What is a seller net sheet?
A seller net sheet is one page of arithmetic done before closing. It starts at the sale price, takes out what gets paid from that price, and ends at the cash the seller should expect. Land Title Guarantee Company, a title company based in Denver, describes it as a simple tool that helps a seller understand the costs of selling and shows approximately what the proceeds will be after those costs. It also calls the listing appointment a good time to show one. Source: Seller Net Sheets, Land Title Guarantee Company, https://www.ltgc.com/resources/seller-net-sheets/
A net sheet is a different document from the closing statement. When the buyer uses a consumer mortgage covered by the federal Closing Disclosure rule, 12 CFR 1026.19(f)(4) has the settlement agent give the seller the disclosures for the seller's side of the deal no later than the day of consummation. Your sheet is what the seller plans around until then, so show its assumptions on the page. Source: 12 CFR 1026.19, Cornell Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/1026.19
What goes on a seller net sheet, and where does each number come from?
Treat each line as a question with a document behind it. The table shows who usually sets each figure and where to get it, so you can mark a line as confirmed once you hold the document.
| Line | Who usually sets the figure | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | The buyer and seller, in the contract | The signed contract or the offer in hand. Before an offer, use a low and a high price from your CMA. |
| Mortgage payoff, including any second loan or home equity line | The lender or servicer | A written payoff statement good through the closing date. The seller's own number is only a starting point. |
| Listing commission | The seller and the listing brokerage, by negotiation | The signed listing agreement. |
| Buyer's agent compensation, if the seller agrees to pay any | The seller, by negotiation | The offer, the contract, or a rider. |
| Transfer tax (doc stamps in Florida) | The state, and in some places the county or city. The contract says who pays. | The state revenue department's rate page, plus your title company or closing attorney for local taxes. |
| Owner's title policy, if the seller pays it | A state-set rate in Florida. The contract says who pays. | The title company's quote and the contract's title paragraph. |
| Settlement, title search, and lien search fees | The title company or closing attorney | Their written fee quote. |
| Property tax proration | The tax bill and the contract's proration clause | The county tax collector's bill, and whether it is paid. |
| HOA or condo dues | The association | The estoppel certificate or the association's ledger, with the date dues are paid through. |
| Estoppel and other association fees | The association, within any state cap. The contract says who pays. | The association's invoice or the estoppel request. |
| Special assessments, liens, and judgments | The public body, association, or creditor that holds them | The title commitment, the municipal lien search, and the estoppel certificate. |
| Seller credit | The buyer and seller, by negotiation | The contract or a signed addendum. |
| Repairs and home warranty | The buyer and seller, by negotiation | The repair addendum and vendor invoices. |
| Seller's attorney fee | The attorney | The engagement letter or fee quote. |
| Foreign seller withholding | Federal tax law. The buyer is generally the withholding agent. | The seller's status, the IRS FIRPTA page, and the closing agent. |
| Credits owed back to the seller | The contract's proration clause | Dues or taxes the seller has paid past the closing date, from the estoppel certificate or tax receipt. |
A payoff figure comes with a date. Under 12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3), a creditor, assignee, or servicer on a consumer loan secured by the consumer's dwelling gives an accurate payoff statement as of a specified date, within seven business days of a written request from the consumer or someone acting for them. The rule allows a reasonable time instead in situations such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, a reverse mortgage, or a natural disaster. Ask the seller early about each loan, including a home equity line. Source: 12 CFR 1026.36, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/36/
Commission is negotiable. NAR says commissions are not set by law, that they are negotiable, and that NAR does not dictate them. NAR also says a listing agent can offer to pay the buyer's agent only with the seller's approval, and that the offer cannot be communicated on an MLS. So the sheet shows what this seller agreed to, whatever rate you used last time. Source: Compensation, Commission and Concessions, NAR, August 13, 2024, https://www.nar.realtor/news/real-estate-news/sales-marketing/compensation-commission-and-concessions
