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Enter a sale price, commission rate, and your splits to see exactly what lands in your pocket after the buyer-side split and your broker's cut.
Buyer's side gets the remaining 50%.
Your broker keeps the remaining 20%.
Total commission
$22,000
Your side's commission
$11,000
Buyer side's commission
$11,000
Your broker's cut
$2,200
Your take-home after broker split
$8,800
Total commission on a home sale is usually 5-6% of the sale price, agreed to upfront in the listing agreement. That amount comes out of the seller's proceeds at closing and is split between the two sides of the deal: the listing agent's side and the buyer agent's side. A common split is 50/50, but it's negotiated on a per-listing basis and can shift based on market conditions, property price, or how much work each side expects to do.
Each side's share doesn't go straight to the agent. It first passes through their brokerage, which takes a cut based on the agent's commission plan — new agents often split 50/50 with their broker, while established agents on a high-split or cap plan might keep 80-90% or more. That's two splits stacked on top of each other, which is why the number on the listing agreement is usually much bigger than what any individual agent takes home.
Before August 2024, listing agreements commonly baked in an offer of compensation to the buyer's agent, published through the MLS. The NAR settlement ended that practice. Buyer agent compensation is now negotiated separately, often through a buyer representation agreement signed before showings begin, and it's no longer required to appear on the MLS.
In practice, sellers can still choose to offer buyer-agent compensation as a concession to attract offers, but it's a separate negotiation rather than an automatic default. Rates also vary regionally — competitive, fast-moving markets sometimes see rates trend lower, while markets with more complex transactions can run higher. None of this is fixed; it's worth asking directly what a brokerage or agent charges before signing anything.
Multiply the home's sale price by the total commission rate (typically 5-6%) to get the total commission. That amount is then split between the listing agent's side and the buyer agent's side, and each agent splits their share again with their broker.
The listing and buyer sides often split the total commission 50/50, though this is negotiable and varies by market. Within each side, the agent typically keeps 70-90% and the brokerage keeps the rest, depending on the agent's experience and the brokerage's commission plan.
Historically the seller paid the full commission out of sale proceeds, which funded both the listing and buyer agents. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer agent compensation is negotiated separately and is no longer automatically offered through the MLS, so buyers may pay their agent directly in some transactions.
Yes. Commission rates have always been negotiable, and post-settlement rules make that more explicit. Rates vary by market, property price, and the services included, so 5-6% total is a common range, not a fixed number.
Less than the headline number. An agent's take-home is their side's commission (half of the total, typically) multiplied by their split with their broker (often 70-90%). On a $400,000 sale at 5.5% total commission with a 50/50 side split and an 80% agent split, the agent keeps about $8,800.
Also try the seller net sheet calculator, or see more free tools.
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