Commission Calculator for Realtors

How realtor commissions work

The commission on a home sale has always been negotiable, and since the 2024 NAR settlement each side's compensation is negotiated separately: the seller agrees on a rate with the listing agent, and buyers now sign agreements that spell out what their own agent earns. In practice, most agents still earn somewhere between 2% and 3% of the sale price for their side of the transaction.

But the side commission is not your paycheck. It flows through your brokerage first:

• Brokerage split — new agents often start at 50/50 or 60/40; experienced agents negotiate 80/20, 90/10, or a 100% model with monthly desk fees instead.
• Caps — some brokerages (Keller Williams is the classic example) cap what you pay them per year; after you hit the cap, you keep 100%.
• Fees — transaction fees ($300–$700 per closing is common), franchise royalties (often 6% up to a cap), E&O insurance, and MLS dues.
• Team splits — if you're on a team, the team lead typically takes another cut after the brokerage split.

Worked example

$450,000 sale, 3% for your side, 80/20 split, $495 transaction fee: the side commission is $13,500, your 80% is $10,800, minus the fee leaves $10,305 pre-tax. Withholding at the 22% federal supplemental rate plus FICA takes that closer to $7,200 in your pocket — worth knowing before you spend it. The tax calculator breaks that part down.

Tracking closings, not just calculating them

The calculation is easy once; the hard part is a pipeline of closings, each with different rates, splits, and closing dates. The Controlla app logs each deal and shows what you'll actually receive and when, so month-end isn't a spreadsheet session.