Start from the sale price, never the list price
Commission is computed on the sale price, not on the list price and not on the seller's net. A 6% commission on a $350,000 sale is $350,000 × 0.06 = $21,000. Applying 6% to a $365,000 list price gives $21,900,, the classic error when the exam hands you both numbers.
Subtract every debit, then check for the two forgotten ones
From the sale price subtract the loan payoff (unpaid principal plus interest accrued to the payoff date, since interest is paid in arrears), the commission, seller-paid closing costs, seller credits, the Georgia transfer tax, and the seller's share of unpaid prorated items.
Worked example: $350,000 sale, 6% commission, $210,000 payoff, $1,200 other seller costs, June 30 closing, $3,650 unpaid annual taxes. Commission $21,000. Transfer tax = $1.00 on the first $1,000 plus 3,490 × $0.10 = $350.00. Tax proration = $3,650 ÷ 365 = $10.00/day × 181 days (Jan 1–Jun 30) = $1,810 debited to the seller. Net = $350,000 − $21,000 − $210,000 − $1,200 − $350 − $1,810 = $115,640. The transfer tax and the tax proration are the two items candidates drop.
Net-to-seller runs backwards: divide, never multiply
To find the price that produces a target net, add the net and the fixed costs, then divide by (1 − commission rate). For a $200,000 net, $3,000 of costs and a $150,000 payoff at 6%: ($200,000 + $3,000 + $150,000) ÷ 0.94 = $375,531.91. Multiplying $353,000 by 1.06 gives $374,180.00 and is wrong; dividing by 1.06 gives $333,018.87 and is the classic reversal.
Georgia rule: nonresident withholding
On a Georgia sale by a nonresident seller with no gain affidavit, the buyer withholds 3% of the purchase price — $400,000 × 0.03 = $12,000 — and remits it on Form G-2RP by the last day of the month following the month of closing. Withholding on gain instead applies only when the seller furnishes an IT-AFF2. Sales at or under $20,000 are exempt; a price well above that is not.