How much will you walk away with? Calculate your estimated net proceeds after commissions, closing costs, transfer taxes, and your mortgage payoff.
A net sheet answers the only question that matters when you sell: after everything is paid, what lands in your account. The sale price is the headline number. The net sheet is the real one. Here is where the money goes on a typical San Mateo or Santa Clara County sale.
The largest line on almost every net sheet. Commissions are negotiable and set in your listing agreement; this calculator models 5% of the sale price as a combined estimate for both sides of the transaction. On a $2,500,000 sale that is $125,000, which is why the commission conversation deserves as much attention as the pricing conversation.
Every sale in both counties pays the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000. A handful of cities add their own: Palo Alto and Mountain View combine to $4.40 per $1,000, the City of San Mateo to $6.10, Hillsborough to $1.40. The same $2,500,000 sale pays $2,750 in transfer tax in Menlo Park and $15,250 in the City of San Mateo. The transfer tax calculator breaks out every city.
Title and escrow fees run roughly half a percent, with the split between buyer and seller set by county custom and your contract. Preparation is the line sellers underestimate: staging a Peninsula home typically runs $3,000 to $8,000, pre-sale inspections around $1,500, and the return on staging usually justifies the spend many times over.
Your remaining loan balance, plus any HELOC or second, is retired through escrow at closing. It is subtracted after all selling costs, which is why two neighbors with identical sale prices can walk away with very different checks.
Capital gains tax. Net proceeds and taxable gain are separate calculations, and on long-held Peninsula homes the tax is often the single largest number in the whole transaction. Once you have your net figure here, run the capital gains tax calculator to see the after-tax picture, or start with your home's current value if you have not priced it yet.
An itemized estimate of what you will actually walk away with from a home sale. It starts with the sale price and subtracts every cost of selling: agent commissions, county and city transfer taxes, title and escrow fees, staging and preparation, pre-sale inspections, and your remaining mortgage payoff. The bottom line is your estimated net proceeds. Escrow prepares an official version at closing; this calculator gives you the same picture before you list.
Take the sale price, subtract the agent commission, subtract transfer taxes and your share of title and escrow fees, subtract preparation costs such as staging and inspections, then subtract your mortgage payoff including any HELOC or second loan. What remains is your net proceeds before any capital gains tax. On a $2,500,000 Peninsula sale with a $1,200,000 mortgage, typical selling costs run roughly $145,000 to $165,000, leaving net proceeds in the range of $1,150,000.
California sellers customarily pay the agent commissions, the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, any city transfer tax, and a negotiated share of title and escrow fees. In San Mateo County, custom puts the owner's title policy and escrow fee on the buyer, with the transfer tax on the seller. Sellers also typically fund pre-sale preparation: staging, inspections, and repairs completed before listing.
Every city in both counties pays the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price. A few cities add their own tax on top: Palo Alto and Mountain View each add $3.30 per $1,000 for a combined $4.40; the City of San Mateo adds $5.00 per $1,000 under $10 million for a combined $6.10 (1.5% at $10 million and above); Hillsborough adds $0.30 for a combined $1.40; and Mountain View sales over $6 million pay a $15.00 per $1,000 city rate under Measure G. Menlo Park, Atherton, Burlingame, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont, Los Altos, and most other cities pay the county rate only.
Commissions are negotiable and are set in your listing agreement, not by law. This calculator models 5% of the sale price as a combined estimate covering both the listing side and any buyer-side compensation you agree to offer. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately, so your actual total can be lower depending on how you structure the listing.
No. Net proceeds and taxable gain are different calculations. Capital gains tax depends on your original purchase price, capital improvements, the Section 121 exclusion ($250,000 single, $500,000 married), and your income, none of which appear on a net sheet. Long-held Peninsula homes often carry gains well past the exclusion, so run the capital gains calculator next; for many sellers it is the largest number of all.
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