Sell vs Hold · Free tool

Should you sell now or keep the home?

Compare selling today against holding — proceeds, taxes, rent alternatives, ownership costs, and future equity.

Step 1 of 5
Step 1 · Property

Tell us about the property

Address is optional. If provided, it can prefill estimates that remain editable.

Used for the 2-year ownership test on the home-sale exclusion and to flag likely short-term gains. Leave blank to assume roughly 5 years.
Step 2 · Costs & Tax

Selling costs and tax

If the primary-residence tests are met, the calculator first applies the estimated federal home-sale gain exclusion, then applies this rate only to gain above that exclusion. State tax, depreciation recapture, partial exclusions, and individual tax circumstances are not modeled.

Federal long-term capital gains rates are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on taxable income; 15% fits most sellers. If you qualify for the primary-residence exclusion, this rate applies only to gain above the exclusion. Gains on homes owned under a year are usually taxed at ordinary income rates.
Step 3 · Hold Scenario

If you keep the home

Mortgage principal is modeled as equity growth. Non-principal ownership costs are treated as true costs.

Property tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance, and other non-principal costs. Do not include mortgage principal and interest.
Applied to the rent you would pay after selling (and to rent collected if renting the home out).
Cash and reserves feed the liquidity outputs instead of assumed values.
Step 4 · Rent It Out

What if you kept it as a rental?

A third path: move out, rent this home to tenants, and pay rent elsewhere. Models vacancy, management, and extra maintenance; renting beyond about 3 years is assumed to forfeit the primary-residence exclusion on a future sale. Depreciation recapture is not modeled.

Use 0 if self-managing.
Turnover and landlord maintenance on top of the ownership costs you already entered.
Step 5 · Review

Review your inputs

Check everything looks right, then generate your Sell vs Hold report.

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Net proceeds, hold projection, and rent alternative — delivered instantly.

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