Equity Threshold Worksheet

Because gross equity is before payoff, selling costs, REET, and any capital-gains tax. What actually funds the next move is what's left after all of those — often well below the paper number. Plan on usable equity, not the gross.

Start with estimated sale price, subtract mortgage/HELOC payoff, then selling costs (commissions, REET, title/escrow), then capital-gains tax above the exclusion. What remains is your real down payment plus costs plus reserve for the next home.

REET (the graduated transfer tax) and, if the gain exceeds the §121 exclusion, capital-gains tax. Both can be large on an appreciated high-value home, and both are easy to omit when eyeballing "our equity."

Then the real gap is price, timing, or expectations — not a math error. Knowing that before you list lets you adjust the target, the timeline, or the plan, rather than discovering it mid-transaction.

Significantly, if you qualify — it can shelter $250K/$500K of gain, reducing or removing the capital-gains subtraction. Whether it applies is exactly why the tax line belongs in this worksheet, confirmed with your CPA.

Work sale price down to net usable equity, then test it against your next move's cash target. Doing that precisely is part of a Real Estate Review.