What will I actually walk away with?

Not sure? Use your best guess — or ask me for a street-level valuation.

Kitchens, roofs, additions, major systems — these raise your basis and lower your taxable gain. Receipts count; keep digging for them.

Total for both sides; always negotiable and set in your listing agreement.

Escrow, title, inspections, repairs/credits — 0.5–1.5% is typical here.

Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties both charge $0.55 per $500 ($1.10 per $1,000). San Jose, Palo Alto and Mountain View are charter cities whose conveyance tax stacks on top of the county tax rather than being credited against it.

San Jose Measure E applies to the full sale price once consideration exceeds $2,300,000: $2,300,000.01–$5,000,000 = 0.75%; $5,000,000.01–$10,000,000 = 1.0%; over $10,000,000 = 1.5%. At or below $2,300,000 it is $0. Because the rate hits the entire price, crossing the threshold by one dollar costs about $17,250.

Mountain View has been two-tiered since December 20, 2024 (Measure G): $1.65 per $500 at $6,000,000 or less, and $15.00 per $1,000 on the entire consideration above $6,000,000.

City of Santa Cruz Measure C took effect July 1, 2026 and applies only inside city limits. Unlike Measure E it is marginal — only the portion above each threshold is taxed: 0.5% from $1.8M to $2.5M, 1% to $3.5M, 1.5% to $4.5M, 2% above that, capped at $200,000. The city’s own example: a $2.6M sale owes $4,500. The base includes any debt remaining on the property. These thresholds and the cap CPI-adjust every year starting July 1, 2027 (SCMC 3.34.160(c); the cap moves by CPI or 3%, whichever is less), so after that date confirm the current figures with the City before you rely on them.

Capitola and Scotts Valley have no city transfer tax. Watsonville levies one, but at a rate that is fully credited against the county tax under R&TC §11911(c), so the total there is still $1.10 per $1,000.

Heads up: the Measure C figures built into this calculator are the rates as originally enacted, and they were scheduled to CPI-adjust on July 1, 2027. This page has not been updated since. Treat the Santa Cruz city portion below as a rough estimate and ask me for the current rate.

Inherited a Santa Cruz city home? The transfer to you from the decedent or their trust is exempt (SCMC 3.34.258). Your later sale to a buyer is not — it is taxed like any other sale. More on that here.

Measure C also added a flat $96 annual parcel tax inside the city. That is a holding cost collected with your property tax bill, not a closing cost, so it is not included above. Low-income homeowners and low-income homeowners 65+ can apply for an exemption.

Under IRC §121(b)(4) an unmarried surviving spouse keeps the full $500,000 exclusion if the sale happens within two years of the date of death. The clock runs from the date of death, not the end of that year. More on this here.

Needed to place the gain in the right bracket. Long-term capital gain stacks on top of your other taxable income — it is not taxed in isolation. This same figure is used to test the Net Investment Income Tax threshold.

Selling an inherited or trust home? The step-up in basis usually matters more than the exclusion — read this first, then set "what you originally paid" to the date-of-death value.

California has no preferential capital gains rate. Set this to the marginal rate your CPA expects. The extra 1% mental health services tax on taxable income above $1,000,000 is calculated separately below, so don’t add it here.