An Oregon personal representative fee is set by statute: ORS 116.173 pays you on a sliding scale that runs from 7% on the first $1,000 of the estate down to 2% on everything over $50,000. For most estates that clears $50,000, the effective rate lands somewhere around 2% to 3% of total value. You collect it at the end of probate, after the court approves your final accounting.
The Statutory Formula
Four tiers apply in sequence to the value of property under the court’s jurisdiction:
- 7% on the first $1,000
- 4% on amounts from $1,000 to $10,000
- 3% on amounts from $10,000 to $50,000
- 2% on everything above $50,000
On a $200,000 estate, the math works out to $4,630: $70 on the first $1,000, $360 on the next $9,000, $1,200 on the next $40,000, and $3,000 on the remaining $150,000.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.173 – Compensation of Personal Representative Because the 2% top tier does most of the work on any estate larger than about $50,000, you can estimate quickly: take 2% of the total and add a few hundred dollars for the smaller tiers.
What Counts Toward the Fee
The base isn’t just the assets your decedent owned on the date of death. Oregon defines “property subject to the jurisdiction of the court” to include income the estate earns during administration, gains realized when estate assets are sold, and proceeds from any wrongful death claim. Sell the house for $50,000 over its appraised value and that gain adds to your fee base. In estates that stay open a year or more, accumulated rental income and sale gains can push the final fee well past what the initial inventory suggested.2Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 116.173 – Compensation of Personal Representative
Co-Representatives Share One Fee
If two or more people serve together, the total compensation does not increase. You either agree among yourselves on how to split the statutory amount or ask the court to allocate it.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.173 – Compensation of Personal Representative
When the Standard Rate Doesn’t Apply
Will Provisions
A will can set a different amount or method of compensation, and that provision generally controls. Some wills direct the personal representative to serve without pay. If the will is silent, the statutory formula applies.
Asking the Court for a Different Method
Under ORS 113.038, the person petitioning for appointment can ask the court to approve an alternative fee arrangement — hourly billing, for instance, when the standard formula would not fairly compensate the work. The petition must explain why, and distributees get at least 20 days to object. One useful feature: even if the court approves an alternative method up front, you can still fall back to the standard statutory formula at any time before you file the final accounting.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.038 – Request for Different Method of Compensation of Personal Representative
Extraordinary Services
The court can approve additional compensation for work that goes beyond ordinary administration. Running a business the estate owns, managing complex litigation, or resolving contested tax matters are typical examples. Document the extra work carefully. The court weighs the time involved, the difficulty, and the outcome before setting an extra amount.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.173 – Compensation of Personal Representative
When You Get Paid
No fee gets paid until the court approves it. Your request is part of the final accounting, a detailed report of every dollar in and out of the estate. Beneficiaries and unpaid creditors get at least 20 days to object once you file.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.093 – Notice for Filing Objections to Final Account and Petition for Distribution Courts scrutinize fees more closely when a representative has kept sloppy records, dragged the case out without reason, or caused financial harm to the estate.
Oregon probate runs a minimum of four months because creditors need that long to file claims after publication.5Oregon Judicial Department. Probate FAQ Most estates take six months to over a year in practice. You may be doing the work for a long time before the check clears.
Interim Payments
If the estate will take a long time to close, you can petition for a partial payment of fees and expenses before the final accounting. You have to show the final account reasonably cannot be filed yet, and the court decides what notice to give first.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.183 – Expenses of Personal Representative Interim payments are most common in estates with ongoing business operations or litigation that stretches administration past a year.
Priority If the Estate Is Short
When an estate cannot pay everyone, Oregon law sets a strict order. Administration expenses, including your fee, sit second: behind support obligations for a surviving spouse and minor children, but ahead of funeral costs, federal taxes, last-illness medical expenses, and general creditor claims.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 115.125 – Order of Payment of Expenses and Claims In a solvent estate the order does not matter because everything gets paid. In a debt-heavy one, it matters a lot.
Reimbursement for Out-of-Pocket Costs
Reimbursement is separate from the percentage fee. You can recover necessary administration expenses: court filing fees, appraiser and attorney charges, accountant costs, postage, and travel. The statute also covers expenses from any legal proceeding you pursued or defended in good faith, regardless of outcome.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.183 – Expenses of Personal Representative
For mileage, the 2026 IRS business standard rate of 72.5 cents per mile is a reasonable benchmark.8Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile, Up 2.5 Cents Keep receipts and contemporaneous records. Courts can deny reimbursement that lacks documentation or looks excessive.
Taxes on the Fee
The fee is taxable income. Every dollar you receive as compensation goes on your return for the year you receive it. The estate can deduct the fee as an administration expense on its Form 1041 if it earned at least $600 in gross income during administration.
Self-employment tax usually does not apply if you are a nonprofessional serving on a single estate as a one-time job for a relative or friend. It kicks in when the estate includes a trade or business you actively run, or in rare cases where the estate is so large and complex that managing it is itself a business activity.9Social Security Administration. SSR 63-46 – Section 211(c) – Self-Employment – Trade or Business Professional fiduciaries who handle estates regularly owe self-employment tax on all their fees.
Should You Waive the Fee?
If you are the sole or primary beneficiary, waiving may be smarter than collecting. The fee is taxable income to you; the same money coming through as an inheritance generally is not. Whether it saves you anything depends on estate size, whether a federal estate tax return is required, and your bracket. If you plan to waive, do it promptly after appointment. IRS guidance provides a safe harbor when the waiver happens within six months, which keeps the amount from being treated as income you received and then gave back.