Do I Have to Pay the Buyer’s Agent Commission in Florida?

By Nelson Cruz, P.A. | November 7, 2026

No. The Florida Realtors listing agreement says so in its own words: Seller “may, but is not required to, compensate a buyer’s broker upon closing.” Paragraph 10 of that form gives you three choices, and if you check none of them it defaults to the option that offers the buyer’s broker nothing. What the choice costs depends on which box is checked, because one option pays the buyer’s broker out of the fee you already agreed to while another adds the amount on top of it. The same percentages under the two boxes can differ by the entire buyer-broker amount.

Where the “not required to” language comes from

The national rule comes from the practice changes effective August 17, 2024 under the National Association of REALTORS settlement. NAR’s consumer guidance states that offers of compensation to buyer brokers are no longer allowed on a Multiple Listing Service, that sellers can still offer compensation off an MLS, that sellers can offer buyer concessions on an MLS with buyer closing costs as the example, and that agent compensation continues to be fully negotiable.

The document that binds you is the listing agreement you sign with your broker. Paragraph 9 of the Florida Realtors Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement, Notice to Seller Regarding Buyer Brokers, advises that the buyer’s broker, even if compensated by Seller or Broker, will provide services for the buyer, and that Seller may but is not required to compensate a buyer’s broker upon closing. Paragraph 8(f) and Paragraph 10 each repeat that brokerage commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable.

Florida law says nothing about the number. Section 475.25(1)(r), Florida Statutes, requires a written listing agreement to state the fee or commission along with a definite expiration date, property description, price and terms and proper signatures. The statute makes the fee a term you negotiate and write down. It never sets one.

The three boxes in Paragraph 10

Paragraph 10, Compensation to Buyer Brokers, asks you to check one option, and states that if no option is checked, option (c) is deemed selected.

The difference between (a) and (b) is the whole financial question, and the two lines look nearly identical on the page. Take a $450,000 sale, an illustrative Paragraph 8(a) fee of 5.5% and an illustrative 2.5% to the buyer’s broker. Under (a), the buyer’s broker is paid $11,250 out of the $24,750 you already owe, your listing broker retains $13,500, and your total stays $24,750. Under (b), you owe the $24,750 and the $11,250 separately, for $36,000. Identical percentages, $11,250 apart, because (b) charges the buyer-broker amount a second time rather than carving it out of the first. These figures are illustrative; the form states twice that they are negotiable.

Offering more does not buy a harder-working agent

The same NAR practice changes require the buyer to sign a written agreement with their agent before touring a home. That agreement must state compensation in objective terms and must include a term prohibiting the agent from receiving compensation for brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed to with the buyer.

The buyer’s agreement is therefore a ceiling, not a floor. If a buyer has agreed to pay their broker 2% and you offer 3% on a $450,000 sale, that is $13,500 against a $9,000 ceiling, and the $4,500 difference cannot raise what the broker collects. Money above the buyer’s own cap does not reach the agent, and it is better spent where it does move the deal: price, or a concession the buyer can actually apply.

Watch Paragraph 9(b) when one brokerage works both sides

If the listing broker also works with the buyer, that broker is entitled to the Paragraph 8 compensation for services performed for the seller as well as the buyer’s broker compensation under Paragraph 10(a) for services performed for the buyer. The form tells the seller, in its own words, to take this into consideration when negotiating compensation, and notes the broker may receive separate compensation from the buyer. That is not a reason to refuse an in-house buyer. It is a reason to settle the total in writing in advance, rather than reading the arithmetic off the closing statement.

At the offer stage it becomes a rider

Declining to offer at listing does not end the conversation, because a buyer can ask in the offer. The FloridaRealtors/FloridaBar AS IS Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase carries two separate riders in its addenda list for exactly this:

• Rider FF, Credit Related to Buyer’s Broker Compensation. You give the buyer a credit and the buyer applies it, so the money moves through the buyer.
• Rider GG, Seller’s Agreement with Respect to Buyer’s Broker Compensation. You agree to that broker’s compensation directly.