In Florida, the Comprehensive Rider has a section for this situation. Section FF, form CR-6 Rev. 8/2024 from Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar, records a credit from the seller to the buyer related to the buyer's broker compensation. When that rider is used, the amount belongs on the net sheet as a seller credit. Source: FF. Credit Related to Buyer's Broker Compensation, Florida Realtors, https://floridarealtors.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/CR-6_FF.%20CREDIT%20RELATED%20TO%20BUYER%E2%80%99S%20BROKER%20COMPENSATION.pdf
Who pays a cost is a contract question, and the contract is worth reading before you fill in the line. The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS contract, ASIS-7 Rev. 12/24, is one example. Paragraph 9(a) puts deed doc stamps, association estoppel fees, and the seller's attorney fees on the seller, and Paragraph 9(c) has check boxes that decide who pays the owner's title policy. That is how the contract divides the cost between the parties. The tax rule is separate: the Florida Department of Revenue says the parties to a document are liable for the tax regardless of which one agrees to pay it. Source: AS IS Residential Contract, ASIS-7 redline, Florida Realtors, https://www.floridarealtors.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/AS%20IS%20Residential%20Contract%20for%20Sale%20and%20Purchase%20%28FloridaRealtors-FloridaBar-ASIS-7%29%20Redline%20%281%29.pdf
For a Florida association, the estoppel certificate is the document to wait for. Florida Statutes sections 720.30851 for homeowners associations and 718.116(8) for condominiums, 2026 edition, give the association 10 business days to issue it after a written or electronic request. They cap the fee at $250 when nothing is delinquent, add $100 for an expedited certificate delivered within 3 business days, and allow up to $150 more on a delinquent account. Those amounts adjust every 5 years with the Consumer Price Index, and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation publishes the adjusted figures, so check the department's site for the current cap. A certificate is effective for 30 days if delivered by hand or electronically, and for 35 days if mailed. Source: Section 720.30851, Florida Statutes, https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.30851.html
What is the seller net sheet formula?
Estimated net to seller = sale price + credits owed to the seller, minus loan payoffs, commissions, transfer taxes, title and closing fees, prorations the seller owes, association charges, seller credits, repairs, and other liens.
Two items need extra care. A proration can go either way: the seller owes it on a bill that is unpaid, and gets money back on a bill or dues paid past the closing date. Foreign seller withholding is the other one, because it reduces the cash at closing without being a closing cost. The IRS says the FIRPTA withholding rate is generally 15% of the amount realized, that the buyer is generally the withholding agent, and that exceptions exist. It also says it normally acts on a withholding certificate application, Form 8288-B, within 90 days of receiving the necessary information. If a seller is a foreign person, raise it at the first meeting and bring in the closing agent. Source: FIRPTA Withholding, Internal Revenue Service, updated July 21, 2026, https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/firpta-withholding
How do you calculate a seller net sheet? A worked Florida example
This sale is hypothetical. Nobody closed it, and the commission, payoff, tax bill, dues, credit, and fees are made-up inputs chosen to show the method. The doc stamp and title premium rates are Florida's published rates as of November 2026, and the proration follows the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract. Rates differ by state, so do not carry these to a sale somewhere else.
- Property: a hypothetical single-family home in an HOA in Orange County, Florida, which is outside Miami-Dade.
- Price and closing: $487,250, closing December 18, 2026.
- Commission: 3% to the listing brokerage and 2% to the buyer's agent. Commission is negotiable, and these percentages are hypothetical inputs, neither a norm nor a recommendation.
- Payoff: $214,386.42, from a hypothetical payoff statement good through the closing date.
- Property tax: a 2026 bill of $5,800, unpaid at closing.
- Owner's title policy: the seller pays, under Paragraph 9(c)(i) of the contract.
- HOA: dues of $135 a month, paid through December 31, and a $250 estoppel fee.
- Fees: settlement $950, title search $250, municipal lien search $300.
