Commission Splits

A commission split is the agreed allocation of the gross commission earned on a property transaction. SA agencies typically operate on percentage-based splits between the agency house, the listing practitioner, the selling practitioner, and any referring party.

Common split structures

• Agency / practitioner split: anywhere from 50/50 to 80/20 in favour of the practitioner, depending on seniority, performance, and cost-plate
• Listing / selling split: when two practitioners are involved, the listing side typically gets 30-50% and the selling side the balance
• Referrer fee: usually 10-25% of the practitioner share, paid to whoever brought in the lead
• Multi-branch deals: branch heads or area managers often take a small override on deals in their region

VAT and tax considerations

Agencies are usually VAT-registered and charge 15% VAT on commission. Practitioners may be sole proprietors, employees, or independent contractors; their tax treatment differs accordingly. Independent contractors typically issue an invoice to the agency for their share, while employees receive their share via payroll.

Why splits go wrong

Commission disputes are a major source of practitioner churn. Common causes: handshake agreements not documented in writing, ambiguous referrer arrangements, splits changing mid-deal, and post-deal recalculations after a reduction in commission. The fix is to capture and lock the split structure when the mandate is signed.

How REAPS handles splits

Every Deal in REAPS captures the gross commission, the agreed split structure, and the calculated share per party. When the deal registers, the system produces a commission statement showing what each party earns, what VAT is due, and what reaches each practitioner net of agency deductions.