Ontario Real Estate Commission Calculator: What You Really Make

You closed a $950,000 home in Mississauga last month. The math felt great on paper. Then you looked at your actual deposit and wondered where half of it went.

Ontario real estate commission isn't what most realtors think it is. The number that hits your account is almost always smaller — sometimes much smaller — than what you quoted the client. Here's how to calculate what you actually keep, and why protecting every lead matters more than you realize.

How Ontario Real Estate Commission Actually Works

The standard total commission in Ontario sits between 4% and 5% of the sale price. On a $900,000 GTA home, that's $36,000 to $45,000 — before anyone takes their cut.

That commission is split four ways before it reaches you:

Listing brokerage — takes a percentage of the listing side
Listing agent (you) — your cut after the brokerage split
Buyer's brokerage — typically half the total commission
Buyer's agent — their cut after their brokerage split

The listing side and buyer's side are usually split 50/50, though this varies. On a 5% deal, the listing brokerage receives 2.5% and the buyer's brokerage receives 2.5%. From there, each brokerage takes their split before passing the remainder to the agent.

One more thing most new agents underestimate: HST. In Ontario, real estate commissions are subject to 13% HST. The brokerage collects it from the client and remits it to the CRA. You do not keep the HST portion. If you're a GST/HST registrant (which you must be once your income exceeds $30,000), you collect and remit on your share. This is a cash flow detail that trips up agents every spring.

Ontario Real Estate Commission Calculator: The Real Numbers

Stop guessing. Run the actual math using the table below. These figures assume a 5% total commission split 50/50 between listing and buying sides, before any monthly desk fees or personal expenses.

Sale Price	Total Commission (5%)	Listing Side (2.5%)	Agent at 80/20 Split	Agent at 90/10 Split
$600,000	$30,000	$15,000	$12,000	$13,500
$800,000	$40,000	$20,000	$16,000	$18,000
$950,000	$47,500	$23,750	$19,000	$21,375
$1,200,000	$60,000	$30,000	$24,000	$27,000
$1,500,000	$75,000	$37,500	$30,000	$33,750

These figures are gross commission income before personal expenses — no deductions for marketing, E&O insurance, TRREB or OREA dues, MLS fees, your cell phone, or income tax. Use this as your ceiling, then subtract everything else.

Want to run your own numbers fast? Visit our free commission breakdown calculator built specifically for Ontario realtors.

The Deductions Most Realtors Forget to Account For

Every realtor knows the brokerage split. Far fewer track the full picture of what comes off that gross number before they actually own it.

Brokerage Fees and Desk Fees

Your split percentage isn't the only thing your brokerage takes. Many brokerages in the GTA and across Ontario charge monthly desk fees ranging from $100 to $1,500 per month, regardless of whether you close a deal. At $500/month, that's $6,000 a year off the top before you write a single offer.

TRREB, OREA, and CREA Dues

If you're a member of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, expect annual fees in the range of $1,500 to $2,000 depending on your board and membership tier. OREA and CREA memberships add more. These are non-negotiable costs of staying licensed and active in the MLS system.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

E&O insurance in Ontario typically runs $1,200 to $2,500 per year depending on your volume and brokerage structure. It's easy to forget because it often comes off your first commission cheque of the year automatically.

Marketing and Lead Generation

Zillow, Realtor.ca promoted listings, Google ads, social media, print flyers, open house materials — industry data suggests active agents spend between 5% and 10% of their gross commission income on marketing. On $100,000 GCE, that's $5,000 to $10,000 gone before you calculate your tax bill.

Income Tax

You are self-employed. No employer is withholding tax for you. In Ontario, once you factor in both federal and provincial income tax plus CPP contributions (since 2024, both the base and enhanced CPP apply to self-employed individuals), an agent earning $150,000 GCE might owe $45,000 to $55,000 in taxes annually. If you're not setting aside 35–40% of every commission cheque, April will hurt.

The CRA does not care how busy your spring market was.

What a Single Missed Call Actually Costs You

Here's where the commission math gets painful in a way most realtors never sit down to calculate.

Say a buyer calls your number at 7:30 PM on a Tuesday. You're at a showing. It rings out. They leave no voicemail — most people don't anymore — and they call the next agent on Google. That agent picks up. You never knew that lead existed.

At an average Ontario sale price of roughly $900,000 and a 2.5% listing side, the buyer's agent commission on that deal is around $22,500 gross. At an 80/20 split, that's $18,000 out of your pocket — gone because of one unanswered call.

