Can I accept a commission? Jurisdiction reference

Read this first

A reference, not professional advice.

QuoteToMe is a software company. We do not give legal, tax or professional conduct advice, and nothing on this page is advice about your obligations. We have gathered rules and links to help you find source material. Reading the rules and deciding what they mean for your firm and client is your responsibility, with your own counsel or professional body.

Rules change. The status labels below describe the research provided for this page, not a current-source check or legal review. A rule date is not a review date. No review date was recorded in the provided research. Confirm the current rule with its regulator and your counsel before relying on it or launching a partner arrangement.

If your rules restrict what you can accept, consider the client-benefit path: we discount your client's subscription instead and your firm receives nothing. Your regulator or counsel can tell you whether any disclosure is still required.

The short version

Three things decide this, and only one of them is geography.

1. Assurance or attest?

This is the dividing line in every accounting rule summarized here. Where a firm provides audit, review, other assurance or attest services to a client, it generally cannot accept vendor compensation in respect of that client, in any form. Where it does not, compensation is usually permitted with disclosure and, in most places, client consent.

This is a per-client question, not a per-firm one. The same firm may be free to accept a commission for a bookkeeping client and barred for a review-engagement client.

2. A flat fee changes nothing.

People often assume a fixed referral fee is safer than a percentage. The rules summarized here use broad definitions: CPA Ontario includes a “commission, rebate, preference, discount, benefit or other consideration, whether monetary or non-monetary”; Quebec includes compensation, discount, benefit or another advantage, monetary or not. New York includes referral fees, and Texas covers a commission, compensation or other benefit.

If compensation is barred for that client, it is barred whatever you call it.

3. Geography decides how.

Where compensation is permitted, the jurisdiction sets the form of disclosure. New York requires a signed statement on letterhead in 12-point type, kept seven years. New Jersey requires signatures from both parties to the referral. Pennsylvania requires disclosure in the engagement letter and commission reporting on licence renewal. Alberta and Ontario require disclosure that payments recur, not just that they exist.

One exception: California separately restricts fees earned solely for referring a client to a third party, which can apply regardless of attest status.

What this means for our program

Two paths, and you choose per client.

Choose the path that fits the client and your professional obligations
Program detail	Compensation path	Client-benefit path
Your firm receives	10 percent of subscription revenue for 12 months	Nothing
Your client receives	Standard pricing	A discount equal to the commission value
You disclose	Under your own rules, before the recommendation	Your firm receives no commission; check your own disclosure obligations with your regulator
Typically used when	You do not provide assurance or attest services to this client and your rules permit compensation	You do provide assurance or attest services, your code restricts supplier compensation, or you simply prefer not to receive it

We supply a client disclosure template for the compensation path that you can adapt to your own requirements. Ask your partner contact.

Canada

Canadian accounting rules

How to read these statuses: “Verified” means the provided research says the source document was read. “Located” means the governing rule was found but not read in full. “Not verified” means it was not confirmed; contact the regulator directly. These are research-status labels, not confirmation that a rule is current.

