An executor can generally take between 1% and 5% of the probate estate’s value as compensation, though the exact percentage an executor can take from an estate depends on three things: what the will says, what state law allows, and in many states, what a probate court decides is reasonable for the work actually performed.
That range is wide for a reason. A dozen or so states pin the number down with a statutory formula. The rest, roughly 35, leave it to the court. And the will itself can override either default by naming a flat dollar amount, a specific percentage, or no fee at all.
Where the Percentage Comes From
Executor compensation is set by one of three sources, applied in order. The will controls first. If the will specifies a fee, whether a percentage, a flat amount, or a direction to serve without pay, that governs unless the executor formally rejects it.
If the will is silent, state law fills the gap. Depending on the state, that means either a statutory fee schedule or a reasonable compensation standard decided case by case.
If the will sets a fee the executor considers too low, most states let the executor renounce the will’s provision and petition the probate court for the statutory rate or a court-determined reasonable fee. The renunciation generally has to be filed before the executor accepts any payment under the will’s terms.
Statutory Fee Schedules
About a dozen states set executor compensation by formula. These schedules almost always use a sliding scale tied to the estate’s value, with the highest percentages on the first dollars and smaller percentages as the total climbs:
- On estates under $100,000, first-tier rates commonly land between 4% and 7%, with a handful of states going as high as 10% on the first $1,000.
- On estates between $100,000 and $1,000,000, rates typically drop to 2%–4%.
- On estates above $1,000,000, most statutory schedules settle at 1%–2.5%, and some drop below 1% in the tens of millions.
A few states skip the sliding scale and apply a flat percentage, commonly 2% to 5% of the estate’s gross value. The spread is wide enough that an executor handling a $500,000 estate could earn roughly $10,000 to $25,000 depending on which state’s law applies. These are statutory maximums; an executor can always accept less.
The Reasonable Compensation Standard
In the majority of states, the probate court awards whatever compensation is “reasonable” for the work performed. This is the approach favored by the Uniform Probate Code. Fees under this standard still tend to fall within the 1%–5% range for most estates, but the executor has to justify the number instead of pointing to a statute.
Courts weigh several factors:
- The size and complexity of the estate. A single bank account and a house is less work than rental properties, business interests, and out-of-state assets.
- Time spent, and whether those hours were productive or duplicative.
- Skill required. Handling contested claims, tax elections, or business operations justifies more than routine bill-paying.
- Risk assumed, particularly for executors managing volatile investments or litigation on behalf of the estate.
- Local norms for executors handling similar estates in the same jurisdiction.
Detailed time records from the first week of administration make the justification far smoother when the final accounting is filed.
What the Percentage Is Calculated On
The fee is based on the probate estate, not the decedent’s total net worth. That distinction changes the dollar outcome more than most people expect.
Assets that bypass probate are excluded from the calculation entirely: life insurance paid to a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with designated beneficiaries, jointly held property passing by survivorship, and anything already held in a trust. The fee is typically computed on the gross appraised value of probate assets, so debts owed by the estate don’t reduce the base.
Consider an estate worth $2 million on paper where $1.2 million sits in a revocable trust and retirement accounts. The executor’s fee might be calculated on only $800,000. The headline estate value and the fee base are often very different numbers.
Co-Executors and Institutional Executors
Naming more than one executor can change the total percentage paid from the estate. Some states allow each co-executor (up to two) to collect a full statutory commission, effectively doubling the fee. When three or more co-executors serve, a common rule is that they split the equivalent of two full commissions among themselves unless the will says otherwise. Other states simply divide a single fee equally among all co-executors. The default rules vary enough that families who name multiple executors for fairness sometimes end up paying substantially more.
Banks and trust companies serving as executors publish their own fee schedules. Institutional fees commonly start around 4%–5% on the first few hundred thousand dollars and step down to 2%–3% above $1 million. Many also charge a separate income fee, often around 5% of all income the estate earns during administration, on top of the principal fee. Most impose a minimum annual fee, frequently $2,500 to $5,000, which can consume a disproportionate share of smaller estates.
Additional Pay for Extraordinary Services
The percentages above cover routine probate work: gathering assets, paying debts, filing tax returns, distributing property. When an executor handles tasks well beyond that baseline, most states allow a separate fee for “extraordinary services” on top of the standard commission.
Common examples include managing active litigation on the estate’s behalf, operating the decedent’s business during probate, overseeing complex real estate sales, and navigating IRS audits or contested tax matters. Compensation for extraordinary services almost always requires a separate court petition with detailed records showing what was done, why it was necessary, and how much time it took. Courts scrutinize these requests closely; vague descriptions and round-number time estimates tend to get cut.
When Courts Reduce or Deny the Fee
The percentage an executor can actually keep has a ceiling that courts enforce after the fact. An executor who breaches their fiduciary duty risks losing some or all of their compensation. Courts have broad authority to reduce fees, deny them entirely, remove the executor, or order reimbursement for losses caused by misconduct. The threshold is generally bad faith or serious negligence rather than honest mistakes.
Conduct that puts fees at risk includes self-dealing with estate assets, failing to file required tax returns or legal documents, making reckless investments with estate funds, ignoring beneficiary inquiries for extended periods, and causing unjustified delays in distribution. In one case, an executor who failed to file a federal estate tax return for over a decade had their commissions disallowed entirely.
Ordinary investment losses don’t trigger forfeiture as long as the executor acted in good faith. Courts draw the line between bad judgment, which is protected, and bad faith, which is not.
Whether to Take the Fee at All
Executor compensation is taxable income, every dollar of it. For a non-professional executor handling a relative’s estate, the fee is reported as other income on the personal return. For professional fiduciaries, and for non-professionals who actively operate a business owned by the estate, it’s self-employment income subject to both income tax and self-employment tax.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
If you’re both executor and beneficiary, taking the fee isn’t always the right move. Inheritance generally isn’t subject to income tax. A $15,000 executor fee is. If you would have inherited that money anyway, accepting it as a fee converts tax-free money into taxable income.
The calculation runs the other way for taxable estates. Executor commissions paid by the estate are deductible as administration expenses on the federal estate tax return, but only if the commissions are actually paid; a waived fee generates no deduction.2eCFR. 26 CFR 20.2053-3 – Deduction for Expenses of Administering Estate For an estate exceeding the federal estate tax exemption, paying the fee and claiming the estate tax deduction can save more than the executor loses in personal income tax. A tax professional can run the numbers both ways before you decide.