Compensation screening

Executor fee calculator by state

Executor pay is set by each state’s own law, and only 14 of the 51 jurisdictions turn the estate’s value into a fee: on a $400,000 base their schedules allow from $8,000 in Wisconsin to $17,000 in New Jersey and West Virginia. 5 more set a ceiling the court fills in, Texas allows a 5% commission on the cash received and paid out, held to 5% of the estate’s gross value, Georgia pays a percentage of the money in and out, and 26 leave the amount to the court as reasonable compensation; the table below gives each state’s rule, the calculator prices a schedule and theceiling worksheet prices a cap, both from your own figures.

Paying someone to administer a trust rather than a probate estate? Use thetrustee fee calculator, which prices the fee terms the trust document or the trustee’s written schedule states.

1. Where and when

State

2. Compensation base

Asset 1

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real property

Asset 2

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real propertyWill it be sold during administration?Some court charges are assessed on sale proceeds and exclude real property that is kept, so this changes the amount.

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Compensable value of the estate$Fla. Stat. s 733.617(1) applies the whole schedule to this one figure: the inventory value of the probate assets plus income the estate earned during administration. It is not the gross probate estate, and it comes from the estate accounting rather than from the asset list above. Leaving it blank keeps the compensation undecided rather than assuming a number.

Private by design: entries stay in this browser.

Your working estimate

Florida estate snapshot

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted

Court chargeMore information neededSummary administration2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.More information neededFormal administration2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.

Scheduled executor compensationCase accounting neededEnter the compensable value above and this schedule is applied to it, band by band.Florida presumes a percentage schedule is reasonable. The base is the compensable value of the estate, meaning the inventory value of the probate assets plus income the estate earned during administration, so it is not the same as the gross probate estate. A court may adjust compensation, and extraordinary services are paid separately.

Presumed attorney fee, ordinary servicesCase accounting neededWorked example: a compensable value of $500,000 gives $15,000, made up of:Flat amount for the first $40,000 = $1,500Additional flat amount above $40,000 = $750Additional flat amount above $70,000 = $7503% of $400,000 above $100,000 = $12,000Presumed reasonable for ordinary services in formal administration, on the same compensable value. Not mandatory: an attorney using it must disclose in writing that it is negotiable. Extraordinary services are extra; on petition the court may raise or lower it (subsection (5)). Fla. Stat. § 733.6171(3)

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

This worksheet needs JavaScript to calculate.

The calculation runs entirely in your browser, which is why nothing you enter is sent anywhere — and why it cannot run with scripting disabled. Every figure it would produce is also published as static text: the state comparison lists limits, waiting periods and court charges for all reviewed states, and each state’s cost page itemises the statutory fee schedule.

