What we verified in “Selling your home: net proceeds, taxes and disclosures”

Statements and where we checked them

The statements with rules, figures or dates, with the exact place in the source and the date we checked them.

1. Under Regulation Z (12 CFR §1026.36(c)(3)), on a loan secured by your home, the lender or servicer must give you an accurate statement of the total balance needed to pay the loan in full as of a specified date, within a reasonable time and never more than seven business days after receiving your written request or that of someone acting for you.

   Sources 1 · 12 CFR §1026.36(c)(3), Payoff statements: 'must provide an accurate statement of the total outstanding balance that would be required to pay the consumer's obligation in full as of a specified date'; 'within a reasonable time, but in no case more than seven business days, after receiving a written request from the consumer or any person acting on behalf of the consumer' · Checked October 31, 2026

2. Under Regulation X (12 CFR §1024.34(b)), when you pay off your loan, the servicer must return whatever is left in your escrow account within 20 days, not counting holidays, Saturdays or Sundays, unless you agree to move it to the escrow account of a new loan with the same lender.

   Sources 2 · 12 CFR §1024.34(b)(1): 'within 20 days (excluding legal public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays) of a borrower's payment of a mortgage loan in full, a servicer shall return to the borrower any amounts remaining in an escrow account'; (b)(2): 'if the borrower agrees, a servicer may credit any amounts remaining in an escrow account' · Checked October 31, 2026

3. Under the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement agreement, filed in court in 2024, its agents must tell sellers and buyers in conspicuous language in the listing agreement that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable; and offers of compensation to buyer brokers and listing broker compensation can no longer be posted on the MLS.

   Sources 3 · Settlement Agreement, Case 4:19-cv-00332-SRB, Doc. 1458-1 (April 19, 2024), ¶58(ii), p. 35: 'prohibit REALTOR® MLS Participants, subscribers, other real estate brokers, other real estate agents, and their sellers from (a) making offers of compensation on the MLS to buyer brokers'; '(b) disclosing on the MLS listing broker compensation or total broker compensation'; ¶58(ix), p. 36–37: 'disclose to prospective sellers and buyers in conspicuous language that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable (a) in their listing agreement' · Checked October 31, 2026

4. Under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §3603(b) and §3604(c)), it is illegal to publish a notice or advertisement about the sale of a home that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin; the law has a limited exemption for a private owner selling a single-family house without a broker, agent or anyone in the business of selling homes, but that exemption never covers discriminatory advertising.

   Sources 4 · 42 U.S.C. §3603(b)(1): 'Nothing in section 3604 of this title (other than subsection (c)) shall apply to— (1) any single-family house sold or rented by an owner'; 'only if such house is sold or rented (A) without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent, or salesman'; '(B) without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of section 3604(c)'; 42 U.S.C. §3604(c): 'any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin' · Checked October 31, 2026

5. According to the EPA, the lead-based paint disclosure rule applies to most housing built before 1978; before the buyer signs the contract, the seller and agent must give the buyer the 'Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home' pamphlet, disclose what they know about lead-based paint or its hazards, provide any reports, include a lead warning statement in the contract and give the buyer 10 days for an inspection or risk assessment, a period that can be changed in writing or waived by the buyer; the seller must keep a signed copy for three years after the sale; and the rule does not apply, among others, to housing built after 1977 or to foreclosure sales.

   Sources 5 · Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards: 'This requirement applies to most pre-1978 private housing'; 'Give buyers and renter a copy of the Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home (PDF) pamphlet'; 'Disclose any known information about the presence of lead-based paint'; 'Provide all available records and reports'; 'Provide a "Lead Warning Statement"'; 'Provide homebuyers a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment'; 'Parties may mutually agree, in writing, to lengthen or shorten'; 'Homebuyers may waive this inspection opportunity'; 'Keep a signed copy of the disclosures for three years after the sale'; 'does not apply to'; 'Foreclosure sales; and Housing built after 1977' · Checked October 31, 2026

6. Under Texas law (Property Code §5.008), a seller of a single-unit home must give the buyer a written notice about the property's condition, which is not a warranty or a substitute for inspections; the seller completes it to the best of their belief and knowledge, and marks anything unknown; it must be delivered by the time the contract binds the buyer, and if it is not, the buyer may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving it; and the law does not apply, among others, to court-ordered or foreclosure sales or to transfers between co-owners or to a spouse or direct relative.

