Agent Commission Calculator: Estimate Agent Fees by Federal State

The agent commission (Maklerprovision, also called Maklercourtage) is the fee an agent receives for successfully brokering a property sale. If you want a realistic estimate of the agent costs when buying a house, you should factor them in early, because they are among the largest items of the closing costs. With this calculator you can work out the agent commission by federal state in a few seconds, including the 19% VAT that is already contained in the rates.

The amount of the commission depends on the purchase price and on the customary local rates in the respective federal state. In most states the buyer's share is 3.57% incl. VAT; in a few regions it is lower. At a purchase price of €400,000 that corresponds to a buyer's share of around €14,280.

Unlike the notary (Notar) and land registry costs, which are fixed by law, the agent commission is freely negotiable. There is no rate prescribed by law, only a rule in force since the end of 2020 on splitting the commission between buyer and seller.

Since 23 December 2020, the purchase of apartments and detached houses by consumers has been subject to nationwide rules on how the agent commission is split. The legal basis is § 656c and § 656d of the German Civil Code (BGB). The aim was to relieve private buyers, who previously had to bear the entire commission alone in many regions.

The so-called Bestellerprinzip ("who orders pays") for purchases means, put simply: whoever hires the agent must contribute to their costs. If the agent works for both sides (dual agency), the splitting principle applies: buyer and seller share the commission in equal parts. If only one party hires the agent, it may pass on at most half of the commission to the other party, and even that only after it has demonstrably paid its own share.

As a result, the buyer of an owner-occupied house or condominium bears at most 50% of the total commission. This calculator reflects this 50/50 split and shows the buyer's and seller's share separately. Note that the rule only applies to consumers buying residential property. It does not apply to commercial properties, multi-family buildings or sales between businesses.

For a commission claim to arise at all, three conditions must be met. First, there must be a valid agency contract (Maklervertrag). For the purchase of apartments and detached houses by consumers, the law has, since the end of 2020, required text form(Textform), so an oral agreement is not enough. Text form means that an email or a signed document is sufficient.

Second, the agent must actually have provided a service, such as identifying the property or brokering the contact. Third, this activity must lead to a successful conclusion of the contract, i.e. the notarization of the purchase contract. Only then does the commission become due, and the agent usually issues their invoice after the notary appointment. Plan the amount firmly into your equity, as the commission usually cannot be financed along with the loan.

Yes. Unlike notary fees, the agent commission is not fixed by law. The rates customary in practice have settled in at market level but are not a binding tariff. So it is well worth discussing the level of the commission before you conclude the agency contract in text form.

There is room to negotiate above all on high-value properties, with a quick and straightforward sale, or when several agents compete for the mandate. The law does set a limit, however: an agreement that circumvents the splitting principle and burdens the buyer with more than half of the commission is void when consumers buy residential property. The buyer can then reclaim any commission paid unduly.

Whether the agent commission has a tax effect depends on how the property is used. For an owner-occupied property, the agent costs are not deductible. They count as private incidental acquisition costs and can be claimed neither as income-related expenses nor as special expenses.

For a rented property, the buyer's agent commission counts as incidental acquisition costs and increases the basis for depreciation. It is therefore written off together with the building value via depreciation (AfA, Absetzung für Abnutzung), over 50 years for a classic existing building. On the seller's side, the commission paid may under certain circumstances be taken into account as income-related expenses or as disposal costs, for example if the sale takes place within the speculation period and is subject to tax. For a specific assessment in your individual case, you should seek tax advice.

The agent commission is only one of several items that arise on top of the purchase price when buying a property. To plan the total outlay realistically, it is worth looking at all the closing costs:

• Property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer): 3.5 to 6.5% depending on the federal state, the largest single item
• Agent commission: usually a 3.57% buyer's share incl. VAT, often negotiable or avoidable with private sales
• Notary and land registry: around 1.5 to 2.0%, fixed by law

In total, closing costs come to around 8.5 to 15% of the purchase price, depending on the federal state and whether an agent is involved. For the state-specific tax, use the property transfer tax calculator; for the full overview of all items, use the closing costs calculator.