- Seller credit: $3,500 toward the buyer's closing costs.
| Line | How it is figured | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | Contract price | $487,250.00 |
| Mortgage payoff | Hypothetical payoff statement | -$214,386.42 |
| Listing commission | 3% of $487,250 | -$14,617.50 |
| Buyer's agent compensation | 2% of $487,250 | -$9,745.00 |
| Doc stamps on the deed | 4,873 units of $100 at $0.70 | -$3,411.10 |
| Owner's title policy | $575.00 on the first $100,000, plus 3,873 units of $100 at $0.50 | -$2,511.50 |
| Property tax proration | $5,800 at 96% is $5,568.00, times 351 of 365 days | -$5,354.43 |
| Settlement, title search, and lien search fees | $950 + $250 + $300 | -$1,500.00 |
| HOA estoppel fee | Hypothetical input | -$250.00 |
| Seller credit | Hypothetical input | -$3,500.00 |
| HOA dues credit | $135 x 12 / 365 x 14 days | +$62.14 |
| Estimated net to seller | The sum of the lines above | $232,036.19 |
Doc stamps. The Florida Department of Revenue says the rate outside Miami-Dade is 70 cents on each $100 or portion of the total consideration. $487,250 is 4,872.5 hundreds, and the partial $100 is taxed as a full one, so the count is 4,873 and the tax is $3,411.10. In Miami-Dade the rate is 60 cents on each $100, plus a surtax of 45 cents on each $100 unless the document transfers only a single-family dwelling. Source: Documentary Stamp Tax, Florida Department of Revenue, https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx
Owner's title policy. Florida Administrative Code Rule 69O-186.003 sets the premium at $5.75 per $1,000 on the first $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from there to $1 million, and it counts a fraction of $100 as a full $100. That is $575.00 plus 3,873 units at $0.50, or $1,936.50, for a total of $2,511.50. If the contract put the policy on the buyer, the seller would not pay this premium. Source: Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-186.003, Cornell Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/florida/Fla-Admin-Code-Ann-R-69O-186-003
Property tax. Standard K of the ASIS-7 contract prorates real estate taxes as of the day prior to the closing date and allows for the maximum allowable discounts. The Florida Department of Revenue lists those discounts as 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, and 1% in February, so an unpaid bill is prorated at 96% of its face value. The seller owns January 1 through December 17, which is 351 of 365 days. $5,800 at 96% is $5,568.00, and 351/365 of that is $5,354.43. The seller has not paid the bill, so this share comes out of the proceeds. Ask your title company how it will handle a bill still unpaid at a December closing, because the closing statement can show it differently. Source: Taxpayers, Florida Department of Revenue, https://floridarevenue.com/property/Pages/Taxpayers.aspx
HOA dues. The seller paid through December 31 and the buyer owns the closing day, so the buyer owes the seller for 14 days. Here the daily rate is the yearly dues over 365 days: $135 x 12 / 365 x 14 is $62.14. Using the days in December instead gives $60.97, so ask which method your closing agent uses.
The result. Price minus payoff is $272,863.58, and the estimated net is $232,036.19. The other $40,827.39 went to commissions, taxes, fees, the proration, and the credit, less the small dues credit coming back. That gap is the reason to show a seller the whole sheet instead of one number.
What makes a seller net sheet miss?
The arithmetic is the easy part. The misses below come from an input that was assumed, stale, or left out. The dollar figures come from the hypothetical sale above.
