{
  "id": "divorce-buyout",
  "version": "8056e5c1c9f6",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Divorce Buyout Calculator",
  "question": "How much is my divorce buyout?",
  "summary": "Works out the equity in a shared home, the buyout owed to the spouse who leaves, and the new mortgage and monthly payment for the spouse who keeps the home.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "mortgage-and-real-estate",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/divorce-buyout-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/divorce-buyout-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "equity = value − mortgage balance − value × selling costs %; buyout = equity × share %; new mortgage = balance + buyout (+ closing costs if added); payment = L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), r = rate ÷ 1200, n = years × 12.",
  "assumptions": [
    "The equity is split by the share you type; your agreement or court order decides the real split.",
    "The spouse who stays refinances once to pay off the mortgage and pay the buyout in cash.",
    "Closing costs are paid in cash unless added to the loan. Taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance are not included.",
    "Property transferred between spouses incident to divorce is generally not taxed (IRS Publication 504); the calculator counts no taxes."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "value": {
        "title": "Home value",
        "description": "What the home is worth now, for example from an appraisal.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 1000,
        "maximum": 1000000000
      },
      "owed": {
        "title": "Mortgage balance",
        "description": "What is still owed on all mortgages and home equity loans on the home.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000
      },
      "share": {
        "title": "Leaving spouse’s share of the equity",
        "description": "The part of the equity the spouse who leaves receives, often 50% (set by your agreement or court).",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 100
      },
      "sell": {
        "title": "Selling costs to deduct",
        "description": "Some agreements take the costs of a notional sale (agent fees and closing costs) off the value first. Leave 0 if yours does not.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 20
      },
      "rate": {
        "title": "New mortgage rate",
        "description": "The fixed yearly rate on the loan that pays off the mortgage and the buyout.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 30
      },
      "years": {
        "title": "New mortgage term (years)",
        "description": "The length of the new mortgage, for example 15 or 30 years.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 1,
        "maximum": 40
      },
      "costs": {
        "title": "Closing costs",
        "description": "The costs of the new mortgage.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 10000000
      },
      "roll": {
        "title": "Pay the closing costs",
        "description": "Pay the closing costs in cash, or add them to the new mortgage.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "cash",
          "loan"
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "buyout": {
      "label": "Buyout amount",
      "description": "Equity × the leaving spouse’s share.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "equity": {
      "label": "Equity",
      "description": "Home value − mortgage balance − selling costs.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "sellCosts": {
      "label": "Selling costs deducted",
      "description": "Home value × selling cost percent.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "kept": {
      "label": "Equity you keep",
      "description": "Equity − buyout.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "mortgage": {
      "label": "Mortgage paid off",
      "description": "The mortgage balance the new loan pays off.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "loan": {
      "label": "New mortgage",
      "description": "Mortgage balance + buyout, plus closing costs when added to the loan.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "ltv": {
      "label": "Loan-to-value",
      "description": "New mortgage ÷ home value. Lenders set a maximum for a refinance that takes cash out.",
      "format": "percent"
    },
    "payment": {
      "label": "New monthly payment",
      "description": "Principal and interest on the new mortgage: L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n).",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "interest": {
      "label": "Interest on the new mortgage",
      "description": "Payment × months − new mortgage.",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "value": 450000,
      "owed": 250000,
      "share": 50,
      "sell": 0,
      "rate": 6.5,
      "years": 30,
      "costs": 0,
      "roll": "cash"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "buyout": 100000,
      "equity": 200000,
      "sellCosts": 0,
      "kept": 100000,
      "mortgage": 250000,
      "loan": 350000,
      "ltv": 77.77777777777777,
      "payment": 2212.238082225373,
      "interest": 446405.7096011343
    },
    "text": "The buyout is $100,000.00; the new mortgage of $350,000.00 costs $2,212.24 a month."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "value": 450000,
        "owed": 250000,
        "share": 50,
        "sell": 0,
        "rate": 6.5,
        "years": 30,
        "costs": 0,
        "roll": "cash"
      },
      "expect": {
        "equity": 200000,
        "buyout": 100000,
        "loan": 350000,
        "payment": 2212.2380822253785,
        "interest": 446405.7096011364
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a home equity loan? (equity is the amount the property is worth minus any existing mortgage), https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-home-equity-loan-en-106/ (retrieved 2026-10-05)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "value": 500000,
        "owed": 300000,
        "share": 50,
        "sell": 6,
        "rate": 6,
        "years": 30,
        "costs": 8000,
        "roll": "loan"
      },
      "expect": {
        "sellCosts": 30000,
        "equity": 170000,
        "buyout": 85000,
        "loan": 393000,
        "ltv": 78.6,
        "payment": 2356.2335638503346
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a home equity loan? (equity is the amount the property is worth minus any existing mortgage), https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-home-equity-loan-en-106/ (retrieved 2026-10-05); Internal Revenue Service, Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals: Property Settlements, Transfer Between Spouses (property transferred incident to divorce is generally not subject to gain or loss), https://www.irs.gov/publications/p504 (retrieved 2026-10-05)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "value": 300000,
        "owed": 0,
        "share": 40,
        "sell": 0,
        "rate": 0,
        "years": 10,
        "costs": 0,
        "roll": "cash"
      },
      "expect": {
        "equity": 300000,
        "buyout": 120000,
        "loan": 120000,
        "payment": 1000,
        "ltv": 40
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 300,000 × 40% = 120,000; 120,000 ÷ 120 months"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a home equity loan? https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-home-equity-loan-en-106/ (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "Internal Revenue Service, Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals: Property Settlements. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p504 (retrieved 2026-10-05)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "refinance",
    "cash-out-refinance",
    "mortgage",
    "home-equity-loan"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}