Canadian accounting jurisdiction reference. Scroll horizontally to read all columns.
Jurisdiction	Regulator	Governing rule	What the provided research found	Research status	Source
Alberta	CPA Alberta	Rule 216, Commission and other compensation arrangements; approved 18 September 2020	Prohibited for assurance clients, directly or indirectly, even when compensation relates to non-assurance services. Permitted for other clients subject to threats and safeguards, prior disclosure of the relationship and commission (including ongoing fees), express client consent and discussion of alternatives. A prohibited payment received should be paid or credited to the client or returned. The specific prohibition for compilation engagements was removed.	Verified	CPA Alberta advisory on Rule 216 (PDF)
British Columbia	CPABC	Rule 216, revised at the AGM of 9 September 2020, in the CPABC Code	The 2020 revision broadened the rule to apply to all members, not only members in public practice. Structure appears to follow the harmonized rule. Current rule text has not been read in full.	Located	CPABC guidance on payment or receipt of commissions CPABC Code of Professional Conduct (PDF)
Saskatchewan	CPA Saskatchewan	Rule 216; rules approved 1 June 2022	Member alert notes major updates relating to Rules 210 and 216. Current rule text has not been read in full.	Located	CPA Saskatchewan Rules of Professional Conduct with guidance (PDF) Governing documents Member alert on the 2022 updates (PDF)
Manitoba	CPA Manitoba	Rule titled “Commission and other compensation arrangements”	Title matches the harmonized rule. Rule text not read.	Not verified	Contact CPA Manitoba directly; no current source URL has been verified.
Ontario	CPA Ontario	Rule 216; Professional Advisory Services guidance, August 2021	Prohibited for assurance clients, directly or indirectly. Permitted for other clients when threats are addressed, with written disclosure and client consent before receipt, ongoing disclosure including periodic fees, and alternatives offered. Compensation includes a commission, rebate, preference, discount, benefit or other consideration, monetary or non-monetary. Assurance clients must pay fees from their own funds. Guidance names a software provider as an example third party.	Verified	CPA Ontario guidance on commission and similar compensation (PDF) CPA Ontario Code of Professional Conduct
Quebec	Ordre des CPA du Quebec	Code de deontologie des comptables professionnels agrees, RLRQ c C-48.1, r. 6.1; in force 9 May 2024. Articles 30, 33 to 38 and 45.	Article 36 prohibits a commission where the CPA or firm provides assurance services to that client. Article 35 permits commissions otherwise if a conflict can be remedied by safeguards, and requires written notice of the commission and notice that other products or services of the same nature exist. Article 30 requires client consent to a conflict; Article 45 requires it to be informed and confirmed in writing. Article 37 requires a record of the nature and amount or value, disclosure made, and payer's name. Commission includes compensation, discount, benefit or other advantage, monetary or not.	Verified	Code de deontologie, C-48.1, r. 6.1 (LegisQuebec, official consolidation) Decret 716-2024, Gazette officielle (PDF, French) Ordre des CPA du Quebec, deontologie
New Brunswick	CPA New Brunswick	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Nova Scotia	CPA Nova Scotia	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Prince Edward Island	CPA Prince Edward Island	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Newfoundland and Labrador	CPA Newfoundland and Labrador	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Yukon	CPA Yukon	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Northwest Territories	CPA Northwest Territories and Nunavut	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Nunavut	CPA Northwest Territories and Nunavut	Not confirmed	Not confirmed.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.

United States

State rules for accountants

The baseline. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, ET 1.520, prohibits commissions where a member performs for that client an audit or review, a compilation expected to be used by a third party where the report does not disclose lack of independence, or an examination of prospective financial information. It requires disclosure where commissions are permitted. State boards may adopt this by reference or impose their own rules, and several are stricter.

AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (PDF)

United States accounting jurisdiction reference. Scroll horizontally to read all columns.
State	Governing rule	What the provided research found	Research status	Source
California	Business and Professions Code section 5061	A licensee may accept commission-based compensation for defined services when disclosed in writing and prohibited services are not performed. A licensee remains prohibited from accepting a fee or commission solely for referring a client to a third party. Disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, signed by the product or service recipient, and state the commission amount or basis of calculation.	Verified	California Board of Accountancy, Commissions and Contingent Fees Same, PDF
New York	8 NYCRR 29.10(i); amended 3 November 2021	Commission includes a referral fee. Prohibited when the licensee performs an audit or review, a third-party-reliance compilation that does not disclose lack of independence, or an examination of prospective financial information. Disclosure must precede the service, be in writing in 12-point type or larger on letterhead, signed by the licensee and signed and dated by the client, and describe the product, third party, business relationship and dollar amount or basis of calculation. Records kept seven years.	Verified	8 NYCRR 29.10 (Cornell LII, secondary host)
Texas	22 TAC 501.71; current through 20 September 2024	Prohibited where the person also performs services for that client requiring independence. Otherwise, the licensee must disclose in writing the nature, source and amount or an estimate no later than making the recommendation, referral or sale.	Verified	22 TAC 501.71 (Justia, secondary host)
Florida	Rule 61H1-21.003; amended 21 December 2009	No commission or referral fee in connection with audit, review or compilation services, prospective financial data services, or certain agreed-upon procedures. Otherwise, an engagement letter signed by the client before any engagement begins must give complete details of the financial arrangements.	Verified	Fla. Admin. Code R. 61H1-21.003 (Cornell LII, secondary host)
New Jersey	N.J.A.C. 13:29-3.12	Prohibited where the licensee performs an audit, review, or compilation of a financial statement accompanied by a report, broader than the AICPA trigger. Disclosure must be written contemporaneously with or before the referral, signed and dated by both the person or entity to whom the referral is made and the person or entity referred.	Verified	N.J.A.C. 13:29-3.12 (Cornell LII, secondary host)
Pennsylvania	49 Pa. Code 11.24; effective 13 January 2001	Permitted subject to section 12(p) of the CPA Law. Licensees receiving commissions must report this on the biennial renewal application. Disclosures go in an engagement or representation letter signed by the client.	Verified	49 Pa. Code 11.24 (Pennsylvania Code, official) Same (Cornell LII)
Oregon	OAR Division 30, under ORS 673.345	Commissions and referral fees permitted subject to conditions. Licensees and firms who receive or pay them must report this on the biennial renewal application. Disclosure must state the amount or basis of calculation, payment source and relationship between source and recipient, and services performed for the compensation.	Verified	OAR Division 30, Code of Professional Conduct Single rule view
Washington	WAC 4-30-045; effective 21 November 2024	Follows the three-service prohibition structure and covers the engagement period and periods covered. Otherwise, the licensee must disclose the arrangement in writing before client acceptance, disclose the fee amount or calculation method, specify the licensee's role as the client's advisor, and obtain written client consent. WAC 4-25-626 is superseded and should not be relied on.	Verified	WAC 4-30-045 (Washington State Legislature, official)
All other states and the District of Columbia	Varies	Not verified at source. Many adopt the AICPA code by reference, but several are known to differ in material detail. We will not guess on your behalf.	Not verified	Contact your state board of accountancy.

