Real Estate Commission Calculator for Canada (2026)

Commission is agreed with the brokerage that lists your home: Saskatchewan’s and Nova Scotia’s regulators say there is no standard rate, and all three regulators, B.C.’s too, say the amount can be negotiated. As a starting point, industry sources often use 5% of the price in Ontario, and in B.C. and Alberta a tiered rate: a higher one on the first $100,000 and a lower one on the rest. The seller usually pays it out of the sale, for both the listing and the buyer’s brokerage, and a registered brokerage adds GST or HST to it.

Pick a province below to see the commission, the tax on it and what is left of the price, with a flat rate or a tiered schedule.

Commission and sales tax by province

Tax: provincial tax authorities and the CRA. Schedules: WOWA, Zealty, nesto and HomeSask. Averages: Payotte, October 2026. None of these figures is a set rate: commission is agreed with the brokerage.

The tax column follows the tax rules listed below the table. The schedules are examples that industry sources give, not standard rates, and the averages come from one study of 979 transactions; your rate is whatever you agree with your brokerage.

The tax on commission depends on where the property is:

• HST provinces (Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island): HST applies to the commission.
• Quebec: 5% GST plus 9.975% QST, worked out on the price before GST.
• Saskatchewan: GST plus the 6% PST, which applies to real estate commissions on land and buildings in Saskatchewan but not to commissions on new home sales; it is worked out on the whole commission before the brokerages split it.
• British Columbia: GST, and no PST, because B.C.’s PST on real estate services leaves out services for property classed as residential, and the planned extension to non-residential property is paused.
• Manitoba: GST; its retail sales tax generally applies to a service only when the Act names it as taxable, and WOWA says it isn’t applied to ordinary real estate commissions.
• Alberta: GST, and no provincial sales tax.

How commission is set

B.C.’s regulator says commission is part of your contract with the brokerage and can vary from one brokerage to another. It adds that some brokerages have one rate for all their agents, but the amount can still be negotiated. Ontario’s regulator bars agents from suggesting a rate is fixed or approved by RECO, a government or a real estate board.

It can take several forms:

• A percentage of the price, which Nova Scotia’s regulator says is the most common way.
• A tiered percentage that falls as the price rises: a higher rate on the first part of the price and a lower one on the rest, so the effective rate drops on dearer homes; Ontario’s Act allows a series of percentages that decrease as the price increases.
• A set dollar amount or a flat fee, or a fee for particular services.
• A combination of these.

In Ontario, RECO says the agreement has to set out how the commission is worked out, and Saskatchewan’s regulator says the agreement shows the total commission and how it is calculated. In Ontario, B.C., Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia the commission can’t be based on the gap between the list price and the sale price.

Flat or tiered, at one price

Who pays the commission

The seller usually pays the commission for both sides: it comes out of the sale proceeds and goes to the listing brokerage, which passes the agreed share to the buyer’s brokerage. Industry sources put the split at about half to each side: in Ontario nesto and WOWA, in B.C. nesto and Zealty.

A buyer can still owe their own brokerage something. In Ontario, a buyer’s agreement with their brokerage has to be in writing and say what the buyer will pay and how that changes if the seller covers some or all of it. A seller may offer nothing toward the buyer’s brokerage, and RECO says the agreement should settle what happens when the seller’s offer is less than the buyer owes their brokerage: the buyer pays the shortfall, the brokerage accepts the seller’s amount, or something else. In B.C., a buyer’s agency agreement states what the buyer pays if the listing brokerage doesn’t cover it. What these agreements contain is on agents, brokers and the agreements you sign.

When the commission is paid

WOWA and Zealty say the commission is deducted from the sale proceeds, and Zealty that in B.C. this is usually done at closing by the lawyer or notary. In Ontario, RECO says the agreement should say how the commission is paid, for example by a direction from the seller letting their lawyer pay it from the transaction. In Alberta, RECA’s rules say that when a commission is payable from money a brokerage holds in trust and is shared, the other brokerage’s share is paid from the trust account right away. The rest of the closing money is on the closing page.

