How do I calculate commission?

Multiply the sale amount by the commission rate as a decimal. A 5% commission on a $20,000 sale is 20,000 times 0.05, which is $1,000. Add any base salary to get total pay.

Yes. In New Zealand, commission is taxable income and has PAYE deducted like wages. Large one-off commissions can push income into a higher bracket for that pay period, so the tax taken can look high. The figure here is gross commission, before tax.

Commission Calculator

This calculator works out how much commission you will earn on a sale, whether you work in real estate, retail, recruitment, or any other role paid on a percentage basis. Enter the sale amount and your commission rate, and it multiplies them together to show the commission earned. If your role also pays a base salary or wage for the period, add that figure too, and the calculator adds it to the commission to show your total pay before tax. This is useful for checking a payslip, negotiating a commission structure, or working out roughly what a sale is worth to you before you close it. All figures shown are gross, meaning before PAYE tax and other deductions come out, since commission in New Zealand is taxed the same way as ordinary wages and can push a pay period into a higher tax bracket if it is a large one-off amount. The tool works for any percentage-based commission structure, so you can use it for a single sale or to sanity-check a full pay period that combines several sales and a base rate. If you want to see the actual tax and take-home pay rather than the gross figures here, use the PAYE calculator or the bonus and commission tax calculator for a one-off payment estimate instead.

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Sale amount

Commission rate

Base pay (optional)

$1,000.00

commission earned

Gross, before PAYE tax and deductions.

How to calculate commission

Multiply the sale amount by the commission rate written as a decimal. So a 5% rate is 0.05. If you also earn a base salary or wage, add it to the commission for your total pay.

Worked example

On a $20,000 sale at 5% commission, you earn $1,000. With a base of $1,500 for the pay period, total pay is $2,500 before tax.

Frequently asked questions

Is commission taxed differently?

No, it is taxable income with PAYE deducted like wages. A large one-off commission can have more tax taken in that pay period because of how PAYE is calculated, but it evens out over the year.

Related calculators

Bonus and Commission Tax Calculator: tax on a bonus or commission.
Real Estate Commission Calculator: agent commission on a sale.
PAYE Calculator: take-home pay after tax.
Markup Calculator: markup and margin on a sale.

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