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Real Estate License Guide

Interactive tool · 2026

Real Estate Agent Take-Home Pay Calculator

Advertised commission splits — 70/30, 80/20, 100% with a cap — hide what an agent actually keeps. Caps, per-transaction fees, monthly desk fees, dues, marketing, and self-employment tax all change the answer, and your production level decides which structure wins. Enter your numbers below to see your real take-home, then compare two brokerage offers side by side.

Your take-home

Your production

Near the national median — set to your market.

Brokerage split

Fees & costs

Self-employment + federal + state estimate.

Estimated take-home

$48,750

46.4% keep rate · $4,875 per closing

GCI$105,000Take-home$48,750
Gross Commission Income (GCI)
10 sides × $420,000 × 2.50%
$105,000
−Brokerage cut
30% of GCI
−$31,500
−Transaction fees
$300 × 10
−$3,000
−Fixed business costs
Desk $600 + dues $1,500 + E&O $400 + marketing $3,000
−$5,500
Net business profit (pre-tax)
$65,000
−Estimated taxes
25% of net profit
−$16,250
Estimated take-home
$48,750

Estimates for planning only. Tax situations vary widely (entity choice, deductions, retirement contributions, state rules). This is not tax or financial advice — consult a CPA before making career or entity decisions.

Compare two brokerage offers

Uses your production numbers above (price, sides, rate, dues, E&O, marketing, tax). Change each offer's split, cap, monthly, and per-transaction fee — the winner and the crossover point in sides-per-year update live.

Offer A

Estimated take-home

$48,750

46.4% keep · $4,875/closing · brokerage $31,500

Offer B

Wins at this level

Estimated take-home

$60,159

57.3% keep · $6,016/closing · brokerage $16,000 (cap)

At 10 sides/yr, Offer B nets $11,409 more per year.

Crossover point: the winner flips at 2 sides/year. Below that, one offer wins; at or above it, the other does.

How to read a brokerage offer

The advertised split is the smallest number. A "70/30 with no cap" and a "100% with a $16,000 cap and $199 monthly + $150 per file" can produce nearly identical take-home at 10 sides, then diverge sharply at 20. Splits only compare cleanly at the same production level.

Every fee is a split. A $300 per-transaction fee on a $10,000 commission is another 3% — on top of your split. A $99 monthly desk fee is $1,188/year you owe whether you close or not. Include them in the split math before comparing.

Caps favor production. Capped models (common at cloud brokerages) reward the agents who blow past the cap and punish agents who don't reach it. Use the crossover tool above with your realistic sides count — not the count you hope to hit.

Ask about hidden fees. Technology fees, franchise fees, E&O add-ons, risk-management fees, and per-file compliance fees are commonly stacked on top of the advertised split. Ask for a written schedule and plug the totals into the calculator.

Assumptions & math

  • GCI = sale price × sides × commission rate per side. Each "side" represents one paid commission (listing or buyer), not both sides of a deal.
  • Brokerage cut = GCI × (1 − your split). When an annual cap is set, the brokerage's take is capped and additional sides flow to you at 100%.
  • Fixed costs = monthly desk fee × 12 + annual dues + E&O + marketing. These are owed regardless of production.
  • Taxes apply to net business profit only (not GCI), and only when profit is positive. Real returns depend on entity structure (Schedule C vs. S-corp), deductions, retirement contributions, and state law.
  • Crossover point = smallest sides count between 1 and 50 where the winning offer flips.

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