In federal court, a bill of costs is the verified, itemized request the winning party files to have specific litigation expenses added to the judgment against the losing party. The recoverable expenses come from a short statutory list, and attorney fees are not on it. A court clerk reviews the request, gives the other side a chance to object, and taxes the allowed amount into the judgment.
What You Can Recover
Federal law defines six categories of expenses that a clerk or judge can tax as costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1920 – Taxation of Costs Anything outside these categories is not recoverable this way, no matter how reasonable it seemed at the time:
- Fees paid to the clerk and to the U.S. Marshals Service.
- Printed or electronically recorded transcript fees, when the transcript was necessarily obtained for use in the case.
- Printing costs and witness fees.
- Copies of documents or exhibits necessarily obtained for use in the case, including certain digital conversions.
- Statutory attorney docket fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1923, which are fixed at small amounts (for example, $20 for a trial or final hearing) and add little to most bills.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1923 – Docket Fees and Costs of Briefs
- Compensation for court-appointed interpreters and court-appointed experts.
The word running through the statute is “necessarily.” A deposition transcript you ordered as a precaution but never used at trial is vulnerable to being disallowed.
Witness Fees Are Capped
Witness compensation is set by a separate statute at $40 per day of attendance, including travel days. A witness who drives to court receives a mileage allowance at the GSA rate for federal employees, which is $0.725 per mile for 2026. Witnesses who travel by common carrier are reimbursed for actual travel at the most economical reasonable rate, with tolls, taxi fares between lodging and terminals, and parking also covered. If an overnight stay is required, the witness gets a subsistence allowance up to the federal per diem rate for that area.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1821 – Per Diem and Mileage Generally; Subsistence
What You Can’t Recover
The largest exclusion is attorney fees. Rule 54(d)(1) draws this line explicitly: recoverable costs do not include what you paid your lawyer.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 Attorney fees are only recoverable when a specific statute or contract allows them, and they require a separate motion with a different procedure and deadline.
Expert witness fees are the second trap. You may have paid an expert several hundred dollars an hour for trial preparation and testimony, but the bill of costs recovers only the same $40-per-day attendance fee that any ordinary witness receives. The Supreme Court fixed this limit in Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. Gibbons, Inc., holding that unless a specific statute or contract says otherwise, expert witness costs are capped at the standard rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1821.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1821 – Per Diem and Mileage Generally; Subsistence
Electronic Discovery
Modern litigation generates large e-discovery bills, and most of that money is not recoverable. Courts have drawn a line between making copies of electronic documents and everything that comes before copying. Converting native files to TIFF images, scanning paper documents into electronic copies, and converting media formats generally qualify as copying costs under § 1920(4). The upstream work does not. Collecting and preserving electronic data, reviewing documents for relevance or privilege, data processing, and project management are treated as non-taxable litigation expenses that the winning party absorbs.
Other common expenses that fall outside the six categories include attorney travel and meals, postage and courier charges, legal research database fees, and general office overhead.
How to File the Bill
The prevailing party files the bill of costs on Form AO 133, available on the U.S. Courts website.5United States Courts. Bill of Costs (District Court) Every item on the form must be backed by documentation: original receipts, invoices, or other records showing what was paid and why it was necessary. A copying charge, for example, needs an invoice showing the per-page rate, the number of pages, and the purpose of the copies.
Federal law also requires an affidavit verifying that each claimed item is correct, was necessarily incurred, and that any services listed were actually performed. The affidavit must come from the party, their attorney, or an agent with personal knowledge.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1924 – Verification of Bill of Costs Clerks routinely disallow items that lack supporting documentation. The bill must also be served on all opposing parties.
Deadlines Are Set by Local Rule
This is where parties get tripped up. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not set a specific deadline for filing a bill of costs. Each district’s local rules do, and they vary. Some require filing within 14 days of judgment, others allow 30 days, and a few have different windows. Check your court’s local rules immediately after judgment is entered. Missing the deadline forfeits the right to recover costs entirely.
What Happens After Filing
Once the bill is filed, the clerk gives the opposing party 14 days’ notice before taxing costs.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 During that window, the other side can examine every line item, object to anything inflated, and challenge items outside the six statutory categories.
The clerk then reviews the documentation and objections and issues a taxation order allowing some or all of the claimed costs. If either party disagrees, they have 7 days to file a motion asking the judge to review the clerk’s decision. Judges look at whether each item fits within § 1920, whether it was reasonably necessary, and whether the documentation supports the amount claimed.
The Judge Can Deny Costs Even to a Winner
Winning does not guarantee recovery. Rule 54(d)(1) says costs “should” be allowed to the prevailing party, which creates a strong presumption in your favor but leaves the judge room to reduce or deny the award. Courts have exercised that discretion where the losing party has very limited financial resources, where the prevailing party engaged in misconduct during litigation, or where the case raised novel legal questions that made the loser’s position reasonable even though it failed.
The losing party bears the burden of overcoming the presumption. Simply arguing “the costs are too high” rarely works. Courts want a specific reason imposing costs would be unjust, not a complaint about the total.
Appeals and Collection
An appeal does not erase taxed costs, but it can change who owes them. If the judgment is affirmed, the original cost award stands and the appellant typically owes appellate costs as well. If the judgment is reversed, costs on appeal are assessed against the original winner, and the trial-level bill of costs becomes unenforceable. When a judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part, or modified or vacated, each side bears its own appellate costs.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 39 – Costs
Filing an appeal does not automatically stop the winning party from collecting the judgment, taxed costs included. The losing party must ask the district court for a stay of execution, and the court can require a bond or other security as a condition.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal
Once taxation is final and any review period has passed, the allowed amount is added to the judgment and carries the same enforcement power as any other money judgment. The prevailing party can use standard collection tools, including wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. Post-judgment interest accrues at the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield for the week preceding the date of judgment, compounded annually and computed daily until payment, and runs from the date the original judgment was entered.9United States Courts. 28 U.S.C. 1961 – Post Judgment Interest Rates