Executor fees by state

How each state sets executor compensation, and what its statute allows
State	How the fee is set	What the statute allows
Alabama	Capped percentage	Up to 2.5% of the property received plus 2.5% of disbursementsAla. Code § 43-2-848
Alaska	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneAS 13.16.430
Arizona	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneA.R.S. § 14-3719
Arkansas	Not priced here	The controlling text is not freely published; the state page says where to read it
California	Percentage of the estate	$11,000 on $400,000Cal. Prob. Code § 10800
Colorado	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneC.R.S. 15-10-602
Connecticut	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneConn. Probate Court Rules of Procedure, Rule 39
Delaware	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneCt. Ch. R. 192
District of Columbia	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneD.C. Code § 20-751
Florida	Percentage of the estate	$12,000 on $400,000Fla. Stat. § 733.617Counted on the inventory value of the probate assets plus the income the estate earns while it is administered; property that passes outside probate is not part of it. (Fla. Stat. § 733.617(1))
Georgia	Percentage of money in and out	2.5% of the money received plus 2.5% of the money paid outGa. L. 1996, Act No. 754; O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60(b)
Hawaii	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneHaw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-719
Idaho	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneIdaho Code § 15-3-719
Illinois	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work done755 ILCS 5/27-1
Indiana	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneIC 29-1-10-13
Iowa	Percentage of the estate	$8,120 on $400,000Iowa Code 633.197 (2026)
Kansas	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneK.S.A. 59-1717
Kentucky	Capped percentage	Up to 5% of the personal estate plus 5% of the income collectedKRS 395.150
Louisiana	Percentage of the estate	$10,000 on $400,000La. C.C.P. art. 3351
Maine	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work done18-C M.R.S. § 3-719
Maryland	Capped percentage	Up to 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration, then 3.6% of the excessMd. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-601
Massachusetts	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneG.L. c. 190B, § 3-719
Michigan	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneMCL 700.3719
Minnesota	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneMinn. Stat. § 524.3-719
Mississippi	Not priced here	The controlling text is not freely published; the state page says where to read it
Missouri	Percentage of the estate	$11,550 on $400,000Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.153.1
Montana	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneMont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631
Nebraska	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneNeb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2480
Nevada	Percentage of the estate	$9,150 on $400,000NRS 150.020(1)
New Hampshire	Not priced here	The controlling text is not freely published; the state page says where to read it
New Jersey	Percentage of the estate	$17,000 on $400,000P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14
New Mexico	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneNMSA 1978 § 45-3-719
New York	Percentage of the estate	$16,000 on $400,000N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 2307Counted on the money the executor takes in and pays out, with property received or handed on valued as the court directs; a specific bequest or devise is left out. (N.Y. SCPA § 2307(2))
North Carolina	Capped percentage	Up to 5% of receipts plus 5% of expenditures, as the clerk fixes itN.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3
North Dakota	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneN.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19
Ohio	Percentage of the estate	$13,000 on $400,000Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.35
Oklahoma	Percentage of the estate	$10,100 on $400,00058 O.S. § 527
Oregon	Percentage of the estate	$8,630 on $400,000ORS 116.173
Pennsylvania	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work done20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3537
Rhode Island	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-14-8
South Carolina	Capped percentage	Up to 5% of appraised personal property and real property sale proceeds, plus up to 5% of incomeS.C. Code § 62-3-719
South Dakota	Court decides	A reasonable amount; the court may use the scale the statute printsS.D. Codified Laws § 29A-3-719
Tennessee	Not priced here	The controlling text is not freely published; the state page says where to read it
Texas	Capped percentage	5% of the cash received and paid out, never more than 5% of the estate’s gross fair market valueTex. Est. Code § 352.002
Utah	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneUtah Code § 75-3-718
Vermont	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work done32 V.S.A. § 1143
Virginia	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneVa. Code § 64.2-1208(A)
Washington	Court decides	A reasonable amount for the work doneRCW 11.48.210
West Virginia	Percentage of the estate	$17,000 on $400,000W. Va. Code § 44-4-12a
Wisconsin	Percentage of the estate	$8,000 on $400,000Wis. Stat. § 857.05
Wyoming	Percentage of the estate	$8,350 on $400,000Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-803

The $400,000 figures apply each schedule to the base its statute names, so a will that sets its own fee, extraordinary services and the state’s own rules on what counts in the base can all move the real amount. Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Tennessee are not priced here.

Ceiling states: what the statute allows on your figures

In Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina the statute sets a maximum, not a fee, and measures it on figures only the estate’s accounting holds. Texas works the other way: a representative the court finds to have managed the estate properly is entitled to the 5% commission on the cash received and paid out, never more than 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate under administration (Tex. Est. Code § 352.002). Pick the state and enter those figures; the worksheet applies the statute to them and to nothing else.

State

Alabama: up to 2.5% of the property received plus 2.5% of disbursements (Ala. Code § 43-2-848)Value of all property received and held under the representative’s controlEverything that came into the representative’s possession and control during the administration.All disbursementsEvery payment made out of the estate: debts, expenses and distributions.

Ala. Code § 43-2-848(a) makes this the most the probate court may allow for ordinary work; within it the court weighs the difficulty, the local customary fee and the results. Extraordinary services can be allowed on top under subsection (b).

Kentucky: up to 5% of the personal estate plus 5% of the income collected (KRS 395.150)Value of the decedent’s personal estatePersonal property only: accounts, investments, vehicles, household goods. Leave real estate out.Income the representative collected for the estateInterest, dividends, rent and other income collected during the administration.

KRS 395.150(1) sets this as the limit for services as executor or administrator; subsection (2) lets the court add fair pay for unusual work or work on real estate, priced separately.

Maryland: up to 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration, then 3.6% of the excess (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-601)Property subject to administrationThe property the Register of Wills has under administration, not property that passed outside the estate.

Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-601(b) lets the court allow commissions up to this table unless the will provides a larger measure; a broker’s commission on a real estate sale is paid by the estate and does not come out of it (subsection (d)).

North Carolina: up to 5% of receipts plus 5% of expenditures, as the clerk fixes it (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3)Receipts, counting personal property at its value when receivedWhere real property was sold to pay debts or devises, count only the proceeds actually applied to them.Expenditures made in accordance with lawLeave out distributions of heirs’ or devisees’ shares: no commission is allowed on them.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3(a) leaves the amount to the clerk of superior court below this limit, and where the gross estate is $2,000 or less the clerk fixes a just and adequate amount instead. Necessary charges and disbursements are allowed separately (subsection (d)(1)).

