Executor Fees by State: How Much an Executor Gets Paid

How executor pay is set

The executor (the will's word; many statutes say "personal representative", and an administrator is the same role when there is no will) is paid from the estate, for the work of settling it. Three things decide the amount:

• The will. If it sets a fee, that usually controls. Most statutes let you turn down the will's fee before you are appointed and take the statutory or reasonable fee instead.
• The state's statute. Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming have a percentage rule. In some it is the fee the court allows, in some a ceiling, in Florida a presumption, and in Missouri a minimum. Everywhere else the rule is reasonable compensation.
• What the percentage is charged on. Usually the probate estate only. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary, retirement accounts, payable-on-death and jointly owned accounts pass outside probate and normally don't count. Some states also leave out real estate that isn't sold, and a few add income earned during administration.

The schedules cover ordinary work. Most states let the court allow more for extraordinary services, such as selling real estate, defending a lawsuit, running the person's business or complicated tax work. The executor is also repaid out-of-pocket expenses, separately from the fee. The estate's lawyer is paid separately too, under its own rules.

Executor fees in all 50 states and DC

Tap a column heading to sort. The $500,000 column applies each statute to a $500,000 probate estate with no income and no unsold real estate; where the statute sets a maximum, it shows the ceiling. States with a link have their own estate or inheritance tax, explained in the state guide.

Each schedule was read in the statute itself on the state legislature's site. Where that site would not load, it was checked in two other published copies of the statute, and the link goes to one of them.

Worked examples

California, $1,000,000 estate

Your mother lived in California and left a house and accounts that went through probate, appraised at $1,000,000 in the inventory. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 10800, the mortgage is not subtracted:

• 4% of $100,000 = $4,000
• 3% of $100,000 = $3,000
• 2% of $800,000 = $16,000
• Total statutory fee: $23,000, about 2.3% of the estate.

If you and your brother serve together, there is still one $23,000 fee, split by agreement or by the work each of you did. Selling the house can justify an extra fee for extraordinary services, which the court must approve.

New York, $1,000,000 estate

Under N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 2307, commissions are figured on what the executor receives and pays out. A $1,000,000 estate, all received and paid out:

• 5% of $100,000 = $5,000
• 4% of $200,000 = $8,000
• 3% of $700,000 = $21,000
• Total commission: $34,000

If the estate also earns $40,000 of interest and dividends while you settle it, that counts too: the commission becomes $35,000. A house left to a named person in the will (a specific devise) is not counted. Because this estate is over $300,000, two co-executors would each be entitled to a full commission.

Pennsylvania, any size estate

Pennsylvania has no percentage. The court allows the personal representative compensation that is reasonable and just in the circumstances. The statute says the court may calculate it on a graduated percentage, but it sets no percentage itself. So the calculator can't give a number, and neither can anyone else without knowing the work involved. What you can do: keep a simple log from the start (date, hours, task, miles), and if you plan to take a fee, tell the beneficiaries early what you intend to charge and how you got there. A fee you can explain with a record is much less likely to be challenged.

Should a family executor take a fee?

There is no wrong answer, but run the numbers before you decide. The fee is taxable income to you. What you inherit is not. If you are also an heir, the fee is paid out of an estate you share in, so part of it comes out of your own inheritance, and then you pay income tax on all of it.

If you are the only heir, taking the fee just turns tax-free inheritance into taxable income, and you end up with less. If you and your sister inherit equally and your state's schedule gives a $20,000 fee, taking it puts you $10,000 ahead and your sister $10,000 behind, before you pay income tax on the full $20,000. Taking the fee makes most sense when:

• you are not an heir, or you inherit only a small share;
• the work is heavy (a house to clear and sell, a business, a dispute) and your siblings agree you should be paid for it;
• your income tax bracket is low.

If you decide to waive, do it in writing and early. The IRS has long held (Rev. Rul. 66-167) that commissions an executor waives within a reasonable time after starting to serve, and who acts consistently with serving for free, are not taxable income. A waiver made late, after you have done much of the work, may not count. You can still be repaid your out-of-pocket expenses either way.

Taxes on an executor fee

Federally, an executor fee is always taxable. IRS Publication 559 says all personal representatives must include fees paid to them from an estate in their gross income. If you are not in the business of being an executor, report it on Schedule 1 (Form 1040). Professional executors report it on Schedule C as self-employment income.

An inheritance is different: under 26 U.S.C. § 102, property received by bequest or inheritance is not income. That difference is the main reason family executors waive. A few states also tax what heirs inherit; see inheritance tax by state.

Next steps for executors

The fee is the last thing most executors think about. For everything that comes first (death certificates, probate, the estate bank account, debts and every tax deadline) use the executor checklist.

If the person lived in, or owned real estate in, one of the 17 jurisdictions with an estate or inheritance tax, a state return may be due long before you close the estate:

• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington