Open a separate business bank account and deposit every commission check there. This creates a clean record of all your income without mixing it with personal funds. When tax time comes, you can reconcile your bank deposits against the 1099-NEC your brokerage sends you.

Record income when you actually receive the money, not when the transaction closes escrow. Real estate deals can close on the 28th but you might not see the commission check until the following month. Your books should reflect when cash hit your account because that’s what your 1099 will show.

Track both the gross commission and your net amount after the brokerage split. Your brokerage might report the full commission on your 1099, or they might report only your portion depending on how they structure the split. Knowing both numbers helps you reconcile and catch discrepancies. If you’re on an 80/20 split and closed $500,000 in transactions, you should be able to trace exactly where that 80% ended up.

Keep a record of each closing with the property address, closing date, gross commission, split amount, and deposit date. A simple spreadsheet works, or you can track this in QuickBooks by entering each commission as a separate transaction with a memo noting the property. This detail helps when you’re matching deposits to your 1099 and trying to figure out why the numbers don’t line up.

Don’t forget income outside your main brokerage. Referral fees from other agents, bonuses from your brokerage, and any transaction coordination fees you receive all count as taxable income. If you work with multiple brokerages or receive referrals from out-of-state agents, you might get multiple 1099s. Track all of it.

Reconcile your income records against your 1099 in January before you file taxes. Brokerages make mistakes. They might report the wrong amount, include a transaction that should have been on last year’s 1099, or miss one entirely. Catching these errors before you file is much easier than amending a return later. If the 1099 is wrong, contact your brokerage and request a corrected form.

Set aside money for taxes with each commission. As a 1099 contractor, nobody withholds taxes from your income. A common approach is saving 25-30% of each check in a separate savings account. This covers federal income tax, California state tax, and self-employment tax. Waiting until April to figure out your tax bill creates cash flow problems.

Working with Los Angeles QuickBooks bookkeepers who understand real estate can simplify the tracking. They can set up your chart of accounts properly, categorize income and expenses correctly, and make sure your records match what gets reported on your tax return. The variable nature of commission income makes consistent bookkeeping especially valuable for real estate agents who want to understand their actual earnings and plan for slower months.