Home Sale Net Proceeds Calculator

Net proceeds from selling a home is how much money you actually receive after all selling costs and outstanding balances are paid at closing.

Most sellers are surprised by how much comes out. Even with no mortgage left, the gap between the sale price and the cheque can easily be $30,000 to $60,000, and almost all of it is agreed before the house goes on the market.

The formula: Net Proceeds = Sale Price − Mortgage Payoff − Agent Commissions − Closing Costs − Repairs − Other Fees

Typical selling cost breakdown:

Agent commissions: Traditionally 5–6% of sale price, though buyer’s agent commission is now negotiable post-2024 NAR settlement. Expect 2.5–3% for your listing agent.

Closing costs (seller-side): 1–3% of sale price, which may include:

• Title insurance: 0.5–1%
• Transfer/documentary stamps: 0.1–0.5% (state-dependent)
• Attorney fees: $500–$1,500
• Prorated property taxes and HOA fees

Worked example:

Keep the mortgage payoff separate from the cost of selling. Both come out of the same wire at closing, so it is natural to add them together, but they are different things. The $37,500 is money that disappears. The $195,000 is a debt you already owed and would have owed anyway. Add them and you get “costs of $232,500”, or 55% of the sale price, which makes selling look four times more expensive than it is. The number to compare against other options is 8.9%.

Capital gains tax, United States only. Every country taxes a property sale its own way, and the figures below are American ones in American dollars. Sellers who lived in the home as their primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years can exclude:

• Up to $250,000 in capital gains (single)
• Up to $500,000 (married filing jointly)

Profit = Sale Price − Original Purchase Price − Capital Improvements. If profit is under the exclusion, no federal capital gains tax is owed.

Net Equity Rate: Net Proceeds ÷ Sale Price. The calculator reports this. It tells you what share of the headline number actually reaches you, which is the figure worth carrying into your next purchase, since it is the down payment you will really have.