On a purchase, credits cannot exceed your actual closing costs plus prepaids. Anything beyond that gets cut, not handed to you as cash. That rule applies to purchases and other non-cash-out transactions across loan programs: excess credit is curtailed, meaning reduced, rather than paid out to you. The only money you can get back at closing is your own documented earnest money or items you already paid outside of closing. A cash-out refinance is the deliberate exception where a borrower does walk away with cash. An extra credit does not have to be wasted, though. Legitimate places to point it: - Prepaids. Fund your escrow or impound account for taxes and insurance, or prepay HOA dues where applicable. - Principal reduction. Depending on the loan and investor rules, some or all of the excess may be applied to reduce your balance. - A rate buydown. We lean against paying points with your own money, but redirecting a credit that would otherwise be curtailed is a different comparison, and it is something some people want to see. We will run that math for you. Which options are available depends on your loan type and the specific credits in play, so flag the extra credit early. This is exactly the kind of detail we sort out when we build your numbers on the free Roadmap conversation, so a credit like that turns into a lower payment or lower cash to close instead of disappearing.