   Sources 6 · Tex. Prop. Code §5.008(a): 'A seller of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit located in this state shall give to the purchaser of the property a written notice'; (b): 'IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ANY INSPECTIONS OR WARRANTIES'; (d): 'completed to the best of seller’s belief and knowledge'; 'If the information required by the notice is unknown to the seller, the seller shall indicate that fact'; (e): 'pursuant to a court order or foreclosure sale'; 'from one co-owner to one or more other co-owners'; 'made to a spouse or to a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity'; (f): 'on or before the effective date of an executory contract'; 'the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice' · Checked October 31, 2026

7. According to IRS Publication 523, to figure your gain you subtract selling expenses from the selling price (that is the amount realized) and then subtract your adjusted basis; selling expenses are the costs directly tied to selling, such as the agent's commission, advertising, legal fees and points or other loan charges you paid that would normally have been the buyer's.

   Sources 7 · Publication 523 (2025), 'Figuring Gain or Loss': 'Selling price − Selling expenses Amount realized − Adjusted basis Gain or loss'; Worksheet 2: 'Determine your selling expenses. These are the costs directly associated with selling your home. a. Any sales commissions (for example, a real estate agent’s sales commission) b. Any advertising fees c. Any legal fees d. Any mortgage points or other loan charges you paid that would normally have been the buyer’s responsibility' · Checked October 31, 2026

8. According to IRS Publication 523, if you qualify for the exclusion, up to $250,000 of your gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly) is tax free; you meet the ownership test if you owned the home at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale (for a married couple filing jointly, only one needs to), and the residence test if you lived there at least 24 months of those 5 years, not necessarily in a row (each spouse must meet it for the full exclusion).

   Sources 7 · Publication 523 (2025): 'If you qualify for an exclusion on your home sale, up to $250,000 ($500,000 if married and filing jointly) of your gain will be tax free'; 'Eligibility Step 2—Ownership': 'If you owned the home for at least 24 months (2 years) out of the last 5 years leading up to the date of sale'; 'only one spouse has to meet the ownership requirement'; 'Eligibility Step 3—Residence': 'at least 24 months of the previous 5 years'; 'doesn't have to be a single block of time'; 'each spouse must meet the residence requirement individually' · Checked October 31, 2026

9. According to IRS Publication 523, you must report the sale if you have gain you cannot fully exclude or if you received a Form 1099-S, even with no taxable gain; and you should generally keep the records documenting your home's basis until 3 years after the due date of your return for the year you sold.

   Sources 7 · Publication 523 (2025), 'Reporting Gain or Loss on Your Home Sale': 'You need to report the gain if ANY of the following is true'; 'don’t qualify to exclude all of the gain'; 'You received a Form 1099-S. If so, you must report the sale on Form 8949 even if you have no taxable gain'; 'What records to keep': 'keep these records until 3 years after the due date for your tax return for the year in which you sold your home' · Checked October 31, 2026

10. According to the IRS, the VITA and TCE programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

    Sources 8 · Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers: 'offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals' · Checked October 31, 2026

11. According to the CFPB, the counseling agencies in its search tool are approved by HUD and offer independent advice, often at little or no cost, on buying a home, renting, defaults, forbearances, foreclosures and credit; you search by ZIP code; and not every agency offers every service.

    Sources 9 · Find a Housing Counselor: 'approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'; 'offer independent advice, often at little or no cost to you'; 'buying a home, renting, defaults, forbearances, foreclosures, and credit issues'; 'Search by ZIP code'; 'Not every housing counselor offers all services' · Checked October 31, 2026