How to estimate your net proceeds when selling a Tampa home

A hypothetical seller net sheet for a Tampa home

Everything in this table is hypothetical. The sale price, commission percentage, mortgage balance, tax bill and several fees are assumptions picked as round numbers to show the math. Statutory amounts (doc stamps, the promulgated title premium and the estoppel cap) are calculated from the rules cited below. Your title company or agent can prepare a real estimate for your home.

Assumptions: sale price $500,000, closing June 20, a remaining mortgage principal of $150,000 at a 6 percent rate, an annual property tax bill of $6,000 and a home in an HOA with no past-due balance.

Closing costs other than the payoff come to about $37,000, or roughly 7 percent of this hypothetical price, with commissions the largest share. Change any assumption and the result moves, which is why the net proceeds calculator lets you enter your own numbers.

Three more line items belong on a real net sheet, but there is no published or typical figure to plug in, since each is set by the company you use or negotiated in your contract: the settlement or closing fee your title company or closing attorney charges for handling the transaction, the municipal lien search fee for checking City of Tampa or Hillsborough County records for open permits and liens, and an optional home warranty for the buyer if you agree to offer one. Ask your title company for a written quote on the first two, and a home warranty company for the third, and add them to your own copy of this net sheet.

Each Tampa closing cost explained

Real estate commissions

Commissions are not set by law and are negotiable. The 5 percent above is only an example, not a typical or recommended rate. Since August 17, 2024, offers of compensation to buyers' agents can no longer appear on the MLS, and buyers sign written agreements with their own agents. Sellers can still agree to pay a buyer's agent as part of a deal. Ask any agent you interview to explain exactly what you would pay and for what.

Documentary stamp tax on the deed

Florida charges documentary stamp tax on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of the consideration, rounded up to the next $100. The standard Florida contract assigns it to the seller. It is collected at closing and paid when the deed is recorded.

Owner's title insurance

Florida is a promulgated-rate state for title insurance: the premium is set by the Financial Services Commission in Rule 69O-186.003, Florida Administrative Code, not by each company. For an original owner's policy, the rule sets $5.75 per $1,000 of coverage up to $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from $100,000 to $1 million, with lower rates above that. That is how the $2,575 above was calculated.

Two things change the real number:

• Reissue rate. Rule 69O-186.003 sets a lower reissue rate when a prior owner's policy insuring the seller was issued on the property and a copy is kept on file, subject to conditions in the rule. If you have your owner's policy from when you bought, give it to the title company and ask whether the sale qualifies.
• Endorsements and fees. Endorsements, title search and closing fees are separate from the premium and can differ between companies.

Who pays for the owner's policy is local custom, not state law. In Hillsborough County, sellers have traditionally paid for the buyer's owner's policy and chosen the title company, but this is a practice to confirm with your contract and title company, not a rule, and it is fully negotiable.

Settlement fee and municipal lien search

The title company or closing attorney charges a settlement fee for handling the closing. A municipal lien search checks the City of Tampa or Hillsborough County records for open code violations, permits and utility or special assessment liens that could follow the property. Open permits from an old roof or pool project are a common reason for a delay, so ask the title company to run the search early. Who pays each fee depends on your contract.

HOA and condo estoppel certificates

If your home is in an HOA or condo association, the title company requests an estoppel certificate confirming dues, assessments and any balance owed. Florida law caps what the association can charge: s.720.30851 for HOAs and s.718.116(8) for condos set a base fee of $250, an extra $100 for delivery within three business days and up to $150 more if the account is delinquent, with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation adjusting all three for inflation every five years. DBPR's first adjustment, in 2022, raised them to $299, $119 and $179. Since another five-year adjustment may have taken effect since, confirm the current caps on DBPR's estoppel certificate fee page or with your title company before you budget. The certificate must be issued within 10 business days. If your home is in more than one association, there may be more than one certificate. Condo sellers should also read downsizing to a condo in Tampa, since many downsizers end up on the buying side of the same rules.

Sources: Florida DOR, documentary stamp tax; Rule 69O-186.003, F.A.C.; s.720.30851, F.S.; 2022 estoppel fee adjustment summary.

How the property tax proration works in Hillsborough County

Florida property taxes are paid in arrears. The Hillsborough County Tax Collector (Nancy C. Millan) mails the bill for the whole calendar year in November, and it becomes delinquent April 1 of the next year. Paying early earns a discount:

Because the buyer will pay the whole year's bill in November, you credit the buyer at closing for the days you owned the home. Most Florida purchase contracts prorate on the current year's taxes if known, or the prior year's taxes if not, with allowance for the maximum discount; read your own contract's tax proration clause for the exact wording. In the hypothetical, $6,000 less 4 percent is $5,760, and closing around mid-year puts about half of that, $2,880, on the seller.

Two Tampa-specific cautions:

• The buyer's bill will likely be higher. After a sale the home is reassessed at just value on the next January 1. Some contracts allow a proration adjustment later; read yours.
• Deferred taxes. If you used the homestead tax deferral program, the deferred balance and interest are paid from your proceeds at closing. See Costs and Money.

Source: Hillsborough County Tax Collector, discount periods.

Mortgage payoff and per diem interest

Mortgage interest is paid in arrears: the payment you make on July 1 covers June's interest. At closing, the title company orders a payoff statement from your lender showing the principal, interest through a given date and a per diem (the daily interest) in case closing moves. In the hypothetical, $150,000 × 6 percent ÷ 365 is about $24.66 a day, so 20 days of June adds about $493.

• Keep making payments until closing unless your lender says otherwise.
• Any balance left in your escrow account is refunded by the lender after payoff, usually by check. It is not shown as a credit on most net sheets.
• A reverse mortgage or home equity line must also be paid off at closing. Ask for payoffs on every lien.

Costs outside the closing table

Some real costs never appear on the settlement statement but still come out of your downsizing budget:

• Pre-listing repairs, painting, cleaning and staging (see preparing an older Tampa home to sell)
• Movers, packing and possibly two moves if you sell first (see buy first or sell first)
• Storage, estate sale commissions or donation hauling (see local resources)
• Utilities, insurance and HOA dues until closing
• Any capital gains tax, due with your federal return, not at closing

If moving costs total $5,000 in the hypothetical, the seller would have about $307,000 to put toward the next home. Remember that your Save Our Homes benefit can travel too; see Florida homestead portability.

Capital gains basics for Tampa home sellers

Florida has no state income tax, so the question is federal. Under IRS Publication 523, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain on the sale of your main home, or $500,000 if married filing jointly, if you owned and used it as your main home for at least two of the five years before the sale.

Gain, amount realized and basis

Your gain is the amount realized (sale price minus selling expenses such as commissions, doc stamps and title charges you paid) minus your adjusted basis. Basis generally starts with:

• What you paid for the home
• Certain settlement costs from your purchase, such as title and recording fees
• The cost of improvements that add value or extend the home's life, such as a new roof, an addition, a remodeled kitchen, impact windows or a pool

Basis is reduced by things like depreciation (if you rented part of the home or used it for business) and insurance reimbursements for casualty losses. Routine repairs and maintenance do not count. Inherited homes usually get a new basis at the value on the date of death, and a surviving spouse may still use the $500,000 limit if the home is sold within two years of the spouse's death and other conditions are met.

Hypothetical: a couple bought for $150,000 in 1998, paid $3,000 in purchase settlement costs and spent $80,000 on a roof, kitchen and addition. Their adjusted basis is $233,000. Selling at $500,000 with about $32,700 in selling expenses gives an amount realized of about $467,300 and a gain of about $234,300, within their exclusion. A single seller with a bigger gain, or someone who cannot prove improvements, could owe tax. A tax professional can confirm which costs count.

Form 1099-S

The title company generally reports the sale to the IRS on Form 1099-S and gives you a copy. Receiving one does not mean you owe tax, but Pub 523 says you must report the sale on your return if you receive a 1099-S, even if the gain is excluded. The closing agent can skip filing one only for a sale at $250,000 or less (or $500,000 or less if you certify you are married), if you sign a written certification that the home was your principal residence, that the full gain is excludable and that there was no period of nonqualified use. If you do not give that certification, the closing agent must file the 1099-S regardless of price.

Sources: IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home; IRS, About Form 1099-S.

Records to gather before you list

• Your purchase closing statement (HUD-1 or Closing Disclosure) and deed
• Your owner's title insurance policy from when you bought, for a possible reissue rate
• Receipts, contracts and permits for every improvement
• Your most recent mortgage statement and lender contact for the payoff
• Your latest property tax bill and TRIM notice
• HOA or condo association contact information and your dues history
• Any open permits or code notices, so they can be closed before a buyer's title search finds them
• Records of depreciation, rental use or casualty claims, if any

Next steps

Run your own numbers in the net proceeds and portability calculator and review the broader picture in Costs and Money. When you are ready for a real estimate based on your home and neighborhood, get matched with a local downsizing specialist.