What is the Standard Executor Fee in South Africa?

The “standard executor fee” in South Africa is the tariff prescribed by the Master of the High Court under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. According to the Master’s published FAQ, the executor is entitled to 3.5% on the gross value of the assets in the estate and 6% on any income accrued and collected after the date of death, with a minimum remuneration of R350 per estate. VAT at the prevailing rate is added on top of the fee for any executor who is a VAT vendor. The fee is fixed by the Master and may not be increased by agreement between the executor and the heirs.

This article walks through how the tariff is calculated, what the fee covers, what it does not cover, when it can be reduced, and how the fee differs from estate duty, Master’s office fees, and conveyancing fees — so an executor or an heir can read the prescribed fee clearly before the liquidation and distribution account is lodged.

What the Standard Executor Fee Actually Is

The executor fee is the remuneration paid to the person appointed to wind up a deceased estate. Where there is a valid will, that person is the executor named in the will; where there is no will, the Master of the High Court appoints an executor, who is typically a spouse, child, or close relative who applies for letters of executorship.

Three features of the fee matter from the outset:

• It is set by a prescribed tariff published by the Master of the High Court under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 — it is not freely negotiated by the executor.
• It is calculated on the gross value of the estate (the value of all assets before liabilities), not on the net value after debts.
• VAT at the prevailing rate is added on top of the fee for executors who are VAT vendors — typically attorneys, accountants, and corporate executors such as banks and trust companies.

The Current Published Tariff

The Master of the High Court’s published FAQ sets out the current tariff as follows:

Component	Rate	Basis
Remuneration on estate assets	3.5%	Gross value of assets in the estate
Remuneration on income after death	6%	Income accrued and collected after the date of death
Minimum remuneration	R350	Per deceased estate

The tariff is reviewed and amended periodically by the Master through amendments to the regulations under the Act. The figures above reflect the tariff as published on the Master’s FAQ at the time of writing — confirm the current tariff on justice.gov.za/master before relying on it for a specific estate.

A Worked Example

Consider a deceased estate with the following simplified figures:

• Gross value of assets: R5,000,000
• Income accrued after death and collected by the executor: R120,000

The executor’s tariff remuneration would be:

Calculation	Amount
3.5% of R5,000,000 (assets)	R175,000
6% of R120,000 (income after death)	R7,200
Tariff fee before VAT	R182,200

If the executor is a VAT vendor (an attorney, for example), VAT at the prevailing rate is added on top of R182,200. Estate duty, Master’s office fees, conveyancing fees on property transfers, and any separate professional fees for work that goes beyond the executive work proper are all charged in addition.

What the Standard Fee Covers

The fee is the executive fee for the work of winding up the estate:

• Gathering and valuing the assets
• Settling the debts of the estate
• Drafting the liquidation and distribution account
• Attending to the Master’s office queries on the account
• Attending to the advertisements required by the Master
• Finalising the distribution to the heirs

The fee is the same whether the executor is a family member, an attorney, an accountant, or a corporate executor such as a bank or trust company, and it is charged once per estate, not per asset or per heir.

What the Standard Fee Does NOT Cover

One of the most common sources of confusion among heirs is that the executor fee is only one of several categories of charge that arise during estate administration. The Master’s office reviews each of these separately when it considers the executor’s account.

Charge	What it is	Where it goes
Master’s office fees	Filing fees, advertisement fees, and fees for issuing letters of executorship, set by the Chief Master	Master of the High Court
Estate duty	Tax on the dutiable value of the estate under the Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955	SARS
Capital gains tax (CGT) at death	CGT event triggered on death, calculated on the difference between base cost and market value of each asset	SARS (reported in the estate’s tax return)
Conveyancing fees	Fees for transferring fixed property from the deceased’s name into the heirs’ names	Conveyancer attending to the transfer
Executor’s separate professional fees	Cost of work beyond the executive work proper — tax advice, complex litigation, business valuations	The professional concerned
Bank administration fees	Where a bank is the executor, the bank’s own administration and account fees	The bank

When an attorney or a bank quotes an “estate administration fee,” it is worth asking whether the quote is the prescribed executor fee plus VAT, the executor’s separate professional fees, or a bundled fee that covers only part of the work. The Master’s office reviews the executor’s account before the liquidation and distribution account is approved, and any fee that exceeds the prescribed tariff without Master’s approval can be reduced on Master’s review.

Who Sets the Fee and Why It Cannot Be Increased

The Master of the High Court publishes the prescribed tariff in the regulations under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. The Master holds the position that the fee is fixed and may not be increased by agreement between the executor and the heirs — the tariff is the maximum, not a starting point for negotiation upward. The Master’s published FAQ confirms this position.

This is an important protection for heirs. It means an executor cannot quote a higher fee simply because the heirs have agreed to it. The Master’s office will reduce any fee that exceeds the prescribed tariff when it considers the executor’s account.