| What goes wrong | What it does to the number | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Commission typed from memory | The seller plans around a rate they did not agree to. | Copy it from the signed listing agreement and the offer. |
| A second loan or home equity line left off | The net is overstated by the whole balance. | Ask the seller directly, and check the title commitment when it arrives. |
| A payoff from an old statement | A payoff statement is good as of a specified date, so a moved closing changes it. | Request an updated statement when the date moves. |
| Escrow balance counted as cash at closing | The seller expects money at the table that comes later and separately. | Leave it out of the net and tell the seller it comes after payoff. |
| Tax bill status guessed | If the seller had already paid at the 4% discount, the line flips from a $5,354.43 debit to a $213.57 credit, a $5,568.00 swing. | Ask, then check the tax collector's record. |
| Last year's tax treated as final | Before the new bill exists, the proration rests on an estimate, and Standard K lets either party ask to readjust it when the bill arrives. | Tell the seller this line can move, even after closing. |
| The wrong county rate | Miami-Dade's doc stamp rate and surtax differ from the rest of Florida. | Confirm the county first. Outside Florida, check state and local transfer taxes with the title company or closing attorney. |
| Assuming who pays the owner's policy | $2,511.50 lands on the wrong side. | Read the box checked in the contract's title paragraph. |
| Estoppel ordered late, or expired | Unpaid dues, assessments, or delinquency fees show up close to closing. | Order it when the contract is signed, and order a new one if closing moves past its effective period. |
| A credit added after inspection and not entered | Each dollar of credit comes off the net. | Update the sheet the day the addendum is signed. |
| Nobody asked about a foreign seller | At the general 15% rate, $73,087.50 of a $487,250 sale is held back at closing unless an exception or certificate applies. | Ask at the first meeting and bring in the closing agent. |
| Comparing title lines one by one against the closing documents | The premium may be reported differently on federal closing disclosures, so a correct total can look wrong line by line. | Compare the totals too, and ask the closing agent to explain any gap. |
| The seller reads the net as after-tax money | The sheet estimates cash at closing and leaves out income tax on the gain. | Send tax questions to the seller's tax professional. |
On escrow, 12 CFR 1024.34(b) has the servicer return what remains in the escrow account within 20 days after payoff, not counting weekends and legal public holidays. The servicer can instead credit it to a new loan's escrow account in limited cases where the borrower agrees. Source: 12 CFR 1024.34, Cornell Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/1024.34
On title premiums, Paragraph 9(c) of the ASIS-7 contract says the premium charges are calculated and allocated under Florida law but may be reported differently on certain federally mandated closing disclosures and other closing documents. Standard K of the same contract also says a tax proration based on an estimate can be readjusted at either party's request when the current bill arrives, and that the standard survives closing. Read your own version of the contract, because revisions change. Source: AS IS Residential Contract, ASIS-7 redline, Florida Realtors, https://www.floridarealtors.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/AS%20IS%20Residential%20Contract%20for%20Sale%20and%20Purchase%20%28FloridaRealtors-FloridaBar-ASIS-7%29%20Redline%20%281%29.pdf
When should you redo a seller net sheet?
Redo it when an input changes. This is our suggested routine, with the listing agent owning the sheet from the first meeting to the closing statement.
| What starts it | What you update | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Listing appointment | A low and a high price, the commission in the proposed listing agreement, and the seller's own payoff estimate. | The seller has seen both versions, marked as estimates. |
| Listing agreement signed | The agreed commission and any buyer's agent compensation the seller approved. | The sheet matches the signed agreement. |
| Each new offer | Price, seller credit, buyer's agent compensation, closing date, and who pays the owner's policy. | The seller has one sheet per offer to compare side by side. |
| Contract signed | Contract terms replace assumptions. Request the payoff statement and the estoppel certificate. | Both requests are sent and the dates are noted. |
| Inspection or repair negotiation ends | Seller credit, repairs, and any home warranty. | The sheet matches the signed addendum. |
| Closing date moves | Prorations, the payoff date, and whether the estoppel is still in its effective period. | The new date and day counts are on the sheet. |
| Payoff, estoppel, or title commitment arrives | Swap each estimate for the real figure, and add anything the title commitment shows. | Each line is marked confirmed or estimate. |
| Closing statement arrives | Compare it with your last sheet. | You or the closing agent can explain each difference to the seller. |
The new-offer row is where the sheet changes a decision. Suppose a second hypothetical offer on the same home: $495,000 with a $12,000 seller credit, the same closing date, and the same percentages. Doc stamps rise to $3,465.00, the owner's policy to $2,550.00, and the two commission lines to $14,850.00 and $9,900.00. The estimated net comes to $230,806.29, which is $1,229.90 less than the $487,250 offer with its $3,500 credit. That does not make the lower offer better, because financing, timing, and contingencies still count. It does mean the seller sees the real difference before choosing.
