What does winding up an estate cost?
The biggest line item is the executor's fee. The maximum tariff is 3.5% of the gross assets in the estate, plus 6% of any income collected after death — and 15% VAT on top if the executor is VAT-registered. All-in, that is up to 4.025% of the assets.
The tariff is a maximum, not a fixed price. It can be negotiated down — in the will, or by agreement with the executor — and the estate pays it in cash before heirs receive anything.
The executor's fee — a worked example
A gross estate of R3 million, with a VAT-registered executor charging the full tariff:
- Fee at 3.5% of R3 million = R105,000
- VAT at 15%: R15,750
- Total: R120,750
The 6% most people miss
On top of the asset fee, the tariff allows 6% of income the executor collects after death — rent still coming in, interest, dividends. An estate that takes long to wind up keeps generating income, and the fee meter runs on all of it.
A maximum — and negotiable in advance
The tariff is a ceiling set by regulation, not a price list. A will can stipulate a lower fee for whoever accepts the appointment, and a fee can be agreed with an executor upfront. Banks and fiduciary firms routinely conclude such agreements — but the negotiation happens before death or at appointment, not after the fact.
The other costs
The executor's fee is not the whole bill. Estates also carry Master's fees, the cost of advertising for creditors, valuation fees, and conveyancing fees when property transfers to heirs. And if the dutiable estate exceeds the R3.5 million abatement, estate duty applies on top — the tax covered in "What is estate duty and who pays it?".
One relief valve exists at the small end: estates below R250,000 can be dealt with under letters of authority instead of the full executor process, which cuts the formality and the cost dramatically.
Why cash matters
Every one of these costs is paid in cash, out of the estate, before heirs see anything. An estate that is mostly property or business value with little cash can be forced to sell assets — sometimes the very assets the family hoped to keep — just to cover the winding-up. This is what "estate liquidity" means, and it is decided by how the estate is structured long before anyone dies.
Terms used on this page
- executor
- The person or institution appointed to wind up a deceased estate — collecting the assets, paying the debts and costs, and distributing what remains to the heirs.
- abatement
- The slice of an estate that is free of estate duty — currently R3.5 million. Any portion the first spouse's estate doesn't use carries over to the surviving spouse's estate.
Reviewed July 2026