When the Fee Can Be Reduced

Although the fee cannot be increased by agreement, it can be reduced in several ways:

• By agreement between the executor and the heirs — with the Master retaining oversight of the agreed fee.
• By direction in the will — a testator can direct that the executor shall charge a reduced fee, or no fee, and this direction is binding on the executor.
• By Master’s review on application — the Master can be asked to review the fee where the work actually performed was materially less than the work required for a typical estate of that size.

A fee waiver or reduction is a common topic in family discussions where a family member is the executor. The will, or a written agreement between the executor and the heirs, can record the reduced fee in writing. Without a written direction, the Master will assume the full prescribed tariff applies.

Fees in Different Estate Scenarios

The tariff applies in the same form across most estates, but a few scenarios warrant explicit mention:

Small Estates

Estates under the Master’s published small-estate threshold (currently R250,000) may be reported under a simplified procedure, with a Master’s Representative rather than a full executor appointment. The prescribed tariff still applies, but the volume of Master’s office work is reduced, which shortens the administration and lowers the professional time involved.

Insolvent Estates

Where the estate’s liabilities exceed its assets, the executor fee is still calculated on the gross value of the assets (not the net value). The Master confirms the fee before the liquidation and distribution account is approved.

Estates with Foreign Assets

The prescribed fee still applies to the gross value of the South African estate. Foreign assets are reported separately to the Master and may attract additional professional cost for the attorneys and accountants handling the cross-border work — that cost is on a professional-fee basis and is separate from the prescribed tariff.

National Tariff — No Provincial Variation

The executor fee tariff is set at a national level. There is no provincial or municipal variation, and the same fee applies whether the deceased was resident in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a small town. The Chief Master’s office in Pretoria administers every deceased estate in the country through the regional Master’s offices, which sit alongside the divisions of the High Court.

For a searcher in the Gauteng region, the responsible Master’s office for deceased estates in the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas is the Master’s office at the Gauteng Division of the High Court, sitting at both the Pretoria seat and the Johannesburg seat. The Chief Master’s FAQ on justice.gov.za/master remains the authoritative source for the current tariff bands and any recent amendments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standard executor fee in South Africa?

The standard executor fee is the tariff prescribed by the Master of the High Court under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. According to the Master’s published FAQ, the executor is entitled to 3.5% of the gross value of the assets in the estate and 6% of any income accrued and collected after the date of death, with a minimum remuneration of R350 per estate. VAT at the prevailing rate is added on top of the fee where the executor is a VAT vendor.

Is the executor fee the same as the “3.5% of the estate” rule of thumb?

For the asset side of the estate, yes — the Master’s published tariff is 3.5% on the gross value of the assets in the estate. The tariff also covers income accrued and collected after the date of death at a separate rate of 6%. The “3.5% rule of thumb” captures the asset component but does not reflect the separate income component, so a complete fee quote needs both figures.

Can the executor fee be negotiated?

The fee is fixed by the Master and may not be increased by agreement. It can, however, be reduced by agreement between the executor and the heirs, by direction in the will, or by the Master on application if the work actually performed was materially less than the work required for a typical estate of that size.

Does the executor fee include VAT?

No. VAT at the prevailing rate is added on top of the tariff fee for any executor who is a VAT vendor, or where the agent assisting with estate administration is a VAT vendor. Family members acting as executor are not VAT vendors and do not add VAT.

Is the executor fee the same regardless of who the executor is?

Yes. The fee is the same whether the executor is a family member, an attorney, an accountant, or a corporate executor such as a bank or trust company. The difference between executors is the cost of any additional professional work that goes beyond the executive work proper — that professional work is charged separately on a professional-fee basis, not folded into the prescribed tariff.

What’s the difference between the executor fee and estate duty?

The executor fee is the remuneration paid to the executor for winding up the estate. Estate duty is a separate tax levied on the estate under the Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955, calculated on the dutiable value of the estate and paid to SARS. Estate duty is charged in addition to the executor fee, not as part of it.

What is the fee on a small estate?

Estates below the Master’s published small-estate threshold (currently R250,000) may be administered under the simplified small-estate procedure. The prescribed executor fee still applies, but the Master’s office work is reduced, which shortens the administration and lowers the professional time involved. The published threshold is subject to change — confirm the current threshold on justice.gov.za/master before relying on it.

Can the executor also charge a professional fee?

Yes — where the executor is an attorney, accountant, or trust company, any professional work that goes beyond the executive work proper (tax advice, complex litigation, business valuations, cross-border work) is charged separately on a professional-fee basis, in addition to the prescribed executor fee. The Master’s office reviews the executor’s account and the professional fees separately.

If you are winding up a deceased estate and want a clear quote on the executor fee for that specific estate, Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates department will walk you through the prescribed tariff and the firm’s professional fees separately. The firm administers estates from its head office in Linden, Randburg (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246) and from its branches across Gauteng, including Centurion, Pretoria, Sandton, and Bedfordview. The Deceased Estate Administrator (Lance Pearson) and the firm’s directors handle estate work in coordination with the Master’s office. Reach the firm on 011 888 0246 to book a consultation.