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Mathematics » Introducing Percents » Solve Sales Tax; Commission; and Discount Applications

# Solving Commission Applications

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## Solving Commission Applications

Sales people often receive a commission, or percent of total sales, for their sales. Their income may be just the commission they earn, or it may be their commission added to their hourly wages or salary. The commission they earn is calculated as a certain percent of the price of each item they sell. That percent is called the rate of commission.

### Definition: Commission

A commission is a percentage of total sales as determined by the rate of commission.

$$\text{commission}=\text{rate of commission}·\text{total sales}$$

To find the commission on a sale, multiply the rate of commission by the total sales. Just as we did for computing sales tax, remember to first convert the rate of commission from a percent to a decimal.

## Example

Helene is a realtor. She receives $$\text{3%}$$ commission when she sells a house. How much commission will she receive for selling a house that costs $$\text{\260,000}?$$