How Much Can a Trustee Charge in New York
New York is one of the few states that writes the trustee’s fee into statute. SCPA § 2309 sets a two-part commission for trustees, 1% of principal sums paid out, plus tiered annual commissions on principal value. On a mid-size trust the annual side alone runs from $2,625 to $18,900 a year at four common trust sizes. Below sit the real schedule, the math done out, the strings attached to the money, and the section mix-up most people hit when they search this question.
If you landed here looking for the pure commission calculator — the tiered rates at a glance — see our dedicated NY Trustee Commission calculator.
New York trustee fee at a glance
Fee basis
Statutory commission schedule — SCPA § 2309
Customary range
$2,625 – $18,900/yr on principal value
Court involvement
Commissions allowed on settlement
- $250,000 trust$2,625
- $750,000 trusttypical$5,775
- $2,000,000 trust$9,900
- $5,000,000 trust$18,900
NY rates preloaded — free, no login.
Three kinds of people read this page. The successor trustee settling a parent’s trust, who wants to know what’s defensible before taking a dollar. Co-trustees dividing work the instrument split unevenly. Then the beneficiary holding a statement with a commission line on it, checking against something real. All three end up in the same statute, and in the same paper trail. If you haven’t yet learned what trust minutes are and why fiduciaries keep them, start there.
The two-part New York commission
The first part is small. Each trust year the trustee earns a commission of 1% on principal sums paid out, meaning distributions of trust principal. Income doesn’t count. § 2309(1) makes those commissions allowed on settlement of the account, which is the moment a Surrogate’s Court looks at them.
The second part is where the fee actually lives. Under § 2309(2) the annual commission attaches to the trust’s principal value each year, tiered so that larger balances pay lower marginal rates.
| Tier of principal value | Rate per $1,000 |
|---|---|
| First $400,000 | $10.50 |
| Next $600,000 | $4.50 |
| Above $1 million | $3.00 |
The trustee computes the year on year-end value, or elects a year-beginning value in the alternative, and that election binds once made. You can’t bounce between the two figures depending on which looks bigger. Most of what New York trustees take home is the annual schedule. The payout cut only shows up in years the trust actually distributes, and years with heavy distributions can push the total higher than you might guess on that side alone.
The annual commission, worked out
Straight down the tiers, at four sizes. Add 1% of any principal paid out that year, separately, on top of each total.
Below the first tier, so the full amount is taxed at the top rate.
Typical New York family trust size.
Three tiers apply; the third tier pulls the total up.
Larger trusts compress into the flat third-tier rate.
When you have your own figure, run it through the calculator as a quick estimate, then document the commission you decide to take in your trustee meeting minutes.
The strings on the money
Allowed isn’t automatic. The statute attaches conditions to every dollar, and each one has a paperwork consequence.
The split.Statutory commissions are payable one-third from income and two-thirds from principal unless the instrument explicitly provides otherwise (§ 2309(3)). A fee that looks trustee-sized is partly an income beneficiary’s return. Which is exactly why income beneficiaries watch it closer than anyone else at settlement.
The statements. Annual commissions may be retained only if the trustee furnishes annual statements to the income beneficiaries and to persons interested in the principal (§ 2309(2), pairing with the annual-statements duty in SCPA § 2306). Skip the statements and the commissions you already kept sit exposed. New York’s wider record-keeping duties for trustees run in the same direction.
The settlement. Commissions are allowed on settlement of account, meaning the fee surfaces in a judicial settlement where a beneficiary, or their accountant, can object to a misapplied tier. Read the trust minutes requirements in New York before the account settles, since the minutes are what the Surrogate actually reviews.
The conduct.Fraud, gross neglect, intentional disloyalty, sheer indifference to duties. New York courts have disallowed commissions wholesale on grounds like these (the Pavlyak and Lasdon decisions), and services that cause loss can cost the trustee’s fee outright.
Instruments can displace the schedule
Read the instrument before you read the statute. If it commissions the trustee in express terms, that provision governs. Matter of Terranova put fixed annual commissions in place of the § 2309 schedule, and the court honored them. But vague language, like authorizing "the commissions allowed by law," leaves the statute standing, as a 2009 decision involving M&T Bank said in so many words. Corporate trustees administer under § 2312 on their own published schedules. § 2309 remains the benchmark a court falls back on when the instrument is silent. Family trustees, for their part, commonly waive or accept less than the schedule.
The 5% commission is not for trustees
Now the mistake everyone makes. