Commission Calculator
Use this commission calculator to find what a sale pays you. Enter the sale amount and a flat rate, or set up to three tiers that pay a higher rate on each slice of sales. Then split the commission with your brokerage or a co-agent, add base salary, subtract a draw, track your quota and estimate federal income tax withholding on the commission.
Updated
Results
- Effective commission rateGross commission ÷ sale
- Brokerage or house share
- Co-agent share
- Federal income tax withholding22%, or 37% above $1 million; estimate
- Your commission after withholding
- Total pay (base + commission)Before taxes
- Commission due after drawShown when you enter a draw
- Draw not covered by commission
- Quota attainmentShown when you enter a quota
| Line | Base | Rate | Amount |
|---|
Results are estimates. See the methodology below.
How to use the calculator
- Sale amount: the sale price, or your total sales for the pay period.
- Structure: Flat applies one rate to the whole sale. Tiered asks for two limits and three rates.
- Split (optional): the brokerage or house share and the co-agent share, each as a percentage of the gross commission. What is left is yours.
- Base pay (optional): salary for the same period, added to your commission in Total pay.
- Withholding (optional): tick the box to estimate federal income tax withheld from the commission.
- Draw and quota (advanced): a draw is an advance paid against future commission; a quota is your sales target. Their results appear only when you fill them in.
How commission is calculated
Flat: commission = sale × rate.
Tiered works like tax brackets: each slice of the sale earns its own rate. Sales up to the tier 1 limit earn rate 1, sales between the two limits earn rate 2, and only sales above the tier 2 limit earn rate 3. Reaching a higher tier never lowers what you earned on the slices below it. The effective rate is total commission ÷ sale.
Split: both shares are taken from the gross commission. If your brokerage takes a share of your side after a co-agent split, convert it first: 30% of a 50% side is 15% of the gross.
Draw: commission due after draw = your commission − draw, not below zero. If the draw is larger, the gap is shown as a shortfall. Whether you must pay it back (a recoverable draw) or not (non-recoverable) depends on your pay plan; the calculator does not track carry-overs.
Withholding: IRS Publication 15 counts commissions as wages. For supplemental wages, the 2026 federal withholding rate is 22%, and 37% on supplemental wages over $1 million in the calendar year. The calculator applies those rates to your commission, treating it as your supplemental wages for the year. Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) apply to commissions too but are not deducted here, and neither is state tax.
Worked examples
1. Flat rate
A $50,000 sale at 8% pays $4,000.
2. Tiered plan
The plan pays 5% up to $20,000, 8% from $20,000 to $40,000 and 10% above $40,000. On $50,000 of sales:
| Slice | Rate | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| First $20,000 | 5% | $1,000 |
| Next $20,000 | 8% | $1,600 |
| Last $10,000 | 10% | $1,000 |
| Total | 7.20% effective | $3,600 |
Paying 10% on the whole sale would give $5,000, so read your plan carefully. On a $30,000 month the same plan pays $1,800, an effective 6.00%.
3. Real estate split
Suppose a listing agreement sets 5% on a $400,000 home, half goes to the buyer's agent and your brokerage keeps 30% of your half. Enter a co-agent share of 50% and a brokerage share of 15%. The gross commission is $20,000: $10,000 to the co-agent, $3,000 to the brokerage and $7,000 to you. These rates are only an illustration.
4. Salary, draw and quota
Base pay is $3,000, you sell $50,000 at 8% and your quota is $60,000. Your commission is $4,000 and quota attainment 83.3%. A $5,000 draw leaves nothing due and a $1,000 shortfall; with a $2,500 draw, $1,500 is still due. Total pay is $7,000 before taxes. With withholding ticked, $880 is withheld from the commission, leaving $3,120.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate commission?
Multiply the sale by the commission rate: $50,000 × 8% = $4,000. For a tiered plan, apply each rate only to the part of the sale in its tier and add the pieces.
What is the difference between tiered and flat commission?
A flat plan pays one rate on every dollar. A tiered plan raises the rate as sales grow; in a marginal plan like the one modeled here, each higher rate applies only to sales above its threshold. Some plans instead pay the top rate on the whole amount once a target is hit; for those, use Flat with the rate that applies.
What is a draw against commission?
It is an advance paid before commissions are earned, then subtracted from the commissions when they come in. With a recoverable draw, any shortfall is usually owed back or carried into the next period; with a non-recoverable draw it is not. Check your written pay plan.
How much tax is taken out of a commission check?
Commissions are wages, and employers can withhold federal income tax on supplemental wages at a flat 22%, or 37% on supplemental wages over $1 million for the year. In 2026, Social Security is 6.2% up to a wage base of $184,500 and Medicare is 1.45%, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare on wages over $200,000. Withholding is not your final tax; that is settled on your return.
Are real estate commissions fixed?
No. Practice changes that followed NAR's settlement took effect on August 17, 2024: offers of compensation are no longer made on the MLS, and written agreements with buyers must state that broker fees are not set by law and are fully negotiable.
Sources
This calculator gives estimates for planning only and is not tax or legal advice. Your pay plan, listing agreement and payroll records determine what you are actually paid.