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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
The executor’s fee is the biggest administration cost most estates face — 3.5% of gross assets plus VAT can mean R100,000+ on an ordinary family estate — and almost nobody knows it’s negotiable BEFORE the fact. Here is how the tariff works, where estates overpay, and the planning that cuts the bill.
The tariff
Remuneration is capped by regulation at 3.5% (excl VAT) of the GROSS value of estate assets, plus 6% on income collected after death. Gross means before debts: a R3m house with a R2m bond still attracts the fee on R3m. The Master can reduce fees for poor work; banks and professional executors typically charge the maximum unless someone negotiated.
Where families overpay
Life policies paid TO THE ESTATE attract the fee (nominate beneficiaries directly — same money, zero executor fee); bank-as-executor appointments taken decades ago at full tariff plus VAT; fee clauses hidden in ‘free will’ offerings (the free will costs 3.5% later); and double-dipping where the executor also charges professional/conveyancing fees without agreement. Every one of these is preventable in the will.
Negotiate at drafting, not at death
The will can FIX the executor’s remuneration — a negotiated percentage (1.5–2.5% is common for clean estates), a fixed fee, or tariff-with-cap. Professionals accept reduced-fee appointments routinely; the leverage exists only while you’re alive and choosing. Families dealing with an estate NOW: fees can still be negotiated with the appointee, and excessive charges taxed down by the Master.
What the fee should buy
Full administration: reporting, Letters, advertising, asset collection, SARS finalisation (income tax + estate duty), the L&D account, distribution and transfers coordinated. An executor charging maximum tariff while the family chases SARS and the Master themselves is the complaint the Master’s fee-reduction power exists for — document the failures.
Executor fee vs other estate costs
Keep the categories straight: executor’s remuneration (the tariff), conveyancing fees on property transfers (separate, tariff-based), Master’s fees (small, scaled), estate duty (20% above the R3.5m abatement — a tax, not a fee), advertising and valuation costs. ‘The estate cost us 20%’ is usually several categories nobody itemised — demand the breakdown; each line has its own rules.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 3.5% negotiable after death?
Yes — heirs/family can negotiate with the nominated executor before acceptance, and the Master can reduce fees for unsatisfactory performance. Easier, though, to fix it in the will.
Do small estates pay it too?
Estates under R250,000 use the s18(3) process — typically fixed low-fee work. The tariff bites middle-class estates hardest: paid-off house + policies to the estate = maximum fee territory.
Can a family member be executor and skip the fee?
Yes — a family executor can serve without charging (or charge less), usually appointing an attorney for the technical work at an agreed fee. Often the cheapest competent structure.
Is VAT always added?
Only if the executor is VAT-registered (banks, firms — yes: 3.5% becomes 4.025%). A private individual executor charges no VAT.
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