Published 13 October 2026
The number most people search for does not exist. There is no set REALTOR® commission in Calgary or anywhere in Alberta: the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s own consumer guidance says “there is no standard commission for real estate or mortgage brokerage services in Alberta” and that “commissions to licensees are negotiable”. What does exist is a handful of fee structures that brokerages use and publish, a set of rules about who pays whom and how, 5% GST on top, and — since 2024 — lawsuits and a Competition Bureau investigation about the way buyer-side commission is offered. This page sets all of that out with the sources attached, and ends with a calculator so you can see what any structure costs on your own price.
I am a REALTOR® with eXp Realty of Canada, Inc., licensed in Alberta since 2022. My own fee, like every licensee’s in Alberta, is set out in the written service agreement a client signs with my brokerage before we work together, and it is negotiated there, not on this page.
The rule first: nothing is fixed, and it goes in writing
RECA regulates licensees, not prices. Three of its rules frame every commission conversation in Alberta:
- Negotiable, with no standard rate. RECA’s advertising guidelines tell licensees they “must not advertise that commission rates are somehow ‘set’ or regulated by a higher authority”, and that to say rates are fixed “is false and misleading”. The same guidance adds the other half: “a brokerage may be unwilling to negotiate commission — and that’s allowed”. You can ask; a brokerage can say no; what nobody can tell you is that the rate is the rate everywhere.
- In a written service agreement, with the brokerage. RECA requires residential real estate licensees to have a written service agreement with their clients that “outlines fee payments between you and the brokerage”; “all payment agreements you enter into are between you and the brokerage, not between you and an individual licensee”, and “individual licensees cannot demand or accept payment directly”. A fee that is not in writing is not collectable: RECA’s bulletin on service agreements says a brokerage “may only commence legal action to collect these fees if the parties agree to the fees in writing”.
- No net listings. The Real Estate Act prohibits a brokerage from calculating its fee as the difference between the sale price and a net amount the seller will accept. Flat fees, a single percentage and a split percentage (one rate on part of the price, another on the balance) are the methods RECA describes.
The structures you will actually be quoted
Because nothing is published centrally, the clearest picture comes from what brokerages print on their own pages. Four patterns cover the Calgary market in 2026:
1. The tiered percentage. A rate on the first $100,000 of the price and a lower rate on the balance, with the total shared between the listing brokerage and the buyer’s brokerage. The structure Alberta sources describe most often is 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the remainder, split evenly so that each side receives 3.5% and 1.5% — Zolo (September 2026), LowestRates.ca (August 2025) and a Century 21 agent’s explainer (October 2025) all describe it, the last adding that it is “merely a common structure, not a mandatory one”. You see the buyer-side half of it in print on builders’ REALTOR® pages: Cedarglen Homes, Logel Homes and Baywest Homes each publish 3.5% on the first $100,000 and 1.5% on the balance as what they pay a buyer’s brokerage.
2. A single flat percentage. Zolo reports flat-rate models “becoming more popular” in Calgary and Edmonton at 4% to 5% of the price, again shared between the two sides. One Percent Realty’s published model is 1% of the price for the listing side on homes over $500,000 (a flat $5,000 under that), plus GST, with “the seller decides what they wish to offer the buyer’s agent, starting with an equal commission of 1%”.
3. A flat dollar fee. Bōde, the Calgary-founded flat-fee marketplace, charges “$949 flat plus GST at listing, or 1% capped at $10,000 plus GST at closing” (August 2026); Easy List Realty’s do-it-yourself MLS® System listing starts at $499 (2026). With these the seller chooses what, if anything, to offer a buyer’s brokerage, and does much of the showing and negotiating work.
4. Full service at a negotiated rate. Most full-service brokerages in Calgary do not publish a number at all; the rate is agreed in the service agreement, and it is usually one of the first three shapes. That is the honest reason a page like this cannot give you one figure.
Here is what each looks like on a $600,000 sale, before anything is negotiated. (For scale, CREB®’s September 2026 benchmark for a Calgary home is $566,700.)
| Structure (as published) | Listing side | Buyer side | Total before GST | GST | Total with GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiered 7% / 3%, split 3.5% / 1.5% each side | $11,000 | $11,000 | $22,000 | $1,100 | $23,100 |
| Flat 5% of price, split evenly | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 | $1,500 | $31,500 |
| Flat 4% of price, split evenly | $12,000 | $12,000 | $24,000 | $1,200 | $25,200 |
| One Percent Realty model: 1% listing side; seller offers 1% to the buyer side | $6,000 | $6,000 | $12,000 | $600 | $12,600 |
| Bōde: 1% capped at $10,000 (listing side); buyer-side offer set by the seller | $6,000 | seller’s choice | $6,000 + offer | $300 + 5% of offer | $6,300 + offer |
Two things the table hides. The lower-fee models shift work to the seller — showings, feedback, negotiation, the paperwork between conditions and closing — and what a seller gets for a fee is the question to ask, not only what the fee is. And the buyer-side figure is the seller’s decision in every model: offer less than the going rate and the home is still on the MLS® System, but buyers’ representatives whose own agreements specify a higher fee will have a conversation with their clients before showing it (more on that below).
Who pays, and how the money moves
In a typical Alberta sale the seller pays the whole commission and the buyer pays none of it directly. RECA describes the mechanism: the seller “typically agrees to pay commission to their brokerage upon a successful sale”, and that agreement “will also indicate how much of that commission will be paid to (shared with) the buyer’s real estate brokerage”. The Alberta REALTORS® Association’s practice guidance follows the cash: the fee “is paid to the seller’s brokerage from the seller’s lawyer out of proceeds of the sale”, and the seller’s brokerage then pays the buyer’s brokerage its share. Nothing changes hands at the signing of the listing; it all happens on closing day, out of the sale price.
Buyers sign a service agreement too, and in Alberta it comes in two kinds. Under an exclusive buyer representation agreement the buyer agrees a fee with their brokerage and authorises it to be paid by the seller through the transaction; if the listing offers less than that fee, AREA’s recommended practice is a term in the purchase contract under which the seller pays the agreed fee “in lieu of advertised compensation” — and the buyer “must be the party to insist on the seller meeting their obligations”. Under a non-exclusive agreement the brokerage can only receive what the listing offers and “will not be able to negotiate a fee other than what they are offered through the MLS® system”. Read which one you are signing, and what it says happens if the seller’s offer is short.
Three more rules from RECA worth knowing: a licensee who is offered a bonus by a seller or builder over and above the usual fee must tell their buyer client and get written consent before accepting it; a referral fee must be disclosed to you in writing before your information is passed on, and like every fee it goes to the brokerage; and a licensee may not demand or accept commission or any other payment from anyone except their own brokerage, nor may a brokerage pay a referral fee to an unlicensed person for work that itself requires a licence.
GST, and what the tax rules say about commission
Real estate brokerage is a service, so 5% GST applies to the commission (RECA; every published fee above is quoted plus GST). On a principal residence the commission is simply a cost of selling: the gain is exempt, and the sale is reported on Schedule 3. On any other property — a rental, a second home, a flip — the Canada Revenue Agency’s capital gains guide lists “commissions, brokers’ fees” and legal fees among the outlays and expenses you deduct, with the adjusted cost base, from the proceeds before the gain is calculated. The cost-of-selling page works the whole seller’s statement through, commission included, with a net-proceeds calculator.
What is actually in dispute: the lawsuits and the Competition Bureau
The way the buyer’s side is paid — through an offer the seller’s brokerage makes on the MLS® System — is under legal challenge in Canada, and buyers and sellers ask about it. Where things stand as of October 2026:
- Proposed class actions in the Federal Court (Sunderland against the Toronto board and national franchisors; McFall against the Canadian Real Estate Association and 88 boards including the Calgary Real Estate Board, filed in January 2024) allege that the rule requiring listing brokerages to offer buyer-side compensation inflates commissions. In October 2025 the Federal Court approved a $7.8 million settlement by RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic, which “continues to deny the allegations”; CREA says it “continues to believe these lawsuits are without merit” and its rule — that a cooperating-compensation offer “can be any amount except zero” — remains in effect.
- The Competition Bureau’s investigation of CREA’s commission rules, opened in 2024, was expanded in February 2026 to examine how Greater Vancouver REALTORS® enforces them; the Bureau states “there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time”.
- In the United States, after the National Association of REALTORS® settlement, offers of compensation have been prohibited on American multiple listing services since 17 August 2024 and buyers must sign a written agreement before touring a home. No equivalent rule change has been made in Canada.
For a Calgary seller or buyer in 2026, then, the mechanics are unchanged: the seller’s agreement sets both sides’ fees, the offer to the buyer’s brokerage is any amount above zero, and everything is negotiable in writing. If the rules change, this page will say so.
How to negotiate it
- Ask for the structure, in writing, before you sign anything — the rate or fee, how it is split, what services are included (photography, staging advice, marketing, showings, negotiation, the paperwork to closing) and what happens if the listing expires or you cancel.
- Compare on the net, not the rate. A lower fee that produces a lower price or a longer time on market is not a saving; a higher fee is not a service. Ask for the brokerage’s own figures on days on market and sale-to-list ratios, and compare them with CREB®’s for your home type and district.
- Decide the buyer-side offer deliberately. It is the seller’s choice in every model. The most common offer in Calgary is the 3.5% / 1.5% half of the tiered structure; offering less is allowed and has consequences you should understand first.
- Know what a licensee cannot offer. RECA bars individual licensees from offering inducements tied to a specific transaction and from advertising their own incentives independently of their brokerage; a promise of a rebate or a gift from the person in front of you, rather than from the brokerage in the agreement, is a warning sign, not a bargain.
- Put the agreed number in the service agreement. That is the document that binds the brokerage, and the only one.
Commission calculator
Enter a price and a structure. The fields start blank because there is no standard rate; the example button loads the tiered 7% / 3% structure described above as one common structure, not a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard real estate commission in Calgary?
There is none. RECA’s guidance is that no standard commission exists in Alberta and that commission is negotiable. The structure most often described by Alberta sources is 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance, shared between the two brokerages, but flat percentages of 4% to 5%, 1% listing models and flat dollar fees from under $1,000 are all published by Calgary brokerages, and every one of them is a starting point for a written agreement.
Who pays the REALTOR® commission in Alberta?
Usually the seller, out of the sale proceeds on closing: the seller’s lawyer pays the listing brokerage, which pays the buyer’s brokerage the share set out in the listing agreement. Buyers can owe a fee under an exclusive buyer representation agreement if the listing’s offer is lower than the fee they agreed, which is why the agreement should say how that gap is handled.
Is GST charged on real estate commission?
Yes, 5% on the commission, on top of the fee. Every published Calgary fee quoted on this page is before GST.
Can a REALTOR® give me part of the commission back?
Any incentive has to come from the brokerage and be in the service agreement; RECA does not allow individual licensees to offer their own inducements or to receive payment outside their brokerage. Ask for anything offered to be written into the agreement with the brokerage’s name on it.
Have the commission lawsuits changed anything in Calgary?
Not yet. As of October 2026 the class actions are proceeding (one defendant settled in 2025 without admitting liability), the Competition Bureau’s investigation is continuing with no finding of wrongdoing, and CREA’s rule that a listing must offer the buyer’s brokerage some compensation above zero is still in place. The US ban on compensation offers through American listing services (August 2024) does not apply in Canada.
Selling, and want the fee conversation in writing?
Start with a free home evaluation and the cost-of-selling calculator, then contact me — Preet Jandu, eXp Realty of Canada, 587-435-0029. The fee, the services and the buyer-side offer go in the service agreement before a sign goes up.
Where these figures come from
Real Estate Council of Alberta — Fees and commissions (consumer page); RECA — Advertising Guidelines (commission and inducement rules); RECA — Service agreements, real estate brokerage (information bulletin); RECA — Referrals: payment to unlicensed persons; Alberta REALTORS® Association — how a REALTOR®’s fee is secured and which buyer’s agreement to use (January 2025); published fee pages: One Percent Realty (2026 Alberta brochure), Bōde (August 2026), Easy List Realty (2026), Cedarglen Homes REALTOR® program (July 2026), Baywest Homes, Logel Homes (CREB®Now, September 2026); descriptions of the tiered structure: Zolo (September 2026), LowestRates.ca (August 2025), Century 21 Masters agent explainer (October 2025); tax: CRA — Capital Gains guide T4037 and reporting the sale of a principal residence; litigation and regulation: CREA statement on the RE/MAX settlement (15 October 2025), class-action settlement notice (August 2025), Competition Bureau (20 February 2026), Ontario Bar Association case summary, Sunderland v. TRREB, National Association of REALTORS® practice changes (August 2024). Last reviewed October 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
The rest of the seller’s statement — legal fees, the Real Property Report, mortgage discharge and penalty, adjustments — is on the cost of selling a house in Alberta, with a net-proceeds calculator; Calgary real estate lawyers covers the legal side. Thinking of selling? Start with a free home evaluation.
