Commission Calculator: Flat Rate or Tiered Commission

About the Commission Calculator

The Commission Calculator works out what a salesperson, an agent or a broker earns on a sale. In Flat rate mode you type the sale amount and one commission rate. In Tiered mode you set up to ten tiers, each with an upper limit and a rate, and choose how they apply. Graduated tiers pay each rate only on the part of the sale inside its tier, the way tax brackets work. Whole amount tiers pay the rate of the tier the sale reaches on the entire sale.

Every result shows the total commission and the effective rate, the commission as a share of the sale. In tiered mode a table lists the amount and the commission in each tier, so you can check the total. Money is worked out in whole cents: each tier rounds once, half up, and the total is the sum of the rounded tiers, so the table always adds up. Rates can have up to four decimals.

How to use it

The formulas

With a sale $S$ and a rate $r$, flat commission is $S \times r$. For graduated tiers with limits $L_0 = 0, L_1, L_2, \ldots$ and rates $r_i$:

$$C = \sum_i r_i \times \max\bigl(0, \min(S, L_i) - L_{i-1}\bigr)$$

For whole-amount tiers, $C = S \times r_k$, where tier $k$ is the first one whose limit is at least $S$.

Worked examples

• 6% of 12,500. $12500 \times 0.06 = 750.00$.
• 7.5% of 333.33. $333.33 \times 0.075 = 24.99975$, which rounds to 25.00.
• Graduated, 30,000. $10000 \times 5\% + 15000 \times 7\% + 5000 \times 10\% = 500 + 1050 + 500 = 2050.00$, an effective rate of 6.83 percent.
• Whole amount, 30,000. The sale reaches the 10 percent tier, so $30000 \times 10\% = 3000.00$.
• On a limit. 10,000.00 earns 500.00 either way. At 10,000.01 the graduated total stays 500.00, because 7 percent of one cent rounds to nothing, while the whole-amount total jumps to 700.00.

Assumptions

Commission plans differ, so treat the result as an estimate and check it against your own plan. It is gross commission before tax, and it does not include base pay, draws, chargebacks or splits. To see the margin left on a sale after costs, use the Profit Margin Calculator, and for tax on the sale price, the Sales Tax Calculator. The Percentage Calculator handles other percentage questions.

Privacy

Nothing is uploaded; every calculation runs in your browser and never leaves your device. The sales and rates you type stay on this page and are gone when you close or reload it.

Frequently asked questions