A commission check is never the number on the listing agreement. By the time a referral fee, your brokerage split, a franchise fee, a team split and the per-deal fees come out, most agents keep a good deal less than the headline rate suggests. This real estate commission calculator, built for agents, walks the money from the sale price down to what reaches your account, and it does two things most calculators skip: it applies your brokerage’s annual cap, and it shows a buyer’s agent who pays them under the rules that took effect on August 17, 2024.
The numbers already in the boxes are an example deal. Replace them with yours.
Agent commission take-home calculator
Change any number. Results update as you type.
Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. Brokerages apply splits in different orders; this follows the order explained below.
Prefer a spreadsheet? Download the free Excel version of this calculator. It uses the same formulas, opens in Google Sheets too, and keeps working offline.
About this tool: free to use, with no sign-up and no payment. Built and maintained by jp, who runs Realty AI Desk. The formulas were last checked in October 2026. If you spot an error, tell us through the contact page.
How the calculator gets from gross to take-home
Brokerages do not all deduct in the same order, which is why two agents on the same split can take home different amounts from the same deal. This calculator uses the order below. If your independent contractor agreement does it differently, the result will be close but not exact.
- Gross commission. The sale price times your rate, or your flat fee if you charge one.
- Referral fee. Paid first, as a percentage of the gross, to the agent who sent you the client.
- Franchise or royalty fee. Calculated on the gross. Many franchise brokerages cap this fee during the year; if yours does and you have hit it, enter 0.
- Brokerage split. Your split applies to what is left after the referral. If your brokerage has an annual cap, the brokerage only takes what remains of it.
- Team split. Applied to what you have left after the brokerage.
- Per-transaction fees. Flat amounts such as transaction, errors and omissions, or compliance fees.
What remains is your net commission before taxes. The last line, the tax set-aside, only uses the percentage you enter. It is there so you see a realistic spending figure, not to estimate what you will owe.
A worked example
Take a $450,000 sale with a 2.5% rate on your side. The gross commission is $11,250. On a 70/30 split, the brokerage’s share is $3,375. Take off $450 in transaction fees and you net $7,425, or 66% of the gross. With a 25% set-aside for taxes, $5,568.75 is left to spend.
In the example you have already paid $9,000 toward a $16,000 cap. The $3,375 from this deal fits under it, so the full split applies, and $3,625 of the cap is still left for the year.
What a brokerage cap does to your year
A cap is the most you pay your brokerage in company dollar over a year. Once you reach it, your split on later deals moves to 100%, though transaction fees usually still apply. That makes the same sale worth very different amounts depending on when in your year it closes.
Run the example again with $14,500 already paid toward the $16,000 cap. The brokerage would normally take $3,375, but only $1,500 of the cap is left, so it takes $1,500. Your net rises from $7,425 to $9,300, which is 82.7% of the gross instead of 66%. Every deal after that one pays at the capped rate until your cap year resets.
That is why the calculator asks for what you have already paid this year. A calculator that ignores the cap will understate what late-year deals are worth to you.
Buyer’s agents: who pays you since August 2024
The practice changes from the National Association of REALTORS® settlement took effect on August 17, 2024. Two of them change how a buyer’s agent should think about their commission. Agents working with an MLS must have a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home, and that agreement has to state the compensation in objective terms: a percentage, a flat fee or an hourly rate. It must also include a term that stops the agent from receiving more than that amount from any source. Offers of compensation are no longer allowed on the MLS, although sellers can still offer compensation off the MLS.
The second half of the calculator handles this. Enter what your buyer agreement says and what the seller has agreed to contribute toward your pay.
- Seller contributes less than your agreement. With 2.5% agreed on $450,000 and a seller contributing 2%, the seller pays $9,000 and your buyer owes the remaining $2,250, unless you negotiate a different outcome.
- Seller offers more than your agreement. If the seller offers 3%, you still receive $11,250. The extra $2,250 cannot be paid to you, because your buyer agreement caps what you can receive.
The shortfall line is the one to look at before you write an offer. It is the amount your buyer has to be ready to cover, and it is better discussed at the buyer consultation than at the closing table.
What to check in your own agreement
- Whether fees come out before or after the split. Some brokerages take transaction fees off the gross, which changes the result slightly.
- Whether the franchise fee counts toward your cap. At some brokerages it does, at others it is separate and has its own cap.
- When your cap year resets. It is often your anniversary date with the brokerage rather than January 1.
- How team splits interact with the cap. On some teams the team leader’s cap, not yours, is what counts.
A note on taxes
The IRS treats licensed real estate agents as self-employed for federal tax purposes when substantially all of their pay is tied to sales rather than hours worked, and their services are performed under a written contract saying they will not be treated as employees. In practice that usually means no tax is withheld from a commission check, so the set-aside matters. The right percentage depends on your income, your state and your deductions, which is a conversation for your tax preparer, not a calculator.
Real estate commission calculator FAQ
Are commission rates set by law?
No. The written buyer agreements required since August 2024 must say that broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law. The same is true on the listing side.
Does this work for a flat-fee commission?
Yes. Enter the flat amount in the flat fee box and it replaces the rate. Every deduction after that works the same way.
Why is my take-home so much lower than my rate?
Because the rate is charged on the sale price, but every deduction comes out of your share of it. A 2.5% rate on a 70/30 split with modest fees leaves about two-thirds of the gross before taxes, as the worked example shows.
Can a seller still pay the buyer’s agent?
Yes. Offers of compensation can no longer appear on the MLS, but sellers can still offer compensation off the MLS, and the parties can negotiate it in the offer. What changed is that the buyer’s agent cannot receive more than the buyer agreement allows.
If you use this at listing appointments, the article on AI prompts for the listing presentation includes one for the commission question.
Sources
- National Association of REALTORS®, What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers
- Internal Revenue Service, Statutory nonemployees
Estimates only. This calculator is not legal, tax or financial advice, and commission rates and splits are always negotiable.