About the Home Sale Proceeds Calculator
Every mortgage site prices the buying side. The question sellers actually type — “what do I walk away with?” — gets answered with a shrug and “6–10%.” This is the itemised version: commission at the number you negotiated (the NAR settlement made that explicitly your call), your state’s real transfer tax from a 51-jurisdiction directory verified 2026-09-07 — including Washington’s marginal tiers and DC’s whole-price cliff, computed the way the revenue departments compute them — the payoff with per-diem interest, prorations, title, and concessions.
Then the question behind the question: the §121 exclusion check — whether any of your gain is taxable at all ($250k single / $500k joint, verified constants).
Offer negotiations move in $5,000 steps — here is what each step is worth to you after costs (commission and transfer tax scale with price; everything else doesn’t).
The whole itemisation, formatted like the one the title company hands you at closing — for comparing against theirs line by line.
How to Use the Home Sale Proceeds Calculator
Enter the price you expect, what you owe, the commission you actually agreed, and your state. The net sheet itemises everything between the contract price and the wire that hits your account: commission, transfer taxes (computed with your state’s real structure, tiers and all), per-diem interest on the payoff, property-tax proration, title and escrow, and any concessions the negotiation produced.
Commission After the Settlement
Since the 2024 NAR settlement, seller-paid buyer-agent commission is no longer baked into the MLS — everything is negotiated explicitly. In practice most sales still involve compensation on both sides, but the percentages moved and vary by market. That is why this tool asks for your total number rather than assuming the old 6%: on a $450,000 sale, each half-percent you negotiate away is $2,250 of net, which the scenario table prices exactly.
Transfer Taxes: the Cost Nobody Budgets
Thirteen states charge nothing. Pennsylvania customarily runs 2% combined. Delaware reaches 4%. Washington’s REET is genuinely marginal — 1.1% of the first $525,000, then 1.28%, 2.75% and 3.0% by tier — while DC does the opposite and applies its higher rate to the entire price once you cross $400,000. This calculator implements each structure as written, and the directory was verified against published state tables on 2026-09-07. Counties and cities add their own in a handful of states (Chicago, NYC, the Bay Area, Maryland’s counties) — the local field covers those.
Related tools: the Closing Cost Calculator for the buyer’s side of the same table, the Refinance Calculator if the answer to “should I sell?” turns out to be “not yet”, the Moving Cost Calculator for what happens after closing, and the Capital Gains Tax Calculator if your gain clears the exclusion. Browse every Home & Real Estate tool for more.
Estimates for planning, not a settlement statement or tax advice. Transfer-tax entries are the state-level rates verified 2026-09-07; local additions vary block by block, customs on who pays vary by state and contract, and attorney states add fees this sheet approximates under title/escrow. The §121 panel covers the common case — exceptions (partial exclusions, depreciation recapture from rentals or home offices, non-qualified use) belong with a tax professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it actually cost to sell a house?
The big five: agent commission (negotiable, and since the 2024 NAR settlement explicitly so — enter what you agreed, and remember any buyer-agent compensation you offer is also on your side of the ledger), state and local transfer taxes (zero in thirteen states, marginal tiers up to 3% in Washington), the mortgage payoff with its per-diem interest through the closing date, title/escrow charges that vary by state custom, and whatever concessions or repairs the negotiation produced. On a typical sale the total lands between 6% and 10% of the price — this tool itemises yours instead of quoting a folk range.
How is the transfer tax computed here?
From a bundled directory of all 50 states plus DC, verified against published state tables on 2026-09-07. Most states are a flat percentage; Washington's REET uses marginal tiers (1.1% to $525k, 1.28% to $1.525M, 2.75% to $3.025M, 3.0% above — computed marginally, as the Department of Revenue does), Connecticut and Vermont are also tiered, and DC applies its higher rate to the whole price once you cross $400k. Counties and cities can add their own — the local-rate field covers those, with notes for the states where they matter most.
Why is my payoff more than my mortgage balance?
Because interest accrues daily until the loan is actually discharged. Your statement shows the balance after your last payment; the payoff quote adds per-diem interest (balance × rate ÷ 365) for every day until closing, plus any recording or reconveyance fees. On a $300,000 balance at 6.5%, that is about $53 a day — a two-week gap between quote and closing adds roughly $750. Always order a payoff quote dated a few days past the expected closing.
Will I owe capital-gains tax on my home sale?
Usually not, thanks to the Section 121 exclusion: if you owned AND lived in the home for at least 2 of the last 5 years, up to $250,000 of gain is tax-free ($500,000 filing jointly). The gain is price minus selling costs minus what you paid minus capital improvements — which is why keeping receipts for the new roof matters. The check panel here does that arithmetic; if you clear the exclusion, our Capital Gains Tax Calculator prices the rest.
Who pays the transfer tax, buyer or seller?
Custom varies by state — sellers customarily pay in most, buyers in a few (Tennessee, Vermont on some components), and several states split it. It is also negotiable in the purchase contract, like almost everything else. This net sheet assumes you pay your state's customary seller share; if your contract says otherwise, zero the field or adjust the local rate.