Other professions

Your professional code may be stricter.

Accounting is not the only regulated audience in this program. If you are an engineer, architect, surveyor or project manager, your code may be stricter than accounting rules because some do not have a non-attest carve-out.

Other regulated professions reference. Scroll horizontally to read all columns.
Profession	Code	What the provided research found	Research status	Source
Engineers (USA)	NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers, revised July 2019, section III.5.b	Engineers shall not accept commissions or allowances, directly or indirectly, from contractors or other parties dealing with their clients or employers in connection with work for which the engineer is responsible. Section III.5.a bars considerations from suppliers for specifying their product. Disclosure does not cure this.	Verified	NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers NSPE Code (PDF)
Engineers (Ontario)	Professional Engineers Ontario, O. Reg. 941	Misconduct to accept compensation in any form for a particular service from more than one party without prior disclosure. Separately bars gaining an advantage by paying or accepting a commission to secure professional engineering work. Disclosure-based rather than an outright bar.	Verified	Contact PEO directly for the current regulation text. A source URL was not verified in the provided research.
Engineers (other provinces)	APEGA, EGBC and others	Not verified.	Not verified	Contact your regulator directly.
Architects (USA)	AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, 2026 edition, Rule 3.201	Members shall not render services where judgment could be affected by their own interests unless all who rely on that judgment consent after full disclosure. State boards may be stricter; check your state board directly.	Verified (AIA only)	AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Architects (Canada)	RAIC and provincial associations	Not verified.	Not verified	Contact your association directly.
Quantity surveyors and cost consultants	RICS Rules of Conduct; effective 2 February 2022	Flags conflicts arising from giving or receiving work referrals, gifts, hospitality or payments. Disclosure and conflict management based.	Verified	RICS Rules of Conduct (PDF)
Quantity surveyors (Canada)	CIQS	Not verified.	Not verified	Contact CIQS directly.
Construction managers	CMAA, Canadian Construction Association	Not verified.	Not verified	Contact your association directly.
Project managers	PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, section 4.3.1	Requires proactive and full disclosure of real or potential conflicts of interest to appropriate stakeholders. Disclosure based.	Verified	Contact PMI directly for the current code text. A source URL was not verified in the provided research.

A note on our sources

Go to the current source when it matters.

Some US rules above are linked through Cornell Legal Information Institute or Justia rather than the state's own publisher. These are secondary hosts and can lag behind amendments. Where a decision matters, go to the state board or official code publisher for the current text.

Two documents identified in the provided research are out of date and should not be relied on: Washington's WAC 4-25-626 has been superseded by WAC 4-30-045, and historical commentary on how many states permitted commissions dates from the early 1990s and does not describe current law.

Dates shown in this reference are dates of rules or rule amendments, not dates we checked them. No page review date was recorded in the provided research. Statuses describe that research and are not a current verification. Have counsel and the relevant current source reviewed before launch.

Still not sure?

Start with the client-benefit path.

Tell us on your application, or on the referral itself, and we will set you up on the client-benefit path. It costs you nothing to start there, and your client gets the discount either way.

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