South Carolina: up to 5% of appraised personal property and real property sale proceeds, plus up to 5% of income (S.C. Code § 62-3-719)Appraised value of the probate estate’s personal propertyProperty passing under the will or by intestacy, at its appraised value.Proceeds of real property sold on a will-directed or court-ordered saleEnter 0 if no real property was sold, or if the representative was the buyer.Income the probate estate earnedThe second 5% is not payable if the judge finds the representative acted unreasonably or delayed unreasonably.

S.C. Code § 62-3-719(a) sets a fifty-dollar minimum commission whatever the value of the personal property.

S.C. Code § 62-3-719(a) lets the court approve more for extraordinary services, and the cap does not apply where a contract or the will sets the fee (subsection (c)).

Texas: 5% of the cash received and paid out, never more than 5% of the estate’s gross fair market value (Tex. Est. Code § 352.002)Cash the representative actually received in the administrationLeave out cash on hand or in a bank or brokerage account at death, and life insurance proceeds.Cash the representative actually paid outLeave out cash paid to an heir or legatee as their share.Gross fair market value of the estate subject to administrationThe outer limit: the commission can never exceed 5% of this figure.

Tex. Est. Code § 352.002(b)(1) caps the whole commission at 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate subject to administration.

Tex. Est. Code § 352.003 lets the court allow reasonable compensation instead when the representative runs a farm, ranch, factory or other business of the estate or the 5% commission is unreasonably low, and § 352.004 lets it deny the commission in whole or in part when the property was not managed prudently or the representative was removed.

Enter every figure for the state to see what its statute allows. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

How executor compensation is calculated

Compensation rules come in three kinds, and only a percentage schedule turns an estate value into a number. Of the 51 published jurisdictions, 14 set a percentage schedule on the estate’s value and Georgia sets its percentages on the money received and paid out instead, 6 set a ceiling that a court fills in, and 26 apply a reasonable-compensation standard with no mandatory percentage. For the other 4, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Tennessee, the controlling compensation text could not be confirmed from a free official source, so the calculator does not price them.

Percentage-schedule states, worked at $400,000

Each schedule is marginal: the rate for a band applies only to the part of the value inside that band, not to the whole estate. The figures below apply each state’s published bands to the same $400,000 compensation base.

Executor compensation at a $400,000 base, by state
State	Bands	At $400,000	Statute
Florida	3% to $1,000,000 · 2.50% to $5,000,000 · 2% to $10,000,000 · 1.50% above	$12,000	Fla. Stat. § 733.617
Ohio	4% to $100,000 · 3% to $400,000 · 2% above	$13,000	Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.35
Missouri	5% to $5,000 · 4% to $25,000 · 3% to $100,000 · 2.75% to $400,000 · 2.50% to $1,000,000 · 2% above	$11,550	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.153.1
Nevada	4% to $15,000 · 3% to $100,000 · 2% above	$9,150	NRS 150.020(1)
California	4% to $100,000 · 3% to $200,000 · 2% to $1,000,000 · 1% to $10,000,000 · 0.50% to $25,000,000	$11,000	Cal. Prob. Code § 10800
Iowa	6% to $1,000 · 4% to $5,000 · 2% above	$8,120	Iowa Code 633.197 (2026)
Louisiana	2.50% above	$10,000	La. C.C.P. art. 3351
New Jersey	5% to $200,000 · 3.50% to $1,000,000 · 2% above	$17,000	P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14
New York	5% to $100,000 · 4% to $300,000 · 3% to $1,000,000 · 2.50% to $5,000,000 · 2% above	$16,000	N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 2307
Oklahoma	5% to $1,000 · 4% to $6,000 · 2.50% above	$10,100	58 O.S. § 527
Oregon	7.00% to $1,000 · 4% to $10,000 · 3% to $50,000 · 2% above	$8,630	ORS 116.173
Wisconsin	2% above	$8,000	Wis. Stat. § 857.05
West Virginia	5% to $100,000 · 4% to $400,000 · 3% to $800,000 · 2% above	$17,000	W. Va. Code § 44-4-12a
Wyoming	10% to $1,000 · 5% to $5,000 · 3% to $20,000 · 2% above	$8,350	Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-803

