How do real estate agents get paid? Commission splits, caps and fees, explained.
Real estate agents in Florida are paid from the commission on a closed sale — and only then. The commission goes to the broker, the broker splits it with the agent under a written agreement, and the fees come out before or after that split depending on the brokerage. This page follows one commission from the closing table to the agent’s account, defines every term a recruiter will use, and shows which lines actually decide what you keep.
Updated October 2026
How does a commission reach the agent?
Start at the closing. The seller’s listing agreement sets a commission, negotiated per listing, and since the August 2024 rule changes the buyer’s side is set separately in the buyer-representation agreement the buyer signed before touring. At closing the title company pays each side’s commission to the broker of record — never to the agent directly. Florida law defines the broker as the person who sells, buys, rents or negotiates real property for another for compensation, and a sales associate may only do that work under a registered broker.
The broker then pays the agent under the independent-contractor agreement: the split, minus whatever fees that agreement lists. On a rental the chain is the same — the landlord or tenant pays the broker, the broker pays the agent. That is why the agreement, not the split percentage, is the document to read.
- Listing agreement or buyer-representation agreement sets the commission for that side.
- Closing: the title company disburses each side’s commission to the broker of record.
- The broker applies the independent-contractor agreement: split, cap status, fees.
- The agent is paid — typically within days of closing, on the schedule the agreement states.
““Broker” means a person who, for another, and for a compensation or valuable consideration directly or indirectly paid or promised, expressly or impliedly, or with an intent to collect or receive a compensation or valuable consideration therefor, appraises, auctions, sells, exchanges, buys, rents, or offers, attempts or agrees to appraise, auction, or negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, or rental of business enterprises or business opportunities or any real property or any interest in or concerning the same”
What is a commission split?
The split is the percentage of each commission the agent keeps and the percentage the brokerage keeps. A 70/30 split means the agent keeps 70. It is the number every recruiter leads with because it is the easiest to compare, and it is the least informative on its own: a 70/30 split with no fees can pay an agent more than a 90/10 split with a monthly fee, a transaction fee and an E&O charge, depending on how many deals close.
Splits are usually tiered — a higher agent share after a production threshold — and they reset each anniversary year. Ask which date the year runs from and whether pending deals count toward the threshold.
What is a cap?
A cap is the maximum the brokerage will take from an agent in a year. Once the brokerage’s share of your commissions reaches the cap, you keep 100% of the split for the rest of that year, often with a per-transaction fee still applied. Cap models suit agents who close a lot; below the cap they behave exactly like a split. Ask whether the cap is per agent or per team, and what happens to it if you join mid-year.
What fees sit outside the split?
Every model has fees the split does not show: a monthly or desk fee, paid whether you close or not; a transaction fee per closing; errors-and-omissions insurance, charged per deal or per year; technology or CRM fees; franchise fees at national brands; and association and MLS dues, which are paid to MIAMI REALTORS® and the MLS, not the brokerage. The table lays out the four common models and where the money goes in each.
| Model | What you pay | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional split | A percentage of every commission, all year; few or no fixed fees | New agents with uneven volume; agents who want no fixed monthly cost |
| Cap model | A split until the brokerage’s share hits the annual cap, then 100% minus a transaction fee | Producing agents who will reach the cap |
| 100% commission + fees | Keep the whole commission; pay a monthly fee, a per-transaction fee and E&O | Established agents with steady closings; expensive in a slow year |
| Team split | A team share on top of the brokerage split, in exchange for team leads | Agents who want leads handed to them and accept the lower share |
| ClearPath | discussed in your first call | New, part-time, bilingual and switching agents — terms in writing before you sign |
Association and MLS dues are paid to MIAMI REALTORS® and the MLS in every model. The ClearPath row is confirmed in writing by the broker on your first call; no figure is published here before that.
What does one closing look like in dollars?
An illustration, not ClearPath’s terms: a $400,000 sale where the buyer’s side of the commission is 2.5% pays $10,000 to the buyer’s broker. Under a 70/30 split the agent’s share is $7,000. A $395 transaction fee and a $150 E&O charge bring it to $6,455. If that agent also pays a $100 monthly fee, the year’s twelve payments come out of the same closings — $1,200 at one closing a year, $100 per deal at twelve. That last sentence is the whole argument for reading the fee schedule before the split.
Run the same arithmetic on any brokerage’s terms at the number of closings you expect in year one, not the number the recruiter expects.
What does ClearPath offer?
The broker walks through every line of the independent-contractor agreement on your first call, and the agreement is sent before you sign anything. What is not in writing from the broker is not on this page — the cells below say so rather than guess. What is confirmed: the CRM, the automated follow-up and your page on this site are included, not billed as a technology fee.
Everything on this side of the site
The rest of what we publish for agents — terms, training, the licence route, and the guides we wrote because people kept asking.
- Best brokerage for new agents in Miami
- How real estate agents get paid: splits, caps and fees You are here
- Real estate brokerages for new agents
- Real estate CRM, website and follow-up tools
- Real estate coaching and mentorship
- Part-time real estate agent in Florida
- Real estate referral agent in Florida
Questions about how agents are paid
How do realtors get paid?
From the commission on a closed sale or lease, paid by the title company (or landlord) to the broker of record and then split with the agent under the independent-contractor agreement. Agents are not salaried; if nothing closes, nothing is paid.
What’s the commission for a real estate agent?
There is no set rate in Florida. The listing side is negotiated in the listing agreement and the buyer side in the buyer-representation agreement, and each side is paid to its broker. The agent’s share of that is the split in the agent’s own agreement with the brokerage.
How much do real estate agents make per sale?
The side’s commission times the agent’s split, minus the fees in the agreement. In the illustration on this page a $400,000 sale at 2.5% and a 70/30 split leaves the agent $7,000 before a transaction fee and E&O. Your number depends on the price band you work and your terms.
Who pays realtor fees?
The party who agreed to in writing: the seller pays the listing broker under the listing agreement, and the buyer’s broker is paid either by the buyer under the buyer-representation agreement or by a seller concession negotiated in the contract. Since August 2024 the buyer side is no longer set through the MLS.
How do real estate agents get paid for rentals?
The same way as a sale: the landlord or tenant pays the fee to the broker, and the broker pays the agent under the same agreement. Ask whether rentals are on the same split as sales and whether they count toward a cap.
Are real estate broker fees tax deductible?
Fees an independent-contractor agent pays to a brokerage are generally business expenses, but how they are treated depends on your filing status and situation. Ask a CPA who works with agents; this page is not tax advice.
Ask the broker for the agreement, then the split
Thirty minutes with Armando Perez: every term on the table, the agreement sent to you afterwards, nothing to sign on the call.
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