Executor's fees and estate duty calculator

This calculator shows how much of a deceased estate is used up by costs and tax before anything reaches the heirs. It works out the executor's regulated fee, the VAT on that fee, the Master's fee, and estate duty after the abatement and the deduction for property left to a surviving spouse. It then shows what is left.

It is for families who have just lost someone and want to know what the winding-up will cost, for people planning their own estates, and for anyone nominated as executor. The numbers are estimates from the published tariffs and rates. A real estate depends on valuations, deemed property and deductions the tool cannot see.

What this calculator works out and who it is for

When a person dies in South Africa, their assets and debts form a deceased estate. An executor, appointed by the Master of the High Court, gathers the assets, pays the debts and costs, files an account, and distributes what remains. Three charges come off the top: the executor's remuneration, the Master's fee, and, on larger estates, estate duty.

You enter six things: the gross value of all assets at market value, the debts, any income the executor collects after death, the value left to the surviving spouse, whether a spouse died first without using their abatement, and whether the executor is a VAT vendor. The tool returns each cost line, the net estate, the dutiable amount, the duty and the figure left for the heirs.

If the gross value is at or below the Master's fee exemption in the rate table, currently R250 000, the tool flags that the estate may qualify for the simpler section 18(3) procedure, where the Master issues letters of authority and no executor is appointed. That threshold is set by the Minister and changes.

How the calculation works

The service runs the following sequence in the order the code runs it.

First, it works out the executor's remuneration. The rate table sets it at 3.5% of the gross value of the assets. Gross means before debts are deducted, so a bond on a house does not reduce the fee.

Second, it adds the executor's fee on income collected after death. The rate table sets this at 6% of rent, interest and dividends gathered during the winding-up. If you leave the income field at zero, this line is zero.

Third, it adds VAT at 15% on both fee lines if the executor is a VAT vendor. Most attorneys, banks and trust companies are; a family member acting personally usually is not.

Fourth, it works out the Master's fee from the tariff in the rate table. This one is not an estimate: it is the tariff in Schedule 2 to the regulations under the Administration of Estates Act, and the Master applies it as written. An estate with a gross value below R250 000 pays nothing. From R250 000 the fee is R600, and it stays R600 all the way to R400 000. Above R400 000, R200 is added for each complete R100 000 by which the estate exceeds R400 000, so a part of R100 000 adds nothing at all: an estate of R450 000 and an estate of R499 999 both pay R600, the same as one of exactly R400 000, and the fee only moves to R800 at R500 000. The fee is capped at R7 000, reached at a gross value of R3.6 million.

Fifth, it works out the net estate by subtracting the debts, the two executor's fees, the VAT and the Master's fee from the gross assets. If the result is negative, it shows zero and warns that the estate may be insolvent.

Sixth, it deducts the value left to the surviving spouse. The deduction cannot exceed the net estate, so a larger figure is capped with a warning.

Seventh, it deducts the abatement of R3.5 million from the rate table. If you ticked that a spouse died first without using their abatement, the tool doubles it to R7 million.

Eighth, whatever remains is the dutiable amount. Duty is charged at 20% on the first R30 million of that amount and 25% on anything above. If the dutiable amount is zero or below, there is no duty.

Finally, it subtracts the duty from the net estate to show what is left for the heirs, and adds the fees and duty together as the total cost.

The law behind the numbers

Two Acts and their regulations supply every figure.

The Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 governs how estates are wound up and gives the Master supervision over executors. Regulations under the Act set the executor's remuneration at 3.5% of gross assets and 6% of income collected after death. These are maximums. The Master may reduce the fee, and a will may fix a different one. The Master's fee tariff and the section 18(3) procedure for small estates come from the same Act.

The Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955 imposes estate duty. It defines dutiable property, including deemed property, lists the deductions, and sets the abatement and the rates. The deduction for property accruing to a surviving spouse is commonly called the section 4(q) deduction. The abatement of R3.5 million, the rates of 20% up to R30 million and 25% above, and the roll-over of an unused abatement between spouses have applied since 1 March 2018.

The figures in the rate table carry an effective date of 1 March 2018 and are reviewed whenever the tariff regulations or the Act change, so check the current position before relying on them.

Worked example

Both examples are illustrative.

Peter dies leaving assets worth R6 million in total. The estate owes R500 000 on the bond and other debts. He leaves R2 million to his wife and the rest to his children. The executor is a trust company and a VAT vendor. No income is collected after death.

