Commission income, no withholding, and a business that runs on your car, your phone, and your marketing budget — agents live on Schedule C. The agents who keep the most of each commission aren't aggressive; their records are simply intact. The list:
Showings, listing appointments, caravans, inspections, closings, supply runs. For a producing agent this is routinely a five-figure deduction at the IRS standard rate (set each year — check irs.gov) — if a contemporaneous log exists. Reconstructed-in-April logs are the single most common audit casualty in this profession.
Client meals with a business purpose are 50% deductible — write who and which deal on the receipt. Closing gifts are deductible but capped at a small per-client amount each year (the limit is famously low — ask your CPA), so the $200 gift basket is mostly goodwill, not write-off. Open house refreshments for the public are marketing, treated more favorably.
stub. scans any receipt in seconds, finds the deduction, and maps it to the right Schedule C line. Built for agents on commission. 15 free scans a month.
Download for iPhone Get it on AndroidMore guides: The freelancer checklist · Content creator write-offs · All tax guides
This guide is general education, not tax advice. Tax rules change and individual situations differ — confirm current rates and rules at irs.gov or with a tax professional before filing.