an event that can be many years out. It also substantiates deductible points and prepaid interest. Given those long-tail tax consequences, the closing statement is a keep-forever document.
Sources
This page is checked against primary and authoritative sources:
Keep your Closing Disclosure & Settlement Statement in one place.
Drop it in once. Granite reads it, files it, and makes it findable forever — by you today, and by the people who'll need it later.