How do you walk a seller through a net sheet?
Do this at the listing appointment and again with each offer, in person or on a call. The order below is our suggestion. It lets the seller see where each deduction comes from before they react to the bottom line.
- Before the meeting, fill each line you can from a document and mark the rest as estimates.
- Say what it is first: this is an estimate, and the final figures come from the title company or closing attorney.
- Start with the price and the payoff, the two numbers the seller already has a feel for.
- Go through the rest in groups: what was negotiated (commission, credits), what the government charges (transfer tax), what gets split with the buyer by date (prorations), and what the closing side charges (title and closing fees).
- Point to the lines that can still move and say what would move them, such as a new closing date, a new credit, or a new payoff statement.
- Ask what only the seller can tell you: other loans or liens, whether this year's tax bill is paid, whether dues are current, whether any seller is a foreign person, and any repairs already promised.
- Finish on the net, then send the sheet in writing with the date on it. You are done when the seller has replied to confirm the inputs.
Here is a message you can send with the sheet. Fill in the brackets.
Hi [name], here is the estimated net sheet for [address], based on a price of [price] and a closing date of [date]. Estimated net to you: [net]. Confirmed from documents so far: [lines]. Still estimates: [lines]. Can you tell me three things: any other loans or credit lines on the property, whether this year's property tax is paid, and whether your association dues are current? This is an estimate. The title company or closing attorney will give the final figures, and I will update this sheet with each new offer.
Do you have to build it by hand?
No. You can start from a tool and then check it against the table above. Your title company may have its own: Land Title Guarantee Company, for one, offers a net sheet calculator to users who log in through its site. The free calculator on Reddy's seller net sheet page asks for the state, price, commission percentage, and mortgage payoff. Depending on the state, it also asks for the county, closing date, yearly property tax, who pays the owner's title policy, and title or closing fees. It then shows the estimated net and lets you download a PDF. It has one payoff field and no field for a seller credit, association dues, or a foreign seller, so add those by hand. Free calculator: https://www.tellreddy.com/services/seller-net-sheet
If you use Reddy, you give the deal in chat: the address, county, price, estimated closing date, commission, whether the seller is a foreign person, any mortgage payoffs or seller credit, and any condo or HOA dues. It asks for anything it still needs instead of guessing, and it sends an itemized seller net sheet as a PDF. It covers every U.S. state and Washington, D.C. The sheet's scope differs by location, so you confirm the costs it leaves out. A net sheet is an estimate; the final numbers come from the closing statement.
Frequently asked questions
What goes on a seller net sheet?
A seller net sheet starts with the sale price, then subtracts loan payoffs, commissions, transfer taxes, title and closing fees, prorations the seller owes, association charges, seller credits, repairs, and other liens. It adds back anything the buyer owes the seller, such as dues paid past the closing date. Which costs the seller pays depends on the contract and the location.
Who prepares it, the agent or the title company?
Either can prepare a seller net sheet. A listing agent can build one for a listing appointment, and some title companies offer a tool for it, such as Land Title Guarantee Company's net sheet calculator. Ask the title company or closing attorney to check its fees and the local taxes, because the final figures come from the closing side.
What's the difference between a buyer and a seller net sheet?
A seller net sheet estimates the cash a seller keeps after costs. A buyer's version estimates the cash a buyer brings to closing, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls Estimated Cash to Close on the Loan Estimate: the down payment and closing costs, reduced by deposits already paid and seller credits. Neither one replaces the closing documents.
Is a seller net sheet the same as the closing statement?
No. A seller net sheet is an estimate prepared before closing, and the final numbers come from the closing statement. If the two differ, ask the title company or closing attorney to explain the line.
Does a seller net sheet include capital gains tax?
A seller net sheet estimates cash at closing, so it leaves out income tax on the gain. The IRS says, as of its October 2026 page, that a seller who qualifies may exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a main home, or up to $500,000 on a joint return with a spouse. Send tax questions to the seller's tax professional.
