Yacht Broker Commission Explained: How It Works and Who Pays

Yacht broker commission is typically 10% of the final sale price, usually paid by the seller at closing through escrow. When a second broker brings the buyer, the 10% is usually split 5% and 5%. The buyer pays no broker commission.

Commission is one of the first things yacht owners ask me about when they start thinking about a sale, and it deserves a clear answer. At Biagio Yachts we want every owner to understand how the numbers work before making any decision.

This guide covers how much the commission is, how it is divided between brokers, who pays it and when the money changes hands. It is written mainly for owners of yachts 40 feet and larger, and for buyers who want to know how their broker is paid.

If you would like to see the numbers for your own yacht, you can request a confidential valuation at any point.

The industry-standard yacht broker commission is typically 10% of the sale price. It is calculated on the price the yacht actually sells for, not the asking price. That 10% is the total commission on the sale, and it is shared between the broker who represents the seller and the broker who brings the buyer.

Two points are worth underlining.

First, it is one commission, not one per broker. Owners sometimes assume that a second broker in the deal means a second commission. It does not. Whether one broker or two are involved, the total is 10% of the sale price.

Second, the commission follows the sale price. Because it is a percentage, the dollar amount is only known once a price is agreed with a buyer. That makes the pricing conversation at the start of a listing an important one. We explain how value and asking price are set in a separate guide.

The 10% commission is typically split in half. The listing broker, who represents the seller, receives 5%. The selling broker, who brings the buyer, receives the other 5%. The seller does not pay more because two brokers are involved. The two brokers share the same 10% of the sale price.

Three terms explain how this works:

• Listing broker. The listing broker is the broker who represents the seller. If you list your yacht with us, Biagio Yachts is your listing broker.
• Selling broker. The selling broker is the broker who brings the buyer. The name can be misleading: the selling broker is not the seller's broker. It is the broker on the buyer's side of the deal.
• Co-brokering. Co-brokering means the listing broker shares the listing so that other brokers can bring buyers. It is the reason the split exists. A broker who brings a buyer to a co-brokered listing earns the selling broker's share of the commission.

For an owner, co-brokering means the yacht is open to buyers who are working with other brokers, not only to buyers your own broker already knows. For a buyer, it means your broker can bring you to yachts that are listed with other brokers.

How a 10% commission is split

"Both ends" means one broker handles both sides of the same deal. That broker is the listing broker, representing the seller, and is also the broker who brings the buyer. With no second broker to share the commission with, the broker who has both ends earns the full 10%.

Nothing changes in the seller's total. The commission is still 10% of the sale price, paid the same way and at the same time. The only difference is where it goes: to one broker instead of two.

The yacht broker commission is usually paid by the seller. The buyer does not pay a broker commission. The full 10% comes out of the seller's proceeds at closing, and both the listing broker and the selling broker are paid from that one amount.

Some owners are surprised to learn that the broker who brought the buyer is paid from the seller's side. That is how co-brokering works. The listing broker shares the listing, another broker brings a buyer, and the commission the seller pays is divided between the two.

The commission is set out in writing in your listing agreement, so the figure is known before your yacht goes on the market.

No. The buyer does not pay a broker commission. A buyer can work with a broker to find and purchase a yacht, and that broker, the selling broker, is paid from the commission the seller pays at closing. Typically that is 5% of the sale price, half of the 10% total.

If you are a buyer, working with a broker does not add a commission to your side of the deal. You can browse yachts for sale with that in mind.

Buyers do have costs of their own at a closing. In Florida, for example, the buyer pays sales tax. Our guide to Florida yacht sales tax explains how that tax works.

The commission is paid at closing. It is typically deducted from the seller's proceeds by the escrow agent, who holds the buyer's funds and disburses them when the sale closes. The seller receives the proceeds after the commission has been taken out, and the brokers are paid from the same funds.

The escrow agent is the party that holds the buyer's funds and disburses them at closing. Typically the selling broker acts as the escrow agent.

For a seller, the practical point is that the commission typically comes out of the sale funds at closing. You typically do not write a separate check for it.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. For questions specific to your sale, speak with a maritime attorney or a tax professional.

On a hypothetical $1,000,000 sale, the 10% commission is $100,000. With two brokers, $50,000 goes to the listing broker and $50,000 to the selling broker. With one broker handling both ends, that broker earns the full $100,000. Either way, the seller pays the $100,000 and the buyer pays no commission.

Hypothetical example, for illustration only. This is not a real transaction.

• Sale price: $1,000,000
• Total commission (10%): $100,000
• Listing broker share (5%): $50,000
• Selling broker share (5%): $50,000
• Commission paid by the buyer: $0
• Seller's proceeds after commission: $900,000, before any other costs at closing

The same math applies at any sale price. Take 10% of the sale price for the total, then halve it for each broker's share in a co-brokered sale.