Now multiply that by how many calls you miss in a month. Industry data suggests realtors miss between 20% and 40% of inbound calls during active hours, and far more outside of 9-to-5. If you're running solo without admin support, that number skews higher.

This is why the agents scaling past $300,000 GCE in markets like North York, Oakville, and Hamilton aren't just better at closings — they're better at answering. They've removed the gap between "lead calls" and "lead talks to someone who represents them."

Tools like Sarah, Sedam Intelligence's AI receptionist, are specifically built for this problem. Sarah answers calls 24/7, qualifies the lead, captures their info, and books a callback — so a 2 AM inquiry from a relocating buyer doesn't become someone else's commission.

The Real Cost Comparison: Solo vs. AI-Assisted vs. Human Assistant

When realtors realize how much missed calls cost, the instinct is to hire a part-time assistant. Let's look at what that actually means in Ontario.

Setup	Annual Cost (CAD)	Hours Covered	Lead Capture Quality
Solo (you answer everything)	$0 direct cost	Whenever you're free	Inconsistent — missed calls lost
Part-time human assistant	$28,000–$45,000+	~20–30 hrs/week, business hours only	Good during coverage, still gaps
AI receptionist (Sarah)	Fraction of assistant cost	24/7/365	Consistent — every call handled

A part-time assistant in Toronto earns $18 to $25/hour at minimum, often more if they have real estate experience. At 25 hours a week, that's $23,000 to $32,500 a year — and they still aren't available at 11 PM when a seller in Brampton is ready to list.

The economics aren't complicated. One saved lead per month at an average Ontario commission more than justifies the cost of a tool that runs around the clock.

How Top Ontario Realtors Protect Every Commission Dollar

The realtors consistently earning $400,000+ in GCE in Ontario's market aren't working harder. They've built systems that work while they sleep.

Here's what separates them:

They treat every inbound call like a signed client. Because it might be one. A first-time buyer who gets voicemail calls the next number on Google. They don't call back.
They know their numbers cold. They can tell you their cost per lead, their close rate by lead source, and what each closed deal nets them after splits. If you don't have this data, you're flying blind.
They don't personally answer every call — but every call gets answered. Whether it's a team member, an assistant, or Sarah handling the 9 PM inquiry, no lead hits a dead end.
They set HST and income tax aside immediately. They treat 35–40% of every commission as already spent the moment it hits their account. No surprises.
They calculate their real hourly rate. If you close 18 deals a year at $18,000 net average and work 60-hour weeks, your effective hourly rate might shock you. That number drives better decisions about where to spend your time.

Sarah — Sedam's AI receptionist — becomes part of that system naturally. She's not a gimmick. She's the 24/7 front line that makes sure a prospect talking to you on a Tuesday actually came from your pipeline and not your competitor's.

What to Do Next

If you've read this far, you're already thinking more clearly about your business than most agents in Ontario. Here are the concrete steps to take this week:

Run your actual net commission number for your last 10 deals. Take your gross commission, subtract your brokerage split, subtract your monthly fees pro-rated, subtract marketing spend, and subtract 37% for taxes. Write down what you actually kept. Most realtors are surprised — and not pleasantly.
Track your missed calls for seven days. Enable voicemail transcription on your phone. Count how many calls went unanswered or to voicemail and never converted. Multiply the average by your net commission per deal. That number is your "leaky bucket" cost.
Use our Ontario commission calculator to model different sale price scenarios and brokerage splits so you can benchmark what deals are actually worth prioritizing.
Talk to your accountant about HST registration and quarterly instalments. If you're not already making quarterly tax payments to the CRA, the April lump sum is a serious cash flow problem. This is especially critical if your GCE crossed $100,000 this year.
Close the gap between "lead calls" and "lead talks to you." Whether that's a team member, a call-forwarding setup, or an AI receptionist like Sarah, every call that doesn't get answered is a commission you're giving away for free.

The math on Ontario real estate commission is tighter than the headline numbers suggest. But the math on growth is also clear: more leads answered = more deals closed = more of that commission reaching your account. There's no simpler lever in this business.

If you're ready to stop losing deals to voicemail and start treating every inbound call like the $18,000 opportunity it is, hear Sarah live at sedamintelligence.com. Ontario realtors are already seeing the difference that 24/7 lead capture makes — without hiring anyone.