Which one appears changes who you are contracting with and how the amount is treated at closing, so read the box that is checked, not the dollar figure alone. Keep it separate from Paragraph 3(c) of the listing agreement, the Seller Expenses line, where you cap mortgage discount, other closing costs or concessions at a dollar amount. A concession and a payment to a buyer’s broker are different line items with different rules, and what a concession buys you at the negotiating table is a separate calculation.

How it interacts with the buyer’s loan

A seller contribution can run into the buyer’s financing limits. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide caps financing concessions by loan-to-value: 3% above 90%, 6% from 75.01% to 90%, 9% at 75% or less, and 2% on investment property, or $13,500, $27,000 and $40,500 on a $450,000 sale. The guide adds that fees and closing costs a seller pays in accordance with local custom, which it calls common and customary, are not subject to those maximums, and Fannie Mae issued a Selling Notice on April 15, 2024 clarifying seller-paid agent fees under that policy. The carve-out turns on custom and the buyer’s lender applies it, so confirm the treatment with that lender rather than assuming the concession room is untouched.

A seller’s checklist before you sign or counter

1. Know the Paragraph 8(a) fee separately from Paragraph 10, and separately again from the closing costs custom assigns to you.
2. Decide Paragraph 10 deliberately. Leaving it blank is a decision, and the decision it makes is (c).
3. If you offer, confirm the box is (a) or (b), and ask for the total dollar cost both ways.
4. Settle in writing what happens if your listing brokerage also represents the buyer, so Paragraph 9(b) is priced before it applies.
5. At offer stage, read which rider is attached, FF or GG, not just the amount.
6. Ask the buyer’s lender whether the contribution fits their program’s concession limits.
7. Compare any buyer-broker offer against a price reduction, since the buyer’s agreement caps what their agent can collect, and put the result in the net proceeds estimate first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission when I sell my house in Florida?

No. Paragraph 9 of the Florida Realtors Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement advises that Seller may, but is not required to, compensate a buyer’s broker upon closing. Paragraph 10 offers three choices, and the form deems the no-compensation option selected if you check nothing. Paragraph 8(f) and Paragraph 10 both state that brokerage commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. Section 475.25(1)(r), Florida Statutes, requires the fee to be written into the listing agreement, confirming it is a negotiated term rather than a fixed rate.

Can my agent advertise what I am offering the buyer’s agent on the MLS?

No. Under the NAR practice changes effective August 17, 2024, offers of compensation to buyer brokers are no longer allowed on a Multiple Listing Service. NAR’s guidance states that sellers can still offer compensation off an MLS, and can offer buyer concessions on an MLS, using buyer closing costs as the example. A concession toward closing costs and an offer to the buyer’s broker are published differently, which is one reason to keep the two separate in your listing strategy.

If I refuse to pay the buyer’s broker, will buyers still see my house?

Nothing in the listing agreement or the NAR practice changes conditions a showing on an offer of compensation, and the buyer’s compensation is already set in their own written agreement signed before touring. What changes is where the buyer finds the money. A buyer who owes their broker a fee and receives nothing from you must cover it from their own funds, competing with the down payment and closing costs, or ask for it in the offer through Rider FF or Rider GG. Treat it as a term to negotiate on the offer in front of you.

Selling a home in Central Florida

The buyer-broker question is a pricing decision, not a paperwork formality. We will show you the total cost of sale under each Paragraph 10 option, side by side with what the same dollars would do as a price reduction or a closing-cost concession, so the box you check is the one you meant. For the communities we cover across Orange, Lake, Osceola, Seminole, Polk and Volusia counties, see our community pages. To work through your own numbers, book a strategy session at mvphomegroup.com/nelsoncruz. This is general information about Florida contract forms, statutes and published lender guidelines, not legal or tax advice, and not a determination about any particular transaction.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration of a printed real estate listing agreement with a column of empty checkboxes and blank fill-in lines, a pen resting across the page. Body text is intentionally illegible. Not a particular document, transaction or property.