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How to calculate property sale proceeds and profit

An auditable framework separating sale proceeds, cash, CPF refunds, financing and true costs.

Published 31 January 2022

Updated September 2026. This is an accounting checklist, not tax, financing or investment advice. Rules and costs change.

Separate proceeds from profit

The selling price is not the seller's cash proceeds, and cash proceeds are not the same as economic profit.

  1. Record purchase price and acquisition costs.
  2. Add renovation, maintenance, property tax, insurance and financing interest.
  3. Record the outstanding loan, legal fees, agent fee and applicable taxes at sale.
  4. Calculate CPF principal and accrued-interest refunds separately from cash.
  5. State the holding period, excluded costs and whether opportunity cost is included.

Do not count loan principal repayment as both a cost and lost cash. Use current IRAS, CPF and lender figures plus qualified advice for the exact transaction. Historical appreciation does not promise a future return.