The executor's fee is 3.5% of R6 million, which is R210 000. The income fee is zero. VAT at 15% on R210 000 is R31 500. The Master's fee on a R6 million estate is capped at R7 000.

The net estate is R6 million less R500 000 in debts, R210 000, R31 500 and R7 000. That leaves R5 251 500.

From that the tool deducts the R2 million left to the spouse, leaving R3 251 500, and then the R3.5 million abatement. The result is below zero, so the dutiable amount is zero and there is no estate duty.

Left for the heirs, before the spouse's R2 million is separated out, is R5 251 500. The total cost of winding up is R248 500, all of it fees.

Now an example that does attract duty. Ayesha dies unmarried leaving assets of R9 million and debts of R1 million. The executor, also a VAT vendor, collects R60 000 in rent during the winding-up.

The executor's fee is 3.5% of R9 million, which is R315 000. The income fee is 6% of R60 000, which is R3 600. VAT on R318 600 is R47 790. The Master's fee is capped at R7 000.

The net estate is R9 million less R1 million, R315 000, R3 600, R47 790 and R7 000. That is R7 626 610.

There is no spouse, so the only deduction is the R3.5 million abatement. The dutiable amount is R4 126 610. Duty at 20% is R825 322.

Left for the heirs is R7 626 610 less R825 322, which is R6 801 288. The total cost is R1 198 712, most of it duty.

If Ayesha had been a widow whose late husband's abatement went unused, ticking that box would double the abatement to R7 million, cut the dutiable amount to R626 610 and the duty to R125 322.

What the calculator does not include

Several costs and rules sit outside this tool.

Capital gains tax at death is not included. Death is treated as a disposal of assets at market value, and the gain is taxed in the deceased's final income tax return. The primary residence exclusion and the roll-over to a surviving spouse soften this, but it can still be a large cost.

Conveyancing of inherited property is not included. Transferring a house to an heir needs a conveyancer, whose fee and the deeds office charges are paid by the estate or the heir.

Advertising costs are not included. The executor must advertise for creditors and advertise the account in the Government Gazette and a local newspaper.

Deemed property is not modelled. Life policies paid to a named beneficiary, certain donations before death and some other items are added to the estate for duty even though the executor never handles them.

Insolvent estates are not modelled beyond a warning. If debts exceed assets, creditors are paid in a legal order of preference and the heirs get nothing.

Foreign assets are not modelled. Property abroad may be dutiable here, taxed there, or covered by a double taxation agreement.

Retirement fund benefits paid to dependants are generally excluded from duty and should not be entered as assets.

When to get advice

Get advice if any of these apply to you.

The debts are close to or above the assets, and you are being asked to act as executor.

There is a surviving spouse, a second marriage or a business interest. The spousal deduction, an accrual claim under an antenuptial contract and the valuation of a business all change the duty.

The estate includes property abroad or life policies with named beneficiaries.

The executor's fee looks high for a simple estate. You can ask the Master to review it.

The free route is the Master's office. The Master of the High Court registers estates, issues letters of executorship and letters of authority, and answers questions about the process at no charge, including guiding a family through the section 18(3) procedure. If you cannot afford an attorney for a larger or disputed estate, Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 may be able to assist in limited cases. Our legal aid page explains who qualifies.

For the wider picture, read how estate duty is calculated in South Africa, what an executor does and how much they charge and how long it takes to wind up a deceased estate.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the figures with the executor, a fiduciary practitioner or an attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Is the executor's fee negotiable?

Yes. The 3.5% in the rate table is a regulated maximum, not a fixed price. A will can set a lower fee, and an executor who accepts the appointment is bound by it. Professional executors sometimes agree to a reduced fee when asked, and the Master can reduce a fee that is out of proportion to the work.

Does everything left to my spouse escape estate duty?

Property that accrues to a surviving spouse is deducted before duty is calculated, so it is not taxed in the first estate. It may be taxed when the spouse dies.

What does the unused abatement box do?

If the first spouse to die used none of their R3.5 million abatement, usually because everything went to the survivor, the unused portion rolls over and the tool doubles the abatement to R7 million. The tool does not model a partial roll-over.

Why is the Master's fee marked illustrative?

The tariff is set by regulation and is revised from time to time. The tool applies the bands in the rate table and flags them so you check the current tariff.