What Does a Texas Agent Keep at a 100% Commission Brokerage vs. a Split?

by Rise Realty

By Rise Realty Texas · Reviewed by Kelly Bishop, Broker

Published November 7, 2026

On a $400,000 sale at a 2.5% commission, a traditional 70/30 split leaves the agent $7,000 and the brokerage $3,000. Over 10 closings, that gap is $30,000. A 100% commission model replaces the percentage with a flat transaction fee per deal. This guide runs the numbers for a Texas agent under three models, so you can test them against your own production.

Why does every Texas agent pay a brokerage something?

Texas law requires every sales agent to be sponsored by a broker and routes every commission through that broker. TREC says a sales agent may not accept compensation for a transaction from anyone other than the sponsoring broker, and may not pay a commission to anyone except through that broker. So the real question is how a brokerage charges you: a percentage of each commission, a capped percentage, or a flat fee.

The sponsoring broker also carries legal responsibility. Under TREC Rule 535.2, a broker must notify each sponsored agent in writing of the scope of authorized activities, be responsible for those authorized acts, and keep a written policies and procedures manual. Rule 535.2 does not require a broker to supervise agents directly, so the amount of day-to-day help differs between brokerages. That is worth asking about, whatever model you choose.

How does a traditional percentage split work in dollars?

A percentage split divides each commission between you and the brokerage. At 70/30, the brokerage keeps 30% of every commission, and the dollar amount grows with every closing. All examples here use a hypothetical $400,000 sale at a 2.5% commission, which is $10,000 per closing. The splits and cap below are illustrations, not a survey of any brokerage’s pricing.

At 70/30, the brokerage keeps $3,000 on that sale and you keep $7,000, before your own expenses. At 80/20, the brokerage keeps $2,000 and you keep $8,000. Because the percentage never stops, an agent with ten of these closings pays $30,000 at 70/30 or $20,000 at 80/20.

How does a capped split change the math?

A capped split stops charging the percentage once the brokerage has collected a set dollar amount in a year. Take a hypothetical 80/20 split with an $18,000 cap. The cap is reached at $90,000 in commission, because $18,000 is 20% of $90,000. After that, you keep the commission, apart from any transaction fees the brokerage still charges.

With ten $10,000 commissions, that agent pays the brokerage $18,000 for the year and keeps $82,000. With four $10,000 commissions, the cap is never reached, so the agent pays 20% of $40,000, or $8,000. A cap rewards high volume and does little for an agent who closes a few deals a year. Ask when the cap resets, because some brokerages reset it on your anniversary date rather than January 1.

What does a 100% commission model cost per year?

A 100% commission brokerage does not keep a percentage of your commission. It charges a flat transaction fee per closing instead, so your annual cost is your number of closings times that fee. Rise Realty Texas charges no monthly or yearly brokerage fees, only a small transaction fee per deal, and the current fee schedule is on our join page.

Here is how the three models compare for an agent with ten closings at $10,000 each, which is $100,000 in commission:

Model	What the brokerage keeps over 10 closings	What you keep before your own expenses
70/30 split, no cap	$30,000	$70,000
80/20 split, no cap	$20,000	$80,000
80/20 split with a hypothetical $18,000 cap	$18,000	$82,000
100% commission with a flat transaction fee	10 closings × the per-deal fee (see current fees)	$100,000 minus those fees

To match the $30,000 a 70/30 split would collect, a per-deal fee would have to be $3,000 on every one of those closings. Divide any brokerage’s published per-deal fee into your own numbers to see where you land. Other charges, such as monthly fees, technology fees or desk fees, change the result at any brokerage, so add them in.

What does a typical Texas agent actually produce in a year?

The median REALTOR® completed 10 transactions in 2024, according to NAR’s 2025 Member Profile as reported by HousingWire, and NAR’s 2026 Member Profile puts median gross income from real estate at $59,200 for 2025. Those are national figures that include part-time agents, so your own last 12 months are the better test.

