Capital Gains Calculator for Home Sellers
A great deal of the profit on a primary residence is never taxed. This works out how much of yours is.
What This Calculator Does
Calculates the gain on your sale — proceeds less selling costs, less your adjusted basis including capital improvements — then applies the Section 121 exclusion available on a primary residence, up to $250,000 for a single filer and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, leaving whatever remains exposed.
Who Is This For
Owners selling a Miami primary residence after a long hold, couples deciding whether to sell before or after a change in filing status, and sellers who want the exclusion test understood before listing rather than after closing.
How It Works
Enter the original purchase price, the capital improvements made, your expected sale price and selling costs, and your filing status. The calculator returns the gain, the exclusion you qualify for, and the taxable remainder.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Section 121 exclusion do?
It allows a homeowner to exclude gain on the sale of a primary residence — up to $250,000 filing single and $500,000 filing jointly as a married couple. For most sellers that covers the entire gain, which is why an enormous number of home sales generate no capital gains tax at all.
How do the ownership and use requirements work?
You generally need to have owned the home and lived in it as your primary residence for at least 24 of the 60 months before the sale. Those 24 months need not be consecutive, and the exclusion is generally available no more than once every two years.
How is my basis calculated?
What you paid, raised by capital improvements — a renovation, an addition, a roof, impact windows — and adjusted by certain closing items. Repairs and routine maintenance add nothing. Keep the receipts: an improvement you cannot document will not reduce the gain.
Does it cover investment property?
No. Section 121 belongs to a primary residence. Investment and rental property is a separate calculation, and depreciation taken across the holding period is recaptured on its own terms. Exchanging into another investment property is the usual planning route there.
Where does the net investment income tax fit in?
NIIT is an additional federal tax that can reach investment income, taxable capital gain included, for taxpayers above certain income thresholds. Whether it touches you depends on total income and filing status, so confirm with your CPA before planning around it.
Is there a Florida tax on the gain?
Florida charges no personal state income tax, so no state capital gains tax applies to the sale. Federal treatment is unaffected, and if you moved from another state during the year, that state may have a claim on part of your income. Ask your tax advisor how the timing falls.