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Home Sale Gain and Tax Exclusion Estimator

Estimate your gain when you sell your main home, how much the federal $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion covers, and a rough tax on the rest.

Updated October 2026 · Rudy Flores

When you sell your main home, a big part of the gain is often tax-free. This estimates your gain, how much of it the federal exclusion could cover, and a rough tax on anything left.

The numbers below start from a typical San Clemente home and are placeholders: replace each with your own.

The sale

Expected sale price

Agent commission and escrow and title

Commission is negotiable. Rudy can show you the real numbers.

Other selling costs

Transfer taxes, repairs you pay for, staging.

Loan payoff

What you put in

What you paid for the home

Buying costs you paid

Title, escrow and similar costs that were not loan interest.

Improvements that added value

Additions, a new roof, a kitchen remodel. Not routine repairs or paint.

Depreciation you claimed (home office or rental)

Enter 0 if none.

Your situation and tax assumptions

How you file

Did you own it and live in it as your main home for 2 of the last 5 years?

Did you exclude gain on another home sale in the last 2 years?

Federal long-term capital gains rate

It depends on your taxable income.

Net investment income tax

It applies only above certain income levels.

Federal rate on depreciation gain

The maximum rate on depreciation you claimed.

California tax rate on the gain

California taxes the gain as ordinary income, so your own rate is the one to enter.

Want this as a personal plan?

Send this estimate to Rudy and he will follow up with a personalized version, no pressure.

This is an estimate for planning. It is not a quote, an appraisal, a loan offer, or tax or legal advice, and Rudy is a real estate agent, not a lender or tax professional.

The rules behind the estimate

Single filers may exclude up to $250,000 of gain, and married couples filing jointly up to $500,000, when they sell their main home.
You must have owned the home and used it as your main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale.
In general, you cannot use the exclusion again if you used it on another sale in the last 2 years.
Some partial exclusions apply when you move early for work, health or unforeseen circumstances.

IRS Topic 701: Sale of your home and IRS Publication 523: Selling Your Home explain these in detail, including how to figure your basis.

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Home Sale Gain and Tax Exclusion Estimator

Want this as a personal plan?

The rules behind the estimate

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