The example above uses ten $10,000 closings, but your numbers may be lower or higher. At four $10,000 closings, a 70/30 split costs $12,000 and an 80/20 split costs $8,000, so the gap between models shrinks as production drops. That does not make a fee model wrong for a newer agent. It means the break-even depends on volume, and no honest comparison skips that step. Our MENTOR program is built for agents who are still building a pipeline.

What should you ask before you compare brokerages?

What is the full written fee schedule? Split or per-deal fee, caps, and every monthly, annual, technology or desk fee.
When does a cap reset, and what fees continue after you reach it?
What is included? Ask about errors and omissions coverage, transaction management tools, and contract help.
How is commission paid, and how fast after closing?
How do you reach the broker? Ask for days, hours, and how fast questions get answered.
What training is scheduled? Ask for live sessions, recordings and a plan for the first 30 days.
What happens to pending deals and listings if you leave? Our guide on taking listings with you when you switch covers how Texas treats them.

What do agents get at Rise Realty Texas besides the fee structure?

Rise Realty Texas is a brokerage opened in 2026, run with the personal touch of a small local brokerage and backed by systems Rise Realty has refined since 2013. It is co-owned by Kelly Bishop, our Broker of Record, and Travis Breton, who founded Rise Realty in California. Kelly is available seven days a week, live training runs on Zoom every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Central and is recorded, and agents get Paperless Pipeline for transactions plus contract and compliance help.

The most popular program, RISE 100, has no quota. See our guide to cloud-based brokerages for how a virtual brokerage works day to day, and our post on using lower brokerage overhead to fund your own lead generation for what some agents do with the savings.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 100% commission brokerage always cheaper than a split in Texas?
Not automatically. A 100% commission brokerage takes no percentage of your commission, but it charges a flat transaction fee per closing and sometimes other fees. Compare the total you would have paid in 12 months under each model, using your own closings and commission amounts.

Why does a Texas agent have to pay a brokerage at all?
Texas law requires a sales agent to be sponsored by a broker, and a sales agent may not accept compensation for a real estate transaction from anyone other than the sponsoring broker. Every commission flows through the broker, who then pays the agent under the agent’s independent contractor agreement.

What is a capped split?
A capped split is a percentage split, such as 80/20, that stops once the brokerage has collected a set dollar amount from you in a year. After the cap, you keep the full commission for the rest of that period, usually minus transaction fees. Ask when the cap resets and what fees continue after it.

What does a Texas broker actually do for a sponsored agent?
Under TREC Rule 535.2, a broker must tell each sponsored agent in writing what activities are authorized, make sure the agent is competent for them, and keep written policies and procedures. The broker is also responsible for the agent’s authorized acts. How much help a broker gives beyond that varies by brokerage.

How many transactions does the typical agent close in a year?
NAR’s 2025 Member Profile reported a median of 10 transactions for REALTORS® in 2024, and NAR’s 2026 Member Profile reported a median gross income from real estate of $59,200 in 2025. These are national medians, not Texas figures, and they include part-time agents.

What should I ask a brokerage before I compare commission models?
Ask for the full written fee schedule: split or fee per deal, any cap and its reset date, monthly or annual fees, technology and desk fees, errors and omissions coverage, and how and when commissions are paid. Then ask how often you can reach the broker and what training is scheduled.

Ready to run your own numbers?

Bring your closings and commission amounts from the last 12 months and your current fee schedule, and we will walk through how each model would have worked for your business. Call Rise Realty Texas at (888) 774-7315 or start at the join page. Working in Collin or Grayson County? See joining in Collin County or joining in Grayson County. No income or savings are guaranteed, and your results depend on your production.

Sources

This article is general information about Texas real estate, current as of November 7, 2026. The dollar examples are hypothetical illustrations, not a promise of income or a statement of any brokerage’s fees. It isn’t legal, tax or financial advice. Talk with a licensed professional about your situation. Rise Realty Texas LLC · TREC #9016637-BB.