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Seller Closing Cost Calculator
Seller Closing Cost Calculator
Net Proceeds at Settlement
$525,650
Seller Analysis
From a $850,000 sale you can expect roughly $525,650 in hand at settlement after $24,350 of selling costs (2.9% of price) and the $300,000 mortgage payout. Remember capital gains tax may apply on investment properties — only your principal place of residence is fully exempt.
*Agent commission rates, marketing packages and conveyancing fees vary by state, agent and property. Capital gains tax on investment properties is flagged but not calculated. Educational only - not financial or tax advice.
What Actually Lands in Your Bank on Settlement Day
Sellers in Australia routinely focus on the headline sale price while underestimating the stack of costs that come off the top before money reaches their account. Agent commissions typically run between one and a half and three per cent of the sale price, marketing packages for a competitive campaign can add several thousand more, conveyancing fees cover the legal transfer, and a mortgage discharge fee applies whenever a loan is paid out. On an eight-hundred-thousand-dollar sale these items together can consume twenty-five thousand dollars or more. For homeowners downsizing or upgrading, the net figure determines the budget available for the next purchase. For investors selling a rental, it also interacts with capital gains tax: only your principal place of residence is fully exempt, so the proceeds figure is where CGT planning begins, not ends. Knowing the full cost picture before you sign an agency agreement changes how you negotiate commission, what marketing spend you approve, and whether an asking price is genuinely worth accepting. This calculator converts a sale price into the settlement-day number that actually matters.
Price Minus Costs Minus Loan Payout
The calculation walks the settlement statement line by line. The agent's commission is the sale price multiplied by the agreed percentage, which is why every fraction of a percent matters: at two point two versus two point five per cent on an eight-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar sale, that difference alone is over two and a half thousand dollars. Marketing, conveyancing and mortgage discharge fees are then added as fixed amounts to give total selling costs, expressed both in dollars and as a percentage of price for easy comparison against typical ranges. Finally the outstanding mortgage balance is subtracted, since the lender is paid out first from settlement funds before anything reaches you. What remains is net proceeds, the usable equity the sale releases. If costs plus payout exceed the price, the result turns negative, flagging that you would need to bring funds to settlement rather than receive them. Each input can be adjusted independently so you can test cheaper agents, trimmed campaigns or a lower asking price with realistic outcomes instantly.
Expert Insights
Commission Is Always Negotiable
Australian agent commission rates vary enormously by state, property type and market heat, and individual agencies quote different figures for identical homes. Interviewing three agents before listing routinely saves thousands: not necessarily by hiring the cheapest, but by using competing quotes to negotiate the preferred agent down. Ask each candidate for their rate, their estimated total campaign cost including marketing, and recent comparable sales. A half-percent saving on a million-dollar sale is five thousand dollars for one extra conversation.
Marketing Spend Is an Investment Decision
Agents often bundle marketing into fixed packages spanning photography, styling, online listings and print, sometimes financed upfront and deducted from settlement regardless of outcome. Treat the spend like any investment: premium campaigns can genuinely lift competition for distinctive properties, but generic homes rarely recoup top-tier packages. Request itemised costs rather than bundles, ask which channels actually drove recent sales in your suburb, and remember the person recommending the spend also sells it.
Time the Sale With CGT and the Calendar
For investment properties, holding past twelve months halves the capital gain subject to tax, so signing just before versus after the anniversary can change thousands in payable CGT. Spreading settlements across financial years, or timing them into a year with lower other income, further trims the marginal rate applied to the gain. None of this changes the selling costs themselves, but the net-proceeds mindset naturally extends to after-tax proceeds, which is the number that ultimately funds your next move.
Actionable Tips
- 1
Get Your Payout Figure Before You Set the Price
Your mortgage payout amount differs from the loan balance shown in the app: it includes accrued interest to settlement day and possibly deferred establishment fees or break costs on fixed loans. Request an official payout figure from your lender once you have a target settlement window, enter it here, and let the true net proceeds drive your reserve price and next-purchase budget instead of optimistic mental arithmetic.
- 2
Negotiate the Agency Agreement Line by Line
Before signing, check the agreement states the commission rate clearly, whether marketing is itemised or bundled, when marketing payment is due, and what happens if the agency agreement ends early. Exclusive agency terms typically run sixty to ninety days; longer lock-ins deserve a discount. Everything in the agreement is negotiable before signature and almost nothing afterwards, so run several scenarios through this calculator during negotiations to keep dollar values attached to each clause.
- 3
Budget Settlement Timing Into Your Next Move
Australian settlements commonly run thirty to ninety days from contract, and bridging two transactions, your sale and next purchase, rarely lines up perfectly. Model your net proceeds here early, confirm deposit access timelines with your conveyancer, and consider negotiating extended or shortened settlement clauses to align the dates. Knowing the exact cash landing date prevents the common trap of committing to a purchase deposit before your sale funds are confirmed.
Real-World Examples
Helen Saves Four Thousand With Three Quotes
Selling her Brisbane home, Helen received commission quotes ranging from one point eight to two point seven per cent from four agencies. Her preferred agent initially quoted two point four per cent plus a six-thousand-dollar marketing package. Presenting the competitor quotes and running the settlement maths, she negotiated two per cent and an itemised four-thousand-dollar campaign. On her nine-hundred-thousand-dollar result, the negotiation returned roughly six thousand dollars, an hour of uncomfortable conversation converted directly into equity.
Marcus Times the Sale Past the CGT Anniversary
Marcus bought his inner-city apartment as an investment eleven months before a job transfer forced a sale decision. Waiting five weeks to sign meant settling after the twelve-month mark, halving his taxable capital gain under the CGT discount and cutting his expected tax bill by well over ten thousand dollars, dwarfing the carrying costs of the delay. His settlement statement showed fewer proceeds than he first assumed, but his after-tax position beat the quick sale by a wide margin.
The Nguyens Avoid a Settlement Shortfall
Upgrading from a townhouse to a family home, the Nguyens mentally budgeted using the sale price minus their loan balance, forgetting nearly nineteen thousand dollars of commission, marketing and fees. When their conveyancer flagged the gap, they ran the real numbers, adjusted their offer on the next house accordingly, and negotiated a sixty-day settlement on their sale matching the purchase. The shortfall never materialised because it was priced in weeks before contracts were signed.
Glossary of Terms
- Net Proceeds
- The money remaining from a sale after agent commission, marketing, legal fees, discharge costs and mortgage payout. It is the figure available for your next purchase or investment.
- Mortgage Discharge
- The process of formally releasing a lender's claim over a property title when a loan is repaid, usually attracting a small administration fee from the lender and government registration costs handled through settlement.
- Vendor Statement Requirements
- State-based disclosure documents, such as the section 32 in Victoria or contract of sale disclosures elsewhere, that sellers must provide covering title, zoning and encumbrances, prepared at the seller's expense by a conveyancer or solicitor.
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Ivy Sinclair-Wren
Financial Chaos Analyst
Ivy Sinclair-Wren is a Financial Chaos Analyst covering investing, AI, wealth psychology, and the emotional consequences of opening finance apps during market crashes. Based in Melbourne, she specializes in demystifying the Australian tax code and helping users navigate the intersection of spreadsheet logic and human irrationality.