Updated August 25, 2026. Quick answer: A net-proceeds calculator implies the two paths differ by a fee you can look up. Some inputs are fixed by statute and computable to the cent. Others are unpublished by the party quoting them. A calculator that treats both kinds the same produces a confident number with a hole in it. This is the specification for one that does not: three inputs computed from statute, one computed only where a statute publishes a rate, and the rest refused.
The inputs that are exactly computable
| Input | How it is computed | Section | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probate referee’s commission | one-tenth of one percent of the value appraised, collared at $75 and $10,000 | Prob. Code §§ 8961, 8963 | exact |
| Statutory minimum overbid | 10% on the first $10,000 of the accepted bid, 5% above it | Prob. Code § 10311(a)(1) | exact |
| Lowest confirmable offer | 90% of the referee’s appraised value, in a court-confirmed sale | Prob. Code § 10309(a)(3) | exact |
Each row is a statute with a number in it, so the calculator does arithmetic and not estimation.
Each of these is a statute with a number in it, so the calculator does arithmetic rather than estimation. The referee’s commission has a floor and a ceiling that bite at both ends of the range; the overbid threshold is two rates and a break point; the documentary transfer tax is a rate per unit of consideration.
The input that is computable only where a statute publishes a rate
| Jurisdiction | Statutory rate | Section | $300,000 sale | $600,000 sale | $1,200,000 sale | $2,500,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California, county rate | $0.55 per $500 of consideration, or fraction of it | Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911(a) | $330 | $660 | $1,320 | $2,750 |
| Florida, documentary stamp | 70 cents per $100 of consideration | Fla. Stat. § 201.02(1)(a) | $2,100 | $4,200 | $8,400 | $17,500 |
| Washington, state excise | 1.1% then 1.28% then 2.75% then 3.0% across the statutory bands | RCW 82.45.060(1)(b) | $3,300 | $6,780 | $14,460 | $45,800 |
Three jurisdictions read at their own statutes. California cities may add their own tax at half the county rate by ordinance and none is included above. Washington’s statute directs its department of revenue to adjust the band thresholds every fourth year, so these are the statutory thresholds rather than a current published schedule. Local recording fees are not transfer taxes and are not here.
Three jurisdictions were read for this specification. In every other state the transfer-tax field has no source behind it, so the specification leaves it empty rather than defaulting it – an empty field is visibly missing, and a default is invisibly wrong. Washington’s own statute directs periodic adjustment of its thresholds, so even a read state carries a currency caveat.
What it refuses to compute, and why
| Field | Why it is not computable here | What the specification does |
|---|---|---|
| The cash offer itself | no primary source read here publishes a discount to market | left empty; the user enters the offer they were given |
| The broker’s commission | the statute makes it the court’s determination in a confirmed sale, capped by the contract | left empty; a default would be a guess wearing a formula |
| Attorney and representative compensation | set by a separate statutory schedule on the value accounted for, not on the sale price | out of scope; priced elsewhere on this site |
| Repairs and credits | not published anywhere as a rate | left empty |
| Transfer tax outside the three states read | no statute was read, so there is no rate behind the field | left empty rather than defaulted |
An empty field is visibly missing. A default is invisibly wrong.
The refusals are the point of the specification. A calculator that supplies a market commission percentage, or a typical cash-offer discount, has moved the whole answer onto a number nobody published. The three sources that would have to exist for those fields do not exist in this package, and we did not find them.
The one number it can check for you
There is one thing a calculator can do here that a person reliably gets wrong. Given an accepted bid, it can compute the statutory minimum overbid exactly – 10 percent on the first $10,000 and 5 percent above it – and show the difference against the flat ten percent almost every summary states. On a $600,000 bid that difference is $29,500, which is not a rounding error, and the statute and the arithmetic are set out in full.
That is the shape of an honest tool here: exact where the statute is exact, silent where nothing was published, and loud about which is which.
What this page does not settle
This is a specification for a calculator. Nothing on this page computes anything and no calculator ships with it.
This is a specification. Nothing on this page computes anything, and no calculator ships with it.
The statutory rates it names are the three jurisdictions we read. In every other state the transfer-tax field has no source behind it and the specification leaves it empty.
It does not estimate the cash-offer discount, because we did not read a source that publishes one.
It does not estimate a commission percentage. The statute makes that the court’s determination in a confirmed sale, and a default number here would be a guess wearing a formula.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. § 642(g) — https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section642&num=0&edition=prelim
- Cal. Prob. Code § 10311(a)(1) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=10311.
- Cal. Prob. Code § 8961(a) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=8961.
- Cal. Prob. Code § 8963(a) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=8963.
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911(a) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC§ionNum=11911.
- Fla. Stat. § 201.02(1)(a) — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0200-0299/0201/Sections/0201.02.html
- Wash. Rev. Code § 82.45.060(1)(b)(i) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.45.060
Related: Cash Offer vs Listing an Inherited House · Court Confirmation and the Overbid · the arithmetic when a sibling buys instead · what a loan on the house changes.
General information drawn from the primary statutes and published company pages named above, not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes are amended and company terms change; the figures here are what each source said on the date above, and the section or page is linked so you can check it.