Does excise tax count as expense for a home seller?

[Patrice]

For the seller, when a home is sold the excise tax is used in the reduction of the basis on the sale.  The excise tax paid cannot be deducted from ordinary income but is an expense of the sale that reduces the amount realized.

Additionally, if you have enough gain to report the sale, you would reduce your total proceeds listed on the 1099-S by the amount of tax that you paid.

[Edited 2/7/2016 | 8:00pm]