For homeowners who feel stuck
Your payment goes up. Your costs might not.
Moving into a new home at a higher rate is a hard decision, and the payment comparison is usually what ends it. But many homeowners have made the move for far less of an increase than it first appeared. This calculator adds in what that comparison leaves out — debts you may be able to clear with your sale proceeds, and the income tax savings the new purchase can bring. It walks through all of it, one step at a time.
Step 1 of 5 · where you are
The house you’re in now
Start with what you have. The payment here is the whole thing — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — because that’s what actually stops when you sell.
Today
Nothing is saved, sent, or filed. Nothing here pulls your credit.
Principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance — the full amount that leaves your account each month.
The rate you’d be giving up. Used to work out how much of your payment is deductible interest today.
Equity you’re sitting on
$0
before the costs of selling — step two takes those out
This isn’t what you walk away with. Keep going — the next four steps get to the real number.
Step 2 of 5 · the sale
What the sale actually puts in your pocket
Your equity isn’t what you walk away with. The loan gets paid off and the costs of selling come out first. What’s left is the money that does the work in the next three steps.
Sale price, from step one: $0
What comes out
Rough percentages are fine here — your agent will have exact figures.
Title, escrow, transfer taxes, and county recording fees.
Paint, staging, inspection credits — whatever it takes to get it sold.
Estimated net proceeds
$0
what you’d have in hand at closing
Step 3 of 5 · the debts
Debts that disappear at closing
This is the step almost everyone skips. If you’re carrying a card balance or a car loan, those payments come out of the same paycheck as the mortgage — and proceeds from the sale can clear them the day you close. That doesn’t make them free. You’re spending equity to do it, and less money down means a bigger loan. Both sides show up in the final number.
Proceeds available, from step two: $0
What you’d pay off
Add whatever you’d clear at closing — a HELOC, credit cards, a car loan. Only the balance and the monthly payment matter here; the payment is what changes your budget.
Debts to clearClearing cards can move your credit score How much of your available credit you’re using is one of the biggest factors in a FICO score. Paying revolving balances down to near zero can lift a score noticeably, sometimes within a cycle or two — which can matter for the rate on the new loan. Keep the cards open afterward; closing them cuts your available credit and can undo the gain.
Monthly payments that stop
$0
every month, from the day you close
Step 4 of 5 · the new house
What the next house costs each month
Here’s the number that scares people. It’s a real number — we’re not going to talk you out of it. But if you’re 55 or older, the property tax line in it may be far smaller than you expect.
Available for a down payment, from step three: $0
The new loan
Starts at whatever’s left after clearing your debts. Put less down and the payment climbs; that trade is the honest part of step three.
Around 1.1% across much of California once local assessments are added. Mello-Roos districts run higher.
Not what the house is worth — the lower number your county actually taxes, near the top of your annual bill. If you’ve owned for a while it’s well below market value, and that gap is exactly what Prop 19 lets you carry with you.
The state allows a bigger replacement the longer you wait, up to two years. Buy before you sell and the threshold is your sale price exactly; in year one it’s 105% of it; in year two, 110%.
New payment, all in
$0
on a loan of $0
Step 5 of 5 · the tax side
A bigger mortgage means a bigger deduction
More interest and more property tax means a larger itemized deduction than you have today. What matters is the change — you already get a benefit on your current house, so this compares the two rather than counting the new one twice.
Your tax picture
From your annual bill. This is the baseline — you already deduct it, so only the increase counts as new savings. If you ticked the Prop 19 box in step four, this follows your assessed value automatically until you change it.
Most people don’t know this off the top of their head, so it’s estimated from your income and filing status using California rates. It shares a federal cap with property tax, which affects how much of the new tax bill you can actually deduct — so if you have last year’s return handy, type the real figure in and it’ll stop estimating.
You don’t have to wait until April for this A larger deduction can come back either as a bigger refund at filing, or spread across the year by adjusting the withholding on your W-4 so less tax comes out of each paycheck. The second option puts the money in your budget every month instead of once a year — but it needs to be set correctly, so do it with your tax professional rather than guessing.
Added federal benefit, new house vs now
$0
a month — about $0 a year
The result · all five steps together
What moving up actually costs
Now every number below is built from something you entered. Change anything above and this moves with it.
The real monthly difference
$0
a month — the real difference, after everything below
Estimates only · no credit pull · nothing is sent anywhere
The gross increase is honest
Nothing here pretends the payment isn’t bigger. It is, and it will be. The question this answers is a different one: what does that increase actually cost you once the rest of your budget changes with it.
Debt payoff is real money, not a trick
Money that stops going to a card is the same as money that never left. But you’re spending equity to do it, which means a smaller down payment and a larger loan. The calculator charges you for both sides.
The tax benefit is not a smaller payment
It shows up as a refund, or as less withheld from each paycheck if you adjust your W-4. That’s why the cash figure and the after-tax figure are shown separately rather than blended into one number.
Prop 19 is often the biggest line
If you’re 55 or older and have owned for a long time, carrying your assessed value to the new house can be worth more per month than everything else here combined. It’s worth checking the box even if you think you don’t qualify.
This is a planning tool for a conversation, not an approval. Rates move, assessments vary by county, and tax outcomes depend on your full return.
All figures are estimates for illustration and do not constitute an offer, a commitment to lend, or a guarantee of terms. Payment estimates assume a 30-year fixed loan and exclude mortgage insurance, Mello-Roos and other special assessments, and any HOA transfer or capital fees. Net proceeds are approximate and exclude prorations, county transfer taxes that vary by city, and any capital gains tax on the sale of your current home — the federal exclusion has limits and gains above them are taxable. Federal figures use 2026 parameters from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and P.L. 119-21, apply to federal income tax only, and assume the new loan is acquisition debt. Proposition 19 results follow California Revenue and Taxation Code section 69.6 and require that you are 55 or older, severely disabled, or a qualifying disaster victim, that both homes are your principal residence, and that the replacement is purchased or built within two years of the sale; eligibility is determined by your county assessor, not by this calculator. Clearing debt at closing may affect your credit profile and loan qualification. Franklin Direct does not provide tax or legal advice — review any of this with a CPA or tax professional before making a decision.