Georgia: a commission on money in and out, not on value

Georgia is not in the table because its default schedule has no bands to apply to a single base. Where neither the will nor a separate written agreement sets the pay, Ga. L. 1996, Act No. 754; O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60(b) pays 2.5% on every sum of money the representative receives for the estate (a loan the representative made and was repaid excepted) and another 2.5% on every sum paid out for debts, bequests or shares, plus 10% of any interest collected on money lent by the decedent or by the representative and reported in the return to the probate court. Property handed over in kind is paid separately, in an amount the probate court sets of no more than 3% of its appraised value (or of the value the judge finds, where nothing was appraised), and working land for the heirs can earn up to 10% of that land’s yearly income at the court’s discretion. The commission therefore follows what passes through the representative’s hands, not what the estate is worth: if a $400,000 estate were all cash that came in and went back out to the heirs, the two 2.5% commissions would come to $10,000 each, $20,000 together, while an estate handed over mostly in kind earns far less from them.

What the schedule does not settle

A schedule is a presumption or a statutory minimum, not an entitlement. Courts adjust compensation, and a will that states its own compensation terms can displace the schedule entirely.
The compensation base differs by state. Some states compute on the inventory value plus income earned during administration, some on the amount actually accounted for after liens, and some on personal property plus the proceeds of real property that was sold. Real property that is never sold is treated differently again.
Extraordinary services — selling property, running a business, litigation, tax work — are compensated separately in several states and are not included in any figure here.
Compensation is taxable income to the person who takes it, and a beneficiary who is also the executor sometimes takes nothing for that reason. That is a tax question this tool does not answer.

Reasonable-compensation states

Virginia, Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, District of Columbia apply a reasonable-compensation standard. The calculator returns that rule rather than inventing a percentage, because there is no mandatory percentage to return. South Dakota also prints a commission scale the court may apply when no will sets the pay; it is permissive, so the calculator does not run it. What counts as reasonable is decided on the record of the particular estate: time spent, complexity, the size and character of the property, and whether professional help was already paid for out of the estate.

What this tool deliberately does not do

It does not set the compensation base. States differ on whether income earned during administration, liens, or the proceeds of real property that was sold belong in it, and that choice moves the result more than the rate does.
It does not price extraordinary services — sales, litigation, business operation or tax work — which several states compensate separately.
It does not read the will. A will stating its own compensation terms can displace a statutory schedule entirely.
It does not answer the tax question, and compensation is taxable income to whoever takes it.
It does not decide who inherits. Intestate succession shares and will construction are outside its scope.
It does not price attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, appraisals, or property sale costs.
It does not calculate estate, inheritance, income, or capital-gains tax.
It does not transfer real property, and it does not advise on deeds or title.
It does not resolve creditor claims, family allowances, elective shares, or contested proceedings.

Jump straight to a state's executor fee rule

These reviewed state pages pair the compensation rule with the controlling source record, the filing-cost lane, and the broader probate route for the same jurisdiction.

Compare all 51 reviewed states

Executor compensation, not trustee compensation

This page estimates compensation for an executor — the personal representative a court appoints to administer a probate estate. It does not estimatetrustee compensation. The two roles are constantly confused because both are fiduciaries paid for managing someone else’s property, but they answer to different instruments and, in most states, to different compensation rules. If you searched for a trustee fee, the distinction below is the thing that was missing.

An executor (also called a personal representative or administrator) administers a probate estate: the assets that pass under a will, or under the intestacy statute, through the probate court. A trustee administers a trust: assets a grantor placed into a trust, which pass under the trust document and usually outside probate. One person can hold both roles for the same family, but the authority, the paperwork, and the fee standard are separate.

Executor and trustee compensation are set differently. Many states publish a statutory measure for executor compensation — a percentage schedule, a reasonableness standard, or a cap — and this calculator applies that reviewed rule where one exists. Most states instead apply a “reasonable compensation” standard to a trustee, with no statutory percentage at all, and a trust document can set its own fee terms on top of that. This site has not yet verified the state-by-state trustee compensation sources that would be required to publish a trustee figure under its editorial policy and methodology, so it publishes no trustee percentage, dollar amount, or schedule. Putting one here would be a guess dressed up as law, and on a compensation question that is the one thing this site refuses to do.

So this page computes an executor fee, and deliberately leaves the trustee figure blank until those sources are verified. When the trust document or a professional trustee’s written schedule does state the fee terms, thetrustee fee calculator applies exactly those terms and nothing else. Where the document is silent, the governing question is what is reasonable for the work actually done under that specific trust — assessed against factors such as the time required, the size and complexity of the trust, the skill involved, and the outcome. The guide to how courts judge whether a trustee fee is reasonable walks through that review in full. Ask the trustee for the fee provision, and confirm the current standard with the probate or trust court, or a licensed attorney in the relevant state, before relying on any amount.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Case details