Ontario

WOWA and nesto both use 5% of the price for Ontario, with half to each side, and Payotte’s average for Ontario sellers is about 4.3%.

What Ontario’s rules say about commission

Ontario’s rules on commission are in the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (the Act), and RECO explains them for consumers:

• Section 36: commission is an agreed amount, a percentage of the price, or both, and the percentage may step down as the price rises.
• No list-price deals: the Act also bars commission based on the difference between the listing price and the sale price.
• Your agreement in writing: RECO says your agreement with the brokerage must be put in writing and must state what you pay, and for a seller, any amount offered to the buyer’s brokerage.

HST on Ontario commission

Ontario commission carries 13% HST. On a $600,000 sale at 5%, that is $3,900 of HST on $30,000 of commission.

Commission in Toronto, Mississauga and Kitchener-Waterloo

The 5% estimate applied to each market’s benchmark price:

A home’s own price can be well above or below its market’s benchmark; the calculator gives the figure for yours. Prices by market are on average house prices.

British Columbia

Zealty gives 7% on the first $100,000, 2.5% on the rest as the most common B.C. structure and WOWA as a common Greater Vancouver estimate; Payotte’s average for B.C. sellers is about 3.6%.

What BCFSA tells sellers

The BC Financial Services Authority’s guide covers the seller’s side:

• The amount in dollars: when an offer comes in, your agent gives you a Disclosure to Seller of Expected Remuneration form, which turns the percentage in your listing contract into a dollar figure; it doesn’t include costs such as lawyer or notary fees.
• Renegotiating: if the services change, the commission can be renegotiated.
• No list-price deals: commission can’t be based on the difference between the list price and what the buyer pays.

GST, but no PST

Commission on a B.C. home carries 5% GST and no PST, because B.C.’s PST on real estate services leaves out residential property.

Commission at Vancouver and Fraser Valley prices

Above $100,000, the B.C. schedule is the same as 2.5% of the price plus a fixed $4,500:

Alberta

nesto says Alberta commission is often 7% on the first $100,000, 3% on the rest, and Payotte’s average for Alberta sellers is about 4.1%.

What RECA’s rules require

The Real Estate Council of Alberta’s rules require an agent working for a buyer or seller of a home to sign a written service agreement with them, stating the amount of the commission or how it is worked out, and when it becomes payable.

GST, no PST

Alberta commission carries the 5% GST and no provincial sales tax.

Commission at Calgary and Edmonton prices

Above $100,000, the Alberta schedule is the same as 3% of the price plus a fixed $4,000:

Paying less commission

You can negotiate the rate, use a discount or rebate brokerage, or sell without an agent. The other costs of a sale are on how to sell a house.

How the agent’s share is taxed

Whether an agent is self-employed or an employee depends on the working relationship as a whole, and self-employed commission income is business income. An employee paid wholly or partly by commission who claims expenses can give the employer Form TD1X, Statement of Commission Income and Expenses for Payroll Tax Deductions, as well as the TD1, so the tax deducted takes those expenses into account; commission paid with salary is added to the salary, and commission paid periodically or in varying amounts can be taxed with the bonus method. An employee who sells goods or negotiates contracts for an employer and is paid at least partly by commission can deduct amounts paid to earn that commission, on Form T777 and line 22900, if the employment contract required them to pay their own expenses, they normally worked away from the employer's place of business, they got no non-taxable travel allowance and they keep a T2200 completed by the employer; apart from interest and capital cost allowance on a vehicle, the claim can't be more than the commissions received in the year. You have to register for the GST/HST once you make taxable sales in Canada and are no longer a small supplier: that happens when your taxable sales go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter (register from that sale) or over the last 4 consecutive calendar quarters (by the end of the month after that quarter); below that you can register voluntarily. What agents earn, contractor or employee and the sales tax hub go further.

Related pages

• How to sell a house in Canada
• Real estate agents, brokers and brokerages
• Buyer rebates and discount brokerages
• How to Buy a Home in Canada