Net Proceeds

Your sale price is not your money. Between the sold sticker and the cheque your lawyer hands you sit the remaining mortgage balance, the real estate commission, legal fees, and adjustments most sellers never see coming. Sellers routinely overestimate their walk-away cash by tens of thousands. This calculator works out the real number.

What this calculator answers

It estimates the cash you actually receive from selling your home: sale price minus the mortgage payout, commission, legal or notary fees, and any other adjustments. It answers the only question that matters on closing day — after everyone else is paid, what lands in your account?

What it deliberately does not cover

Several large items sit outside this calculation. It does not estimate capital gains tax — if the property was ever a rental or is not your principal residence, the CRA may take a share of the profit, and that is a separate calculation. It does not include any mortgage prepayment penalty for breaking your term early, which can run into the thousands. It does not cover moving costs, and it does not predict the statement of adjustments line by line. Treat the result as a careful estimate, not the lawyer's final statement.

Every input, explained

Sale price. Enter the firm sale price from the accepted agreement, not the list price. The common error is running the numbers on the asking price during negotiations and never updating them — every $10,000 of price difference moves your proceeds by roughly $9,500 after commission.

Mortgage balance owing at closing. Enter the principal you will still owe on closing day. The common error is entering the original borrowed amount and forgetting years of payments — or entering today's balance without accounting for payments still to come before closing. Note: if your mortgage included an insurance premium, it was added to the principal.

Commission rate. Enter the total commission percentage for both brokerages. The calculator's illustrative default is 5.00%, but commission is negotiable — the default is a starting point, not a quote. The common error is entering only your listing brokerage's share and forgetting the cooperating brokerage's cut.

Legal or notary fees. Budget $1,200 to $2,500 for legal fees and disbursements; in Quebec this is a notary's fee instead. The common error is forgetting the mortgage discharge fee, a separate line from the conveyancing fee.

Other adjustments. Enter anything else expected on the statement of adjustments, such as a repair credit to the buyer. The common error is leaving this at zero; most statements contain at least a property tax or condo fee apportionment.

How the math works

The arithmetic is subtraction in the order the money actually moves. The sale price comes in; the lender is paid out first; commission is deducted; legal and notary fees come out; adjustments settle last. What remains is yours. Errors come from the inputs, not the formula.

Worked example: $640,000 Montréal condo sale

A seller in Montréal sells a condo for a firm $640,000. The remaining mortgage balance at closing is $310,000. Step by step:

1. Sale price: $640,000.
2. Mortgage payout: $640,000 − $310,000 = $330,000 remaining.
3. Commission at the 5.00% illustrative default (negotiable): $640,000 × 5% = $32,000. Remaining: $330,000 − $32,000 = $298,000.
4. Notary fees and disbursements of $1,600 (within the typical $1,200–$2,500 range): $298,000 − $1,600 = $296,400.
5. Adjustments: none expected in this example. Net proceeds: $296,400.

Two notes on this scenario. Quebec's "welcome tax" is the buyer's cost, billed by the municipality two to three months after closing — it does not touch the seller's proceeds. And if this condo was the seller's principal residence for every year owned, there is generally no capital gains tax; if it was ever rented out, part of the gain may be taxable.

Provincial quirks and edge cases

In Quebec the transaction runs through a notary rather than a lawyer, with a fee structure to match — the seller's economics are the same. Non-resident sellers face a major wrinkle anywhere in Canada: the CRA requires 25% withholding on gross proceeds until a clearance certificate issues, which directly reduces the cheque at closing — apply early. In Newfoundland and Labrador the registration fee is charged on the deed and again on the mortgage. And in every province, the statement of adjustments apportions prepaid property taxes and condo fees by exact closing date — prepay a full year of taxes in January and sell in June, and expect a meaningful credit in your favour.

Questions to ask a professional

1. Real estate lawyer or notary: What will appear on my statement of adjustments — how are prepaid property taxes, condo fees, and utility arrears apportioned at my closing date?
2. Lender: What is my exact mortgage payout on the closing date, including per-diem interest, the discharge fee, and any prepayment penalty?
3. Real estate lawyer (non-resident sellers): How do I apply for a CRA clearance certificate, how long is it taking, and how much of my proceeds will be withheld meanwhile?
4. Tax professional: Was this property ever a rental or only partly my principal residence — and what records do I need for the taxable portion?