Australia-wide · Selling

Cost of selling a house

Add up what selling costs you — commission with GST, marketing and legals — and what is left after the mortgage and any capital gains tax.

FY 2026-27 rates · verified 28 Aug 2026 against the official sources.

Your tally

Selling costs

$30,600

3.4% of the $900,000 price. Cash in your hand after the mortgage: $469,400.

Commission with GST $24,750Everything else $5,850

How it’s made up

Sale price$900,000

Agent commission (2.5% + GST)−$24,750

Marketing, legals, discharge−$5,850

Mortgage payout−$400,000

Cash in your hand$469,400

Next: selling an investment? → Capital gains tax.

Next: the cash to buy your next home → Upfront costs of buying a house

Commission, conveyancing, marketing and auction fees are quotes, not schedules — this calculator does the arithmetic on the figures you enter and never invents a market rate. The capital gains tax uses our tested FY 2026-27 engine. General information only — not financial or tax advice.

Why we quote no “average” commission

No average commission here. This calculator works on the rate you were actually quoted, adds the GST on top of it, repays the mortgage and takes out capital gains tax — so the bottom of the receipt is cash in your hand, not a gross figure that flatters the sale.

In New South Wales no law sets real estate commission. The Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 defines it and requires it to be disclosed, but prescribes no rate, maximum or cap — and that is the only agents Act we have read; the other states have their own. So a national average is someone’s estimate, not an official figure, and we will not quote one. What we can tell you is the arithmetic, and the arithmetic is unforgiving: on a $900,000 sale, every 0.25% of commission is $2,250 before GST, and $2,475 after it.

So the useful move is not finding an average — it is getting three written quotes and running them through the same sum. A rate that sounds nearly identical to another can be thousands apart once GST and marketing are included, and marketing in particular is often quoted separately and forgotten.

The GST trap in an agency agreement

Agents are registered for GST, so 10% goes on top of their fee. A rate quoted plus GST is 10% dearer than it looks: 2.5% is really 2.75% of the sale price. On $900,000 that is the difference between $22,500 and $24,750. Both numbers are honest; only one is what leaves your account. The toggle above switches between the two readings so you can check which one your agreement actually says.

The two costs sellers forget

The mortgage payout. Settlement repays the loan before you see a cent, so a healthy sale price and a large remaining balance can still produce a modest cheque. There is usually a discharge fee on top, small but real.

Capital gains tax. Your own home is generally exempt, but an investment property is not, and the tax is assessed in the financial year you contract to sell, not when the money arrives. The one mercy is that selling costs work in your favour: the agent’s commission, the advertising and the legal fees are incidental costs that go into the cost base, which shrinks the gain. Tick the investment box above and the tax is computed by the same tested engine as our capital gains tax calculator, so the two pages can never disagree.

Frequently asked questions

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

There is no set figure, because the largest cost — agent commission — is negotiable, and no NSW law sets a rate for it. Worked through on the example figures above: on a $900,000 sale, a 2.5% commission plus GST is $24,750, and with $4,000 of marketing, $1,500 of conveyancing and a $350 discharge fee the total is $30,600, or 3.4% of the price. Change any quote and that share changes with it, which is why this calculator asks for the rate you were actually quoted instead of inventing an average.

Do you pay stamp duty when you sell a house?

No. Transfer duty is paid by the buyer. As the seller your costs are commission, conveyancing, marketing and the mortgage discharge — plus capital gains tax if the property was an investment.

Is GST charged on real estate agent commission?

Yes. Agents are registered for GST, so 10% is added to their fee. A rate quoted "plus GST" costs 10% more than the number suggests — 2.5% becomes 2.75% of the sale price in real money. Always ask whether a quoted rate includes GST, and use the toggle above to see the difference.

What is a typical real estate agent commission?

There is no official one to point to. In New South Wales the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 defines commission and requires it to be disclosed, but prescribes no rate or cap, so any "national average" you see is someone's estimate rather than a published schedule. (Other states have their own agents Acts, which this page has not read.) The comparison that means something is between written quotes from the agents you are actually considering, run through the same sum on this calculator.

Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell?

Not on your main residence, which is generally exempt. On an investment property you do, and the selling costs reduce it: commission, advertising and legal fees are incidental costs that go into the cost base, shrinking the gain. Tick the investment box above and this calculator runs the same tested FY 2026–27 engine as our CGT calculator, so the tax figure and the cash figure always agree.

What is left after the mortgage is paid out?

Settlement repays your loan before you see anything. The calculator subtracts the balance and the discharge fee, so the last line of the working is genuine cash in hand — and, if you tick investment, cash after the ATO is paid too. If the loan exceeds what the sale nets, the shortfall is still owed; the figure here is what this settlement produces, not a debt write-off.

Assumptions & sources

Commission, marketing, conveyancing and auction fees are your inputs. They are negotiated prices, not published schedules, so this calculator asserts no market rate for them.
GST on agent commission is the standard 10% rate. Where a quote already includes GST, the split shown is derived from that total so the parts always sum to what you were quoted.
Capital gains tax uses the FY 2026-27 resident rates in our tested engine. The selling costs are incidental costs, the second element of the cost base (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 s 110-25(3); s 110-35 lists an agent’s fee, advertising to find a buyer and legal fees). The mortgage discharge fee is left out of the tax working: the ATO’s rental guide lists it as a deduction for a rental property, and s 110-45(1B) keeps a deductible cost out of the cost base. Main residence is treated as exempt unless you tick investment.
The mortgage payout is capped at what the sale nets — a shortfall in negative equity is still owed, but it is not cash from this settlement.