Commission by flat rate or tiers (marginal or whole amount), plus draw against commission
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Updated on 24 Oct 2026.On $120,000 of sales with tiers of 5% up to $50,000, 7% up to $100,000 and 10% above, marginal tiers pay $8,000 (2,500 + 3,500 + 2,000). Whole-amount tiers pay 10% of everything, $12,000. A flat 5% would pay $6,000.
Choose Tiered and enter each tier’s upper sales limit and rate; the last tier has no limit.
Pick Marginal if each rate applies only to its own slice, or Whole amount if the top tier reached pays on everything.
Type the sales for the period; add periods to see several months.
If your plan has a draw, choose Recoverable or Non-recoverable and enter the draw per period.
Read the commission, the tier-by-tier table and, with a draw, the ledger of what is paid and owed.
The Sales Commission Calculator works out commission on sales for three kinds of plan: a flat percentage, tiers that rise with sales, and a draw against commission. It shows the figure for one pay period or for up to twelve, in dollars or rupees, and it runs in your browser.
Marginal tiers against whole-amount tiers. This is the difference that changes pay the most, and plan documents do not always spell it out. With marginal (graduated) tiers, each rate is paid only on the sales inside its band, the way tax brackets work: on $120,000 with 5% to $50,000, 7% to $100,000 and 10% above, that is $2,500 + $3,500 + $2,000 = $8,000. With whole-amount (retroactive) tiers, the rate of the highest tier reached is paid on every dollar: 10% of $120,000 is $12,000. Whole-amount plans have a cliff. At exactly $50,000 the pay is $2,500; one cent more and it is $3,500. The calculator shows both figures side by side so you can see which your plan means.
Draw against commission. A draw is a regular advance paid when commission is low. With a recoverable draw, a shortfall is carried forward and repaid from later commission: $1,000 earned against a $3,000 draw leaves $2,000 owed, which comes out of the next month's commission first. With a non-recoverable draw, the draw is a guaranteed minimum and a shortfall is never repaid. The ledger tab shows every period: commission, pay, what was recovered and what is still owed.
What it does not do. No tax: commission is a supplemental wage, and the Bonus Tax Calculator shows the withholding. Tiers here reset each period; plans that count sales cumulatively over a quarter or year, splits between reps, chargebacks on returns and quota-based accelerators are not modelled. Whether an employer can recover an unpaid draw when someone leaves depends on the contract and on state wage law.
Multiply the sales by the commission rate: $80,000 at 5% is $4,000. With tiers, apply each tier's rate to the sales inside it and add the results, unless the plan pays the top rate reached on all sales. Commission is usually worked out per pay period, so tiers start again each month.
Marginal tiers pay each rate only on the slice of sales inside that tier. Retroactive or whole-amount tiers pay the rate of the highest tier reached on every dollar sold. On $120,000 with 5%, 7% and 10% tiers at $50,000 and $100,000, marginal pays $8,000 and retroactive pays $12,000.
The employer advances a fixed draw each period. When commission is below the draw, the difference is carried forward as a balance owed and taken from later commission. With a $3,000 draw, a $1,000 month leaves $2,000 owed; a following $5,000 month pays $3,000 after recovering the $2,000.
A non-recoverable draw is a guaranteed minimum payment. When commission falls short of the draw, the salesperson keeps the draw and owes nothing back; when commission is higher, the commission is paid instead. Over three months of $1,000, $5,000 and $2,500 commission with a $3,000 draw, pay is $11,000.
Only if the plan says the draw is recoverable on leaving and the law where you work allows the employer to collect it. Many states restrict deductions from final wages, and an unrecovered draw is often not collectable without a written agreement saying so. Read your commission agreement and your state labor department's guidance.
Commission is a supplemental wage. Employers may withhold federal income tax at a flat 22% when it is paid separately from salary, plus 6.2% social security and 1.45% Medicare. California withholds 6.6% from commissions. The Bonus Tax Calculator on this site shows the full withholding on a commission check.
Formula only: no rates or limits are read from an official source.
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Also works as: Commission Calculator.
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