I’m a RE Broker,
to be considered “commission rebate“ and not be taxable, that commission rebate must have been disclosed through an addendum (Signed by everyone) before closing and MUST appear in the closing statement when you close on your home. And that commission rebate Is applied on the “gross” commission, which means that it takes out a portion of the Broker commission because it is applied before the split of the commission between the agent and his broker. And when such a rebate happen, it is before tax for the agent, because he doesn’t make tgat earning.
If your agent gave you a check after closing, then this is NOT a rebate, but a kickback and it is illegal, unless he gives you a compensation that would be considered a miscellaneous income for you, and would be on a 1099. In this situation your agent is actually paying taxes on this commission before he gave you a portion, so it is normal to send you a 1099, otherwise it would be illegal for him to send you that money afterward or it would be considered “kickback”, which is illegal. Also that money is strictly coming from his net commission, so in this case he doesn't need the authorization of his broker.
