HELOC FEES · CHECKED SEPTEMBER 2026

HELOC Fees: Early Closure, Annual, Origination and the Required Initial Draw (2026)

Q: Do HELOCs charge inactivity fees?

None of the eight lenders on this page publishes one. Where a lender publishes a complete fee schedule it is short and exhaustive: U.S. Bank's Program Description lists an annual fee, an early closure fee and an appraisal fee and nothing else, and Bank of America's disclosure lists only the early closure fee. The charge that actually penalises an unused line is the required initial draw. Figure funds at 100% of the line at origination, and Chase requires a minimum 85% disbursement at closing, so interest starts whether you needed the money or not. If you want a line to sit unused, that requirement matters more than any annual fee.

Every figure on this page is quoted from the lender's own disclosure or product page, checked September 2026. Where a lender does not publish a term, this page says so rather than filling the gap with an industry average.

The headline finding: the fee that costs borrowers most is not a prepayment penalty. It is the origination fee, which can reach 4.99% of the line and is financed so you never see a bill, and the required initial draw, which at two lenders forces you to take 85% or 100% of the money at closing.

Fee Types Explained

The published range below is the spread across the eight lenders in the table that follows, not an industry survey.

Early Closure Fee

Charged for closing the line inside a set window, owed even at a zero balance. It recovers the closing costs the lender absorbed at origination, which is why the lenders advertising no closing costs are usually the ones that charge it. This, not a prepayment penalty, is the real cost of leaving early.

Published: $450 to $500 cap where charged, on 24 to 36 month windows

Origination Fee

Taken at closing and normally financed into the line, so it never arrives as a bill you have to pay. It is the largest single fee in this market by a wide margin, and it sits on some of the same product pages that advertise no closing costs.

Published: $0 to 4.99% of the line

Required Initial Draw

Some lines require you to take most or all of the money at closing. Interest starts immediately on that balance, which defeats the point of opening a line you intend to leave unused. Read this term before any of the others if you want standby liquidity.

Published: None, up to 100% of the line

Annual Fee

A flat yearly charge for keeping the line open, normally first charged on the first anniversary and normally waivable through a qualifying deposit relationship. U.S. Bank also publishes that it stops once you reach the repayment period.

Published: $0 to $75

Prepayment Penalty

A charge for paying the balance down or off. None of the eight lenders below publishes a standalone HELOC prepayment penalty, and three say in their own documents that there is none. Bank of America is the one to read closely: it says part of its early closure fee may be considered one.

Published: No standalone penalty published by any of the eight

Minimum Balance

A floor on your outstanding balance, which would stop you paying the line down to zero. None of the eight publishes such a requirement. Better's disclosure states the floor explicitly: you must maintain an outstanding balance of at least $0.

Published: No requirement published by any of the eight

What Each Lender Publishes (September 2026)

Lender	Annual Fee	Early Closure	Origination	Required Initial Draw	Prepay Penalty
Bank of America	$0	$450 within 36 months	$0	None generally required	No standalone fee
Chase	$0-$50, waivable	No amount published	Up to 4.99% of credit limit	Minimum 85% of line at closing	Not published as a charge
PNC	$75 ($0 in Texas)	Closing-cost reimbursement, 36 months	$0	Not published	Not published
TD Bank	$50 (not under $50,000 line)	2% of balance, max $450, 24 months	$99	No minimum draw	Not published
U.S. Bank	$75, waivable	1% of line, max $500, 30 months	$0	Not published	Not published
Figure	Not named	Not published	Up to 4.99% of initial draw	100% of line at origination	None (stated)
Better	Not published	Not published	$0-$995 plus 0-5% points	75% of limit, min $50,000	None (stated)
Aven	$0, or 1.2% of line for lower APR	Not published	$0 on the card	None on the card	None (stated)

Where a cell reads “not published”, the lender does not state that term on its own site and this page does not estimate it. “None (stated)” means the lender affirmatively says there is no such charge.

Carve-outs that do not fit the table: Bank of America's $450 is not charged if the credit limit is under $25,000, on Maryland property, or on a Texas homestead, and its minimum advance in Texas is $4,000. Chase's annual fee is waived while you hold Chase Premier, Premier Plus or Sapphire Checking, or a Private Client or Private Bank relationship. PNC charges no annual fee and has no reimbursable closing costs on Texas accounts. U.S. Bank waives the annual fee with a Platinum Checking Package and does not assess it during the repayment period. Chase also names closing the line within 36 months under its no-cost services list, so the 36-month trigger exists without a published amount attached. Better's required draw is 100% of the limit on lines under $50,000 and 75% at or above it.

Sources: each lender's own disclosure or product page, accessed September 2026. Bank of America Equity Maximizer initial disclosure statement; chase.com home equity fee schedule and HELOC calculator program information; PNC Choice HELOC early disclosures; td.com HELOC terms; U.S. Bank HELOC page and Program Description; Figure home equity line FAQs; Better HELOC important terms; aven.com. Verify against the documents for your own offer, which is the only version that binds.

Three Names You Will See Quoted That Do Not Sell This Product

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is not taking new HELOC applications. Its own home equity page states that due to current market conditions it is temporarily suspending new applications for home equity lines of credit, and has done since April 2020. It points borrowers to a cash-out refinance instead, and does not offer extensions on existing lines. Any Wells Fargo HELOC fee schedule you find quoted for 2026 describes a product you cannot open.

Rocket Mortgage

Rocket states plainly that Rocket Mortgage retail does not currently offer HELOCs. It sells a fixed-rate closed-end home equity loan, between $45,000 and $500,000, with no origination fee and a tiered requirement of 680 FICO at 80% CLTV rising to 740 FICO at 90%. A Rocket HELOC rate or draw period is not a real term.

Chase home equity loan

Chase offers the HELOC but says it does not offer home equity loans in any state at this time, and its HELOC is not available in Texas. Chase publishes plenty of educational material about home equity loans written in generic lender voice, which is easy to mistake for a product listing.

Which Of These You Can Actually Move

Annual fees: published waivers

This is the one fee with a documented route out. Chase waives it while you hold Premier, Premier Plus or Sapphire Checking, or a Private Client or Private Bank relationship. U.S. Bank waives it with a Platinum Checking Package. TD does not charge it on lines under $50,000. PNC does not charge it in Texas. These are published terms, not negotiation.

Origination fees: shop, do not haggle

Chase and Figure both publish up to 4.99%, and Better publishes up to $995 plus as much as 5% in discount points. Bank of America, U.S. Bank, PNC and Rocket publish no origination fee at all. The spread between lenders is far larger than anything you will talk a single lender down by, so this is a shopping decision.

Early closure fees: avoid the window

None of the published early closure fees is described as waivable on request, but all are time limited, and TD publishes two genuine exits: the fee is waived if you refinance into another TD loan or sell the property. If you expect to move or refinance inside two or three years, the window length matters more than the amount.

Required initial draw: a product choice

This one is structural, not negotiable. Figure funds at 100% of the line and Chase requires 85% at closing, because that is how the product is built. If you want a line to sit unused, Bank of America publishes no minimum advance and TD publishes no minimum draw. Better lets you lower your credit limit to reduce the required draw, which is the closest thing to a workaround anyone publishes.

What to Look For in Your Loan Documents

✓

Section: ‘Fees and Charges’

Usually headed with a sentence like ‘to open and maintain a line of credit, you must pay the following fees’. Treat that list as exhaustive, because it is meant to be. If a fee someone told you about is not on it, it does not apply to your line.

✓

Section: ‘Minimum Initial Advance’ or ‘Initial Draw’

The single most expensive term to miss. It tells you how much you are required to take at closing, and therefore when interest starts. Check whether it is a dollar amount or a percentage of the limit.

✓

Section: ‘Early Closure’, ‘Termination’ or ‘Reimbursement’

The amount, the basis (original line amount, credit limit, or outstanding balance, which give very different answers), the window in months, and any carve-outs for your state or for selling the property.

✓

Section: ‘Prepayment’

Some agreements say plainly that you may repay at any time without penalty. If yours does not say that, ask the lender in writing before closing rather than assuming.

✓

Section: ‘Suspension or Reduction of Credit Limit’

Covers the lender's right to freeze or reduce your line. The clauses used in 2008 are still standard, and they are not a fee, but they decide whether the line is there when you need it.

FAQ

Do HELOCs have prepayment penalties?+

Rarely, and not in the form most people expect. None of the eight lenders on this page publishes a standalone prepayment penalty, and Figure, Better and Aven each say in their own documents that there is none. What costs you money is closing the line early: U.S. Bank publishes 1% of the original line amount capped at $500 within 30 months, TD Bank publishes 2% of the outstanding balance capped at $450 within 24 months, and Bank of America publishes a flat $450 within 36 months. Bank of America's wording is the one to read twice, because it says some portion of that fee may be considered a prepayment penalty.

What is a HELOC early closure fee?+

A charge for closing the account inside a set window, owed even at a zero balance. It recovers what the lender absorbed at origination, which is why the lenders advertising no closing costs tend to be the ones that charge it. Note the basis differs: U.S. Bank calculates it on the original line amount, TD on the outstanding balance, and Bank of America charges a flat amount. On a large line with a small balance those give very different answers.

Do HELOCs charge inactivity fees?+

None of the eight lenders here publishes one. Where a lender publishes a complete fee schedule it is short and meant to be exhaustive: U.S. Bank's lists an annual fee, an early closure fee and an appraisal fee and nothing else, and Bank of America's lists only the early closure fee. The term that actually penalises an unused line is the required initial draw. Figure funds at 100% of the line and Chase requires 85% at closing, so interest starts whether or not you needed the money.

Which lender is cheapest to open and close?+

On published fees, Bank of America and U.S. Bank are the only two of the eight that publish no origination fee and no required initial draw. Bank of America publishes no annual fee either, and pays closing costs on lines up to $1,000,000, against a $450 early closure fee inside 36 months. U.S. Bank publishes a $75 annual fee, waivable with a Platinum Checking Package, and 1% capped at $500 inside 30 months. Whether either is cheapest for you depends on the rate you are quoted, which no lender publishes in advance.