How is an executor's fee calculated?

It depends on the state. Some states set a statutory sliding scale — a percentage of a defined fee base that steps down as the estate gets larger (California, New York, Florida and Texas are the largest examples, and this calculator applies their schedules). Many other states allow 'reasonable compensation' set by the court based on the time, skill and responsibility involved. The will can also fix the fee or direct that the executor serve without one.

Is the executor fee based on the estate's total net worth?

Usually not. Each statute defines its own base. California uses the appraised inventory value plus gains and receipts, less losses, without deducting mortgages or debts. Florida uses the inventory value of the probate assets plus income earned during administration. New York applies its rates to sums received and paid out, excluding specific bequests. Texas pays 5% on cash actually received and paid out, but not on cash the decedent already held in the bank, life-insurance proceeds, or distributions to heirs. Assets that pass outside probate — joint accounts, payable-on-death accounts, most life insurance — are generally not in the base at all.

What if my state uses 'reasonable compensation' instead of a percentage?

Then there is no formula to run. The court (or the beneficiaries, in an informal settlement) judges the fee against the work actually done, so the best preparation is a time log and a clean, reconciled accounting that shows exactly what passed through the executor's hands. Some courts and bar associations publish local guidelines; the state's probate statute is the place to start.

Is an executor fee taxable?

Yes. An executor's fee is taxable income to the person who receives it, whereas an inheritance generally is not taxable income to the beneficiary. That is why an executor who is also the main beneficiary often waives the fee. Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses is different — it is a repayment, not income.

Can an executor waive the fee, or take less than the statutory amount?

Yes. The statutory amount is what the executor is entitled to claim, not a required charge. Executors routinely waive it or agree to a lower figure, especially in family estates. In most states a fee above the schedule for extraordinary work needs court approval.

Executor Fee Calculator: California, New York, Florida & Texas Statutory Fees

Four large states set the executor's (personal representative's) compensation by statute, as a sliding percentage of a defined fee base: California, New York, Florida and Texas. This calculator applies each statute's schedule exactly as written, shows the arithmetic bracket by bracket, and — the part most calculators skip — tells you what number the statute actually wants you to put in, because it is almost never "what the estate is worth".

State

Fee base (statutory "value of the estate accounted for")

Appraised value of everything in the inventory plus gains over appraisal on sales plus receipts, less losses on sales — with no deduction for mortgages or other debts. A $600,000 house with a $400,000 mortgage counts as $600,000.

Nothing you type leaves this page.

The four schedules, as written

Each schedule is cumulative: you pay the first bracket's rate on the first slice, the next rate on the next slice, and so on. The "fee base" column is the part people get wrong.

California — Probate Code §10800 (the attorney's ordinary fee under §10810 uses the same schedule)
Slice of the fee base	Rate
First $100,000	4%
Next $100,000	3%
Next $800,000	2%
Next $9,000,000	1%
Next $15,000,000	0.5%
Above $25,000,000	a reasonable amount set by the court

Base: appraised inventory value + gains over appraisal on sales + receipts − losses on sales, without reference to encumbrances or other obligations. That last clause is why California fees are famous for being large: debt does not reduce the base.

New York — Surrogate's Court Procedure Act §2307
Sums received and paid out	Rate
First $100,000	5%
Next $200,000	4%
Next $700,000	3%
Next $4,000,000	2.5%
Above $5,000,000	2%

Base: money received and paid out by the fiduciary; property that is the subject of a specific legacy or devise is excluded. Where the estate is $300,000 or more and there is more than one executor, each of up to three is entitled to a full commission; below that threshold the statute apportions.

Florida — §733.617
Compensable value	Rate
First $1,000,000	3%
$1,000,000 to $5,000,000	2.5%
$5,000,000 to $10,000,000	2%
Above $10,000,000	1.5%

Base: the "compensable value" — the inventory value of the probate estate's assets plus the income the estate earned during administration. With two personal representatives and a compensable value of $100,000 or more, each gets a full commission; with more than two, one full commission goes to the one who did the most and one is shared among the rest.

Texas — Estates Code §352.002
What is paid on	Rate
All sums the executor actually receives in cash	5%
All sums the executor actually pays out in cash	5%
Cap: the total may not exceed	5% of the estate's gross fair market value

Not paid on: cash the decedent had on hand or in a financial institution at death, life-insurance proceeds collected, or cash paid to an heir or legatee in that capacity. So an estate that is mostly a bank balance passed straight to the children generates almost no commission in Texas — by design.

What to check before you rely on the number

The will controls. If it fixes a fee, or says the executor serves without one, that generally overrides the schedule (in some states the executor may renounce the will's provision and elect the statutory fee — check).
Extraordinary services are extra. Selling real estate, running a business, litigating a claim, or handling a tax audit can justify additional compensation, but that is a request to the court, not a formula.
The court still has to approve it in a supervised administration, and beneficiaries can object. The most common objection is not the rate — it's that the executor can't show what passed through their hands. That is an accounting problem, not a fee problem.
It's taxable income to you. An inheritance isn't. If you are the sole beneficiary, taking the fee usually just converts tax-free money into taxed money — see the tax catch.
Reimbursement is separate. Out-of-pocket expenses you paid for the estate come back to you as a repayment, on top of any fee, and aren't income — see what an executor can be reimbursed for.

The fee base is whatever you can prove passed through your hands

Every one of these statutes is computed from the estate's receipts and inventory — the same figures a reconciled accounting produces. EstateLedger builds that accounting from the bank statements, on your own computer, with each line traced to its source row. Reviewing is free; pay only when you export.

Download EstateLedger — free Windows · import, reconcile and review for free · $59 only when you export

Sources

The schedules above are transcribed from the statutes below, checked on the date at the top of this page. Statutes change; the linked text is authoritative, this page is not.

General information, not legal or tax advice. This calculator applies a published formula to a number you supply; it does not know your estate, your will, or whether your state has amended its statute since this page was checked. Confirm the fee with the probate court or an attorney before you pay yourself.

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