A line-by-line worksheet for turning a sale price into the amount that reaches your bank account, and where each figure comes from.
⚖️ This is general information, not legal advice. It can't account for your specific situation. Use it to get oriented, then confirm the details with a licensed Ontario lawyer.
The sale price is the biggest number in the transaction, and almost never the one you receive. Between acceptance and closing day, your lawyer pays out the mortgage, the brokerage is paid its commission, and the statement of adjustments settles taxes, condo fees and rental contracts to the day. This worksheet walks the same path your lawyer's trust ledger will. Fill it in early, with real statements rather than guesses, and you will know what you can put toward your next home and whether any of it needs to be set aside for tax.
Line 1: start with the sale price
- The price in the agreement of purchase and sale. If the buyer negotiated a reduction after inspection, use the amended figure.
- The deposit. It is part of the price, not extra. The listing brokerage holds it in trust and usually applies it to its commission on closing, remitting the balance to your lawyer.
- Any credit you agreed to give the buyer, for example for a repair. Deduct it here.
Line 2: subtract what is registered against the home
- The mortgage balance, taken from the lender's written payout statement, which shows principal, interest to the closing date and a per-day figure if closing moves.
- Any prepayment charge. A closed term usually carries one; the lender's statement tells you how it is calculated. The Interest Act limits the charge on some longer-term mortgages held by individuals, so ask the lender to show its working.
- The lender's discharge or administration fee.
- Any home equity line of credit, second mortgage or other charge. The line must be closed, not just paid to zero, or the lender will not discharge it.
- Executions, liens or property tax arrears registered against the property. All must be cleared before title can transfer.
Line 3: subtract the cost of selling
- Real estate commission as set in your listing agreement, plus HST on the commission.
- Legal fees and disbursements. Our fee for a sale is a published flat price; disbursements such as the registration of the transfer and title searches are itemised on your account.
- Staging, photography, cleaning, repairs and moving costs you paid directly. They are not closing adjustments but they are real money out.
Line 4: adjust to the closing date
- Property taxes. If you have paid past closing, the buyer credits you; if you are in arrears, you credit the buyer.
- Condominium common expenses paid ahead, and any special assessment levied before closing.
- Fuel oil or propane left in the tank, at the delivered price.
- Rental contracts the buyer is assuming, and any buy-out you agreed to pay for those they are not.
- If the property is tenanted: rent for the month of closing, the last month's rent deposit and the interest owed on it, all of which pass to the buyer.
Line 5: set aside for tax, if any applies
- Nothing, for most owners who lived in the home throughout, because the principal residence exemption shelters the gain. You still report the sale on your return.
- A portion of the gain if the home was rented out, used substantially for business, or was not your only designated residence for some years.
- The whole profit as income if you owned the home for fewer than 365 days and no listed life-event exception applies, under the federal flipping rule.
- A holdback by your lawyer if you are a non-resident of Canada, released only once the CRA issues a section 116 certificate.
Line 6: if you are buying, map the gap
- Write down what your purchase needs on its closing day: balance of price, land transfer tax, your lawyer's fee, adjustments, title insurance.
- Compare it to the net figure from Line 5 and the date the money arrives. A same-day closing moves the funds the same afternoon; a staggered closing needs a bridge loan for the days between.
- Add the bridge lender's interest and fee if there is a gap, using the lender's own disclosure rather than an estimate.
How Treadstone Law can help
Every figure above comes from a document you can ask for now: the payout statement, the listing agreement, the tax bill, the condo statement. Collect them and the worksheet becomes a forecast rather than a hope.
Treadstone Law handles real estate matters on a transparent flat fee, with online intake and a real lawyer on your file, across Ontario.
- Start your file online at treadstonelaw.ca/start-file
- See flat-fee pricing at treadstonelaw.ca/pricing
- Learn more about our real estate services at treadstonelaw.ca/real-estate
- Or call us: 1-844-900-1070
This is not legal advice
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Ontario laws and government programs change, and how the law applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Ontario lawyer. Treadstone Law is licensed by the Law Society of Ontario — reach us at 1-844-900-1070 or start a file online.