Gross Commission Income (GCI)

GCI is the top-line commission figure an agent or brokerage brings in, before anything is taken out. On a home sale, the total commission is split between the listing and buyer sides; the commission for a single side is that side’s GCI. It is a gross number: the agent does not keep all of it.

What comes out of GCI is the agent/broker split, where the brokerage keeps an agreed share, plus income and self-employment taxes and the agent’s own business expenses such as marketing, licensing, and fees. So an agent’s actual take-home is well below their GCI. Because commission rates and splits are fully negotiable, and because buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately since the August 17, 2024 NAR settlement, GCI on any given deal depends entirely on the terms the parties agree to.