Before you list, you deserve to know exactly what you're walking away with — not a rough guess, but the real math.

If you're thinking about selling your home in DFW and wondering how much you'll actually make, you're asking exactly the right question — and you're asking it at exactly the right time. Too many sellers don't run these numbers until they're already under contract, and by then there's no time to adjust expectations or make smart decisions. I walk through this math with every single seller before we talk about list price, strategy, or timing. It takes about twenty minutes, and it changes everything about how prepared you feel going into the process.

The short answer is that what you make selling your house comes down to two things: what your home is worth, and what it costs to sell it. But inside those two things is a list of line items that surprises most sellers — and a distinction between equity and net proceeds that almost nobody explains clearly upfront. That's what this post is for.

The Real Numbers DFW Sellers Need to Know

Let's start with what you already know and build from there. Most sellers have a general sense of their equity — the gap between what their home is worth and what they still owe. That's the right starting point. But equity is not the number that lands in your bank account at closing. Net proceeds are. And getting from one to the other requires understanding exactly what gets deducted along the way.

What Is Home Equity and How Do You Calculate It?

Home equity is the difference between your home's current market value and your outstanding mortgage payoff. It represents the wealth you've built in the property since you purchased it or last refinanced.

The formula is straightforward. Take your estimated home value, subtract your mortgage payoff, and what's left is your equity. Using a simple example: a home worth $500,000 with a $190,000 mortgage payoff gives you $310,000 in equity. That payoff figure isn't your monthly balance — it's the exact amount your lender requires to release the lien, and you can find it on your mortgage statement or through your lender's online portal.

That $310,000 is real. It's the value you've accumulated, and it matters. But here's where sellers consistently get tripped up: equity is your starting point in this conversation, not your ending point. The number you actually receive at closing — your net proceeds — is lower, sometimes significantly so, because selling a home comes with its own set of costs.

What Does It Actually Cost to Sell a House in DFW?

Selling a home isn't free, and the costs aren't small. Here's what a typical seller in Texas pays at closing, working from that same $500,000 example:

• Mortgage payoff: $190,000 — cleared at closing before you see a penny of proceeds
• Real estate commissions: negotiable — this is a conversation to have upfront with your listing agent, not at the closing table
• Buyer incentives or concessions: around $5,000 in this example, though this line item varies widely depending on market conditions and what you negotiate
• Title policy (state-regulated fee): approximately $2,940 on a $500,000 sale — in Texas, the seller typically pays for the owner's title policy, and it's a regulated fee based on sales price
• Prorated property taxes: approximately $4,800 — Texas collects property taxes in arrears, so at closing you'll credit the buyer for your share of the year's taxes from January 1 through your closing date
• Title company fees: approximately $700
• Doc prep and recording fees: approximately $189
• HOA dues (if applicable): approximately $500, plus any transfer fees your HOA charges
• Vendor or mechanic liens (if applicable): variable — any outstanding contractor work or HOA violations have to be cleared at closing

Run all of that against the $500,000 sale price, and your estimated net proceeds land around $265,871. Not $310,000. The gap between your equity figure and your net proceeds figure in this example is over $44,000 — and that's without a repair credit or any other surprises from the inspection period.

Every transaction is different. Your payoff amount, your tax proration, your HOA, and whatever gets negotiated with the buyer will all move these numbers. This example is a framework for how to think about it — not a guarantee of what your specific closing will look like. That's why I build a customized net sheet for every seller before we go to market, so you know your real numbers, not a national average.

What's the Difference Between Equity and Net Proceeds?

This is the question I wish more sellers asked before they started making plans. Equity and net proceeds are related, but they are not the same number, and confusing them leads to some of the most stressful moments I see at the closing table.

Equity is the value you've built in the property above what you owe. Net proceeds are what you walk away with after every cost of the transaction has been paid. Gross proceeds — the actual sales price your home closes at — sit between the two: it's the number on the contract before any deductions.

If you're planning to use your sale proceeds for a down payment, a purchase, a move, or anything else financial — model around net proceeds, not equity and not sales price.

I've watched sellers make real plans around an equity number that didn't account for selling costs. When the actual closing check comes in lower than expected, there's no good way to un-ring that bell. Get the right number first. Everything else gets easier from there.

The Line Items That Catch Sellers Off Guard

A few of these deserve a little more explanation because they generate the most questions.

Prorated Property Taxes

Texas is a deferred tax state, which means you pay this year's property taxes next year. At closing, the seller credits the buyer for the portion of the current year's taxes covering the time the seller owned the home — from January 1 through the closing date. Close in October and you're covering ten months of taxes you haven't paid yet. That proration shows up as a deduction on your closing statement and catches a lot of sellers off guard, especially if they're closing mid-year or later.

The Title Policy

Unlike many states where the buyer pays for title insurance, Texas custom puts this cost on the seller. It's a state-regulated fee based on the sales price — not negotiable, but predictable. Your title company can give you the exact figure as soon as you have a contract price. On a $500,000 sale, budget right around $2,940.

Repairs and Inspection Credits

This one doesn't appear on a pre-listing net sheet because it's unknown until you're under contract — but it needs to be in your mental math. After the inspection period, buyers frequently request repairs, price reductions, or closing cost credits. How you respond to those requests can meaningfully affect your bottom line. I've spent 25 years helping sellers navigate inspection negotiations in a way that protects their net, and the single best thing you can do is go in with a realistic expectation that something will come up and a strategy for handling it when it does.

Buyer Concessions

Depending on market conditions, buyers sometimes negotiate for the seller to cover a portion of their closing costs or buy down their interest rate. Whether you agree to any concessions, and how much, is a negotiation. I'll always give you a straight read on when a concession makes sense strategically and when it doesn't.

What About Capital Gains Taxes?

Net proceeds are what you receive at closing. What you keep after federal taxes is a separate question, and it's one you need to answer with your CPA — not your real estate agent, and definitely not at the closing table.

Here's the basic framework. Texas has no state income tax, so there's no state capital gains tax to worry about. At the federal level, most primary residence sellers qualify for an exclusion of up to $250,000 in capital gain if filing individually, or up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly — as long as you've lived in the home as your primary residence for at least two of the last five years.

Capital gain is calculated as your sales price minus your original purchase price (your cost basis), adjusted upward for qualifying capital improvements you've made over the years. If your gain falls within the exclusion and you meet the residency test, you may owe nothing in federal capital gains tax. If your gain exceeds the exclusion, if you're selling an investment property, or if your residency situation is more complex, the math changes — and the stakes get higher.

Loop in your CPA before you list, not after you close. They'll want to know your cost basis, your improvement history, and your plans for the proceeds. Getting that conversation started early gives you options. Waiting until April gives you a bill.

How to Use This Before You List

The goal of running these numbers isn't to overwhelm you — it's to make sure you go into the transaction with clear eyes. Here's what to pull together before we sit down:

• Your current mortgage payoff — not your balance, the actual payoff figure from your lender's portal or a payoff statement
• Any liens on the property — HOA violations, contractor work, or anything else that would need to be cleared at closing
• Your most recent property tax bill — used to estimate the proration at closing
• A rough list of capital improvements you've made since purchase — useful for your CPA's cost basis calculation
• Any HOA transfer fees or outstanding dues that may be owed at closing

When I meet with a seller for the first time, this is exactly the kind of worksheet we build together. You don't need to have all of it figured out before we talk — that's what the conversation is for. But the more you come in knowing, the faster we can get to a number you can actually plan around.

Have questions about what you'd net from selling your home in DFW? Let's talk. I've been doing this for over 25 years and I'm happy to build out a real numbers estimate for your specific situation — no pressure, just clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between home equity and net proceeds?

Home equity is the gap between your home's current market value and your mortgage payoff — it's the wealth you've built in the property. Net proceeds are what you actually receive after all selling costs have been paid at closing: commissions, title fees, prorated taxes, concessions, and any other deductions. In a typical DFW transaction, the two numbers can differ by tens of thousands of dollars, which is why it's important to run a full net sheet before making plans around your equity figure.

How much does it cost to sell a house in Texas?

Selling costs in Texas typically include real estate commissions (negotiable), the owner's title policy (a state-regulated fee paid by the seller in most Texas transactions), prorated property taxes through the closing date, title company and recording fees, and any buyer concessions you agree to. Inspection repairs or credits can add to that total after you're under contract. The exact amount varies by sale price, timing, and what's negotiated — which is why a customized net sheet is more useful than a national average.

Do I have to pay capital gains tax when I sell my home in Texas?

Texas has no state income tax, so there's no state capital gains tax. At the federal level, most primary residence sellers can exclude up to $250,000 in capital gains ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) if they've lived in the home for at least two of the last five years. If your gain falls within that exclusion, you may owe nothing federally. If your situation is more complex — investment property, gain above the exclusion, or a partial residency period — talk to a CPA before closing, not after.

What is a seller net sheet?

A seller net sheet is a line-by-line estimate of what you'll walk away with after all selling costs are paid at closing. It starts with your expected sales price and subtracts every deduction — mortgage payoff, commissions, title fees, taxes, and any buyer concessions — to arrive at your estimated net proceeds. Your listing agent should provide one before you sign a listing agreement, and update it once you're under contract with actual numbers. If you're in DFW and want to see what your numbers might look like, reach out and I'll put one together for you.

When are property taxes collected at a Texas closing?

Texas collects property taxes in arrears, meaning the current year's taxes aren't due until the following year. At closing, the seller credits the buyer for the share of the year's taxes that covers the seller's ownership period — from January 1 through the closing date. The later in the year you close, the larger that credit will be. It's one of the line items DFW sellers most commonly underestimate when running their own numbers ahead of listing.

Amy Beyer, Realtor | Grapevine, TX | AmyBeyerRealtor.com | Powered by Real Broker, LLC | TREC #0500623