Quantum chemical ab initio calculations for the spin-rotation constants of difluorocarbene (CF2) and dichlorocarbene (CCl2) were carried out using coupled-cluster techniques with sequences of correlation-consistent basis sets. Theoretical best estimates were obtained using extrapolation to the complete basis-set limit and taking into account corrections for core correlation, additional diffuse functions and zero-point vibrational effects. It is demonstrated that such accurate theoretical estimates can be used either to support or to challenge the analysis of the experimental spectra and the reliability of the resulting data. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.