How to prepare a seller net sheet in Ontario, line by line

Sellers ask one question more than any other: what do I walk away with? A seller net sheet answers it with a number and shows the working. Done well, it builds trust at the listing appointment and saves a hard conversation on offer night. Done badly, with a missing line or a guessed payoff, it sets an expectation the closing will break. Here’s every line an Ontario net sheet needs, in the order a seller reads it.

Start from the right price

At the listing appointment, run the sheet at the list price and at one or two prices on either side of it. Sellers anchor on the first number they see, so showing a range makes it clear the net moves with the sale price. When offers come in, run a fresh sheet at each offer’s price. A sheet at list price is a planning tool; a sheet at the offer price is the one the seller decides on.

Commission and HST on commission

Use the total commission from the listing agreement. The cooperating brokerage’s share is paid out of that total, so it isn’t a second line on top. If the agreement says 5% and the buyer brokerage is offered 2.5%, the seller’s cost is 5%, split between the two brokerages.

HST applies to the commission. Ontario’s HST rate is 13%, so a $40,000 commission carries $5,200 of HST and costs the seller $45,200. Show the HST as its own line. It’s the line sellers forget most often, and seeing it written down avoids the surprise on the statement of adjustments.

If the agreement has a flat fee, a tiered rate or a bonus, write the calculation out rather than showing a single percentage.

Mortgage payoff

This is the line that most often goes wrong, because the balance on the seller’s last statement is only a starting point. The payoff at closing includes:

• •The principal balance on the closing date, not today.
• •Interest accrued since the last payment.
• •Any prepayment penalty if the mortgage is closed and isn’t being ported or assumed. On a fixed-rate mortgage this can be large.
• •The lender’s discharge fee.

Ask the seller to request a payout statement from their lender as soon as the listing is signed, or at least an estimate with the penalty spelled out. Until you have it, label the payoff line as an estimate. Don’t forget a secured line of credit or a second mortgage registered on title: both have to be paid out too.

Legal fees and disbursements

The seller’s lawyer charges a fee plus disbursements (searches, courier, registration of the discharge) and HST on the fee. Amounts vary by lawyer and by how complicated the file is, so ask the seller whether they have a lawyer and get a quote. If they don’t, use a figure you’ve seen recently from local lawyers and mark it as an estimate.

Adjustments

Property taxes, and for a condo the monthly fees, are adjusted between buyer and seller on closing. If the seller has prepaid taxes past the closing date, they get the difference back as a credit; if they are behind, it comes off their proceeds. The lawyer calculates the exact figures on the statement of adjustments. On the net sheet, a line that says “tax and fee adjustments, calculated by your lawyer” is more honest than a guess.

Other adjustments worth a line when they apply:

• •Rental equipment the seller is buying out, such as a water heater or furnace, if the agreement requires it.
• •Utility final readings the seller pays directly.
• •For a tenanted property, prepaid rent and deposits that pass to the buyer.

Other selling costs

These aren’t closing costs, but sellers spend the money and want to see it: staging, pre-list repairs and cleaning, a pre-list inspection, moving, and bridge financing if they’re buying before they sell. List the ones the seller has already agreed to. Leave off anything they haven’t, or show it in a separate “optional” block so it doesn’t muddy the net.

What an Ontario seller doesn’t pay

Clearing up what isn’t on the sheet matters as much as what is. Land transfer tax is paid by the buyer, the person acquiring the land, so it doesn’t belong on a seller’s sheet. Sellers who have bought before sometimes expect it, because they remember paying it on the way in.

Two situations to flag rather than calculate: a seller who isn’t a resident of Canada, and a property that isn’t the seller’s principal residence. Both can change what the seller keeps from the sale. Send the seller to their lawyer and accountant, and note on the sheet that tax is not included.

A net sheet template

Put the lines in this order and the sheet reads top to bottom like the statement of adjustments the seller will see at closing:

• •Sale price
• •Less: total commission
• •Less: HST on commission
• •Less: mortgage payoff, including interest and any penalty (estimate until the payout statement arrives)
• •Less: discharge fee
• •Less: other secured debts on title
• •Less: legal fees and disbursements
• •Plus or minus: tax and fee adjustments
• •Less: other agreed selling costs
• •Estimated net proceeds

Add a line at the bottom that says it is an estimate, which figures are confirmed, and which will be confirmed by the lawyer. Date the sheet. Sellers keep these, and one they find in a drawer three weeks later should say when it was true.

Presenting it

Walk through the sheet line by line the first time, even if the seller is in a hurry. Point out the two estimates that move the most (the payoff and the legal fees) and what you are doing to firm them up. On offer night, put the net for each offer side by side. A higher offer with a long condition period, or a closing date that triggers a penalty or a bridge loan, can net the seller less than it looks.

Building it from the listing

The free seller net sheet calculator on our site runs these numbers with no account. Inside Listing Launchpad, on Pro and Studio and during the trial, the net sheet starts from the listing’s price and total commission, adds HST, the mortgage payoff and discharge, legal fees and other costs, and shares as a live link the seller can open at home and try other prices on without changing your figures.