7 Costs a Pennsylvania Executor Pays Before Anyone Inherits

Settling a Pennsylvania estate means paying several bills.

The state’s inheritance tax alone can run as high as 15% of what’s left behind, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

A Register of Wills filing fee, an executor’s commission, and a required legal notice all come out of the same estate before an heir sees a cent.

None of it is optional.

These are the costs a Pennsylvania executor pays before anyone inherits.

Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax rates, county fee schedules, and other estate costs are subject to change.

Register of Wills Fee

Every Pennsylvania estate starts at the county Register of Wills, and that office charges the executor a fee to open the file.

The fee rises with the estate’s value, and it isn’t the same from one county to the next.

Allegheny County charges $194.75 to open an estate under $5,000, rising past $444.75 once the estate tops $200,000.

Chester County’s scale runs from $50 for an affidavit on a small estate up to $675 or more on one worth $1 million.

Pennsylvania has 67 counties, and each one sets a different fee schedule instead of following one statewide number.

Allegheny County also charges $25 for each certified copy of Letters Testamentary, often called a short certificate.

Banks and insurance companies want that certificate before they hand over the decedent’s money.

Many estates need several of those certificates before every account closes.

No county waives it.

State’s Inheritance Tax

Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax is often the biggest bill on an estate, and it’s due before anyone inherits a dime.

The executor files the return and pays it out of the estate’s accounts, not personal savings.

The rate depends on who inherits.

Spouses and parents who inherit from a child 21 or younger owe 0%.

Children and grandchildren owe 4.5%.

A child who inherits the family home pays that same 4.5% on the house itself, on top of everything else in the estate.

Siblings owe 12%.

Everyone else, including unrelated heirs and distant cousins, owes as much as 15%, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

That’s the top rate in the state.

Pay the whole bill within three months of the date of death, and the state knocks 5% off the total.

If you miss that window, the tax is still due nine months after death, whether it’s paid in full or not.

Wait past that nine-month mark, and the state starts charging interest on whatever’s left unpaid.

The Department of Revenue has recently set that rate around 7% annually, and it resets every year.

That interest adds up fast.

Executor’s Commission

State law lets an estate pay its executor for the time and trouble of running it.

There’s no set formula in state law for how much that commission runs.

Orphans’ courts across the state often lean on a decades-old guideline from a Chester County case, Johnson Estate, when nobody can agree on a number.

That guideline isn’t binding, but it’s still the starting point many lawyers reach for.

The math runs on a sliding scale: 5% of the first $100,000, 4% of the next $100,000, and 3% of every dollar between $200,000 and $1 million.

Bigger estates get an even smaller cut.

There’s no fixed cap.

The commission also counts as taxable income for the executor, the same as any paycheck.

Estate Attorney’s Fee

Many Pennsylvania executors hire an estate attorney to walk the file through probate, and that fee comes out of the estate too.

Attorneys don’t work off a state-set rate either.

Many bill by the hour, commonly in the low hundreds of dollars.

That adds up fast.

Others use that same Johnson Estate scale, which starts at 7% of the estate’s first $25,000 and steps down from there.

A straightforward estate with a clear will costs less to administer than one where an heir contests the will or the executor’s decisions.

Any fee a family disputes still needs the Orphans’ Court’s sign-off before the estate can pay it.

Either way, the estate pays it.

Appraisal Fee

Pennsylvania requires a value for every piece of real estate and property in the estate before the inheritance tax return goes in.

That value doesn't come from a guess or an old tax bill.

A licensed appraiser typically charges $350 to $600 for a full home appraisal, according to the home-services site Angi.

A desktop appraisal runs cheaper, from $125 to $400, and a drive-by appraisal typically costs $200 to $350.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue can still challenge a number that looks too low.

Undervaluing the estate to shrink the inheritance tax bill backfires once an auditor catches it.

That risk isn't worth it.

Valuable personal property, like jewelry, art, or a coin collection, needs a separate appraisal too.

Both bills land on the estate.

Fiduciary Bond

Pennsylvania courts often require an executor to post a bond before letters are granted.

The bond protects the estate if the executor mismanages the money, and the estate pays the premium for it.

A will can waive the requirement, and many do, but a court can still order one anyway.

The bond amount usually matches the estate's full value, so a $400,000 estate needs a $400,000 bond.

Surety companies commonly price a Pennsylvania fiduciary bond at around 1% of the bond amount every year the estate stays open.

That premium renews annually, so a slow-moving estate pays it more than once.

That's a bill that repeats.

Required Legal Notice

Pennsylvania law makes an executor advertise the estate before creditors get their say.

Once letters are granted, the notice has to run in a newspaper of general circulation and the county's legal journal.

State law requires it to run once a week for three straight weeks.

Both publications charge for the space, and the total depends on that county's ad rates.

Pennsylvania probate attorneys commonly put the combined cost of both notices at $100 to $400, though the exact bill still comes down to that county's ad rates.

A small local paper often charges less than a well-known metro daily, so where an estate advertises can change the bill.

It isn't a courtesy.

Skipping it leaves the estate exposed to a creditor's claim showing up months later.

FAQ

Quick answers to what Pennsylvania executors ask most about the cost of settling an estate.

How much does it cost to settle an estate in Pennsylvania?

Costs vary by estate size and county.

A modest estate commonly spends several thousand dollars across the Register of Wills fee, the state's inheritance tax, and the professional fees needed to close it out.

Who pays the costs of settling a Pennsylvania estate?

The estate pays these costs from its assets before any distribution goes out. An executor who covers a bill personally, without estate cash on hand, can recover that cost from the estate later.

Does Pennsylvania charge an estate tax on top of the inheritance tax?

No. Pennsylvania collects only an inheritance tax on what heirs receive. A separate federal estate tax can still apply, but only to estates worth more than $15 million in 2026.

Is a fiduciary bond always required in Pennsylvania?

Not always. A will can waive the bond, and many do, though a court can still order one if an heir raises a concern about the executor.

How long does an executor have to pay Pennsylvania's inheritance tax?

The tax is due within nine months of the date of death. Paying within three months earns a 5% discount, and paying later brings interest on whatever remains unpaid.