Real Estate Commission Split Calculator
Calculate exactly what your agent and brokerage each take home — 70/30 and 80/20 splits, franchise royalty and referral fees, and annual cap tracking, handled automatically. Plug in a real deal and get the same math and PDF you'd get inside SplitRE.
Deal details
Commission plan
Your Brokerage · Demo Deal
123 Main St
Agent Name · August 8, 2026
Commission Breakdown
| Broker cut (30%) | -$3,423.75 |
| Agent gross | $7,988.75 |
| E&O Insurance Fee | -$150.00 |
| Transaction / Compliance Fee | -$395.00 |
| Agent Net Payout | $7,443.75 |
| Broker Cut | $3,423.75 |
You just did this math by hand. SplitRE does it automatically — every deal, every agent, all year — and tracks each agent's cap for you.
Start your free 14-day trial → No credit card requiredCalculated accurately via SplitRE.app. This live demo doesn't save anything unless you download or email yourself a copy.
How real estate commission splits are calculated
Every commission runs through three stages. First, any off-the-top deductions come out of the gross commission — franchise royalty fees, referral fees, or flat fees — leaving what we call the splittable amount. Second, the agent/broker split is applied to that splittable amount, based on the agreed percentage, unless the agent has hit their annual cap, in which case the split changes automatically (see below). Third, agent-side deductions come out of the agent's remaining share — E&O insurance, transaction or compliance fees, desk fees, or other one-off adjustments — to arrive at the agent's final net payout.
What happens when an agent hits their cap
Most brokerages cap how much of their cut they collect from any one agent in a calendar year. Once an agent crosses that cap, the brokerage's share on every future deal that year usually drops to $0 (or a small flat post-cap fee), and the agent keeps the rest.
The hard part is the deal that crosses the cap mid-transaction. Say an agent is on a 70/30 split with an $18,000 annual cap, and has already generated $17,000 of that cap so far this year. A new deal would normally send $2,000 to the brokerage — but only $1,000 of cap room is left. The correct calculation splits that one deal: the brokerage collects the remaining $1,000, and the agent gets the rest of their share at 100%, not 70%. Miss this, and either the brokerage overcollects past the agent's contractual cap, or the agent gets shorted — both are the kind of error that erodes trust between a broker and their top producers. This calculator (and the full SplitRE app) handles that crossing calculation automatically, every time.
Common commission split examples
70/30 split, no franchise
- Sale price
- $400,000
- Commission (3%)
- $12,000
- Broker cut (30%)
- $3,600
- Agent gross (70%)
- $8,400
- E&O + transaction fee
- −$545
- Agent net payout
- $7,855
80/20 split, 6% franchise fee
- Sale price
- $500,000
- Commission (3%)
- $15,000
- Franchise royalty (6%)
- −$900
- Broker cut (20%)
- $2,820
- Agent gross (80%)
- $11,280
- E&O + transaction fee
- −$545
- Agent net payout
- $10,735
Both examples assume a $150 E&O fee and a $395 transaction fee, and neither agent has hit their annual cap yet — plug your own numbers into the calculator above to see how a cap changes the math.
Frequently asked questions
What is a real estate commission split?
A commission split is how a real estate brokerage divides the commission from a sale between itself and the agent who closed it. The brokerage collects the full commission from the transaction, then pays the agent their agreed share — commonly expressed as a ratio like 70/30 or 80/20, with the agent's number listed first.
How do I calculate a real estate agent's commission?
Multiply the sale price by the commission percentage to get the gross commission (GCI). Subtract any off-the-top fees — franchise royalty, referral, or relocation fees — to get the splittable amount. Apply the agent/broker split percentage to that amount, then subtract the agent's own fees (E&O, transaction fee) to arrive at their net payout. This calculator does all four steps automatically and shows each line item.
What is a typical real estate commission split?
Most independent brokerages use a percentage split like 70/30 or 80/20, where the agent keeps the larger share and the brokerage keeps the rest, up to any annual cap the agent has negotiated. Some brokerages use tiered splits that increase as an agent's production grows, or flat per-transaction fees instead of a percentage.
What happens when an agent hits their cap mid-deal?
When a deal would push the brokerage's cut past an agent's remaining cap room for the year, only the amount up to the cap goes to the brokerage — the rest of that deal goes to the agent at 100%. Getting this crossing calculation right is one of the most common places manual spreadsheets get commission math wrong.
Do referral fees come off before or after the commission split?
Referral fees are typically calculated on the gross commission and subtracted before the agent/broker split is applied, not deducted from the agent's share afterward. Getting this order wrong is a common source of underpayment disputes.
Is this the same calculation the real SplitRE app uses?
Yes. This calculator runs the same three-stage commission engine — deductions off the top, the agent/broker split with cap tracking, then agent-side fees like E&O — that SplitRE runs automatically on every confirmed deal.
Does this calculator save my data?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is stored unless you choose to email yourself a copy or download the PDF, which asks for your name and email only to deliver that file.
What's the difference between a franchise royalty fee and a broker cut?
A franchise royalty fee (common at brands like Keller Williams or RE/MAX) is a percentage that goes to the parent franchisor, off the top, before the local brokerage and agent split what's left. A broker cut is the local brokerage's own share of that remaining amount, per its commission plan with the agent. Independent brokerages typically only have the broker cut, with no franchise fee layer.