How to Calculate Title Policy Premiums in Texas

To calculate title insurance premiums in Texas, look up your property value on the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) rate schedule and apply the state’s tiered formula. Because Texas fixes title insurance rates by official order, every title company charges the same base premium for the same policy amount, so you can work out the number yourself before you ever sit down at closing. One caveat before you start: TDI reduced basic premium rates by 6.2% effective March 1, 2026, so any calculator or example dated before then is out of date.¹

The full rate rules live in the Texas Title Insurance Basic Manual, and the current dollar figures are in TDI’s published rate schedule.²³ Everything below comes from those two sources.

Owner’s Policy Premium

The owner’s policy is priced on the property’s sales price, which becomes the face amount of the policy. Texas uses a graduated structure with a break at $100,000.

Properties at $100,000 or Below

For policy amounts up to $100,000, TDI publishes a flat premium at every $500 increment starting at $25,000. A few reference points from the current schedule:³

$50,000 property: $465
$75,000 property: $625
$100,000 property: $780

If your sales price falls between two listed increments, round up to the next $500 step and use that premium.

Properties Above $100,000

Above $100,000 you use a four-step formula. Find the tier that includes your policy amount, subtract that tier’s lower bound, multiply the remainder by the per-dollar rate for the tier, then add the tier’s base premium. For the residential tier that runs from $100,001 to $1,000,000, the numbers are:³

Subtract $100,000 from the policy amount
Multiply the result by 0.00494
Add $780

Worked example on a $400,000 home. Subtract $100,000 to get $300,000. Multiply $300,000 by 0.00494 to get $1,482. Add $780. The owner’s policy premium is $2,262.³

Higher-value properties use the same four-step process with different multipliers and base amounts. The base premium at the start of the $1,000,001–$5,000,000 tier is $5,226; the $5,000,001–$15,000,000 tier starts at $21,466. Full tier figures are in the TDI rate schedule.³

Loan Policy Premium

A separate policy protects the lender, and most lenders require one. How you price it depends entirely on whether an owner’s policy is being issued at the same closing.

When Issued With an Owner’s Policy

When both policies are issued together, the loan policy costs a flat $100, but only if all of the following are true:⁴

Both policies are issued simultaneously and bear the same date.
The loan policy covers the same land as the owner’s policy, or a part of it, and no other land.
The owner’s policy lists the insured lien as an exception.
The loan policy amount does not exceed the owner’s policy amount.

That last condition is the one that catches people. If the loan amount is larger than the sales price, the $100 flat rate does not apply. Instead, the title company calculates the full basic premium on the loan amount, subtracts the basic premium on the owner’s policy amount, and adds $100 per loan policy.⁵

Standalone Loan Policy

When there is no owner’s policy issued at the same time, typical in a refinance, the loan policy is priced at the full basic rate using the same tier formula shown above, applied to the loan amount rather than the sales price. That is substantially more than the simultaneous-issue $100.

Refinance and Reissue Credits

Two credits can pull the number down. Check whether either applies before you accept a quote.

On a refinance, the loan policy premium is reduced based on how long ago the original loan policy was issued:⁶

Four years or less: 50% credit
More than four but less than eight years: 25% credit
Eight years or more: no credit; full basic rate applies

The credit is calculated on the basic premium for either the payoff balance of the existing loan or the original loan amount, whichever is less.⁴ If you originally borrowed $300,000 and have paid it down to $260,000, the credit uses the $260,000 figure. The title company then subtracts that credit from the full basic premium on the new loan.

A separate credit exists for owner’s policies. Under Rate Rule R-5, if the property was previously insured and is being sold again within four years to the same or a new owner, the new owner’s policy premium is reduced by a credit calculated under Rate Rule R-3, provided the new policy covers identical property and is dated within four years of the existing policy.⁴ This one is sometimes missed. If the property changed hands recently, ask the title company to check.

Endorsements and Other Add-Ons

Endorsements expand or modify what a title policy covers, and each carries its own promulgated charge on top of the basic premium. The prices are fixed by TDI. The ones that come up most in residential deals:

Survey deletion, which removes the standard exception for boundary issues a survey would reveal: 5% of the basic premium.
T-19.1, covering restrictive-covenant violations and damage to improvements from surface mineral extraction: 5% of the basic premium when issued with survey deletion, 10% without it.
T-19 loan policy version, giving the lender similar coverage: 5% of the loan policy premium.
T-19.2, covering damage to improvements from mineral extraction or development without the restrictive-covenant piece.

On the $400,000 example above, adding survey deletion plus a T-19.1 alongside it would add roughly $226 (two 5% charges on the $2,262 basic premium). Ask the title company which endorsements the lender is requiring and which are optional.

Not everything on your closing disclosure is title insurance. Escrow or settlement fees, recording fees, and notary charges are set by the title company or the county rather than by TDI, and they vary between companies. Those numbers are separate from the regulated premium and should not be folded into your calculation.

Checking the Number and What to Do If It’s Wrong

Because the base rate is identical at every title company in Texas, verifying your premium is a matter of arithmetic. Pull up the TDI rate schedule, find the correct tier for your sales price or loan amount, and run the four-step formula. If the figure on your closing disclosure does not match, ask the title company to walk through the calculation before you sign.³

If you believe you were overcharged, TDI handles complaints directly. Call the TDI help line at 800-252-3439 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday) or file a complaint online under the “Title” category.⁷ Charging more than the promulgated rate is a regulatory violation, not a matter of judgment.

1
Texas Department of Insurance. Order 2025-9697
2
Texas Department of Insurance. Title Insurance Basic Manual
3
Texas Department of Insurance. Texas Title Insurance Premium Rates
4
Texas Department of Insurance. Basic Manual of Title Insurance Section III
5
Texas Department of Insurance. Basic Manual of Title Insurance Section III
6
Texas Department of Insurance. Formula for Figuring Rate Rule R-8 Credits
7
Texas Department of Insurance. Get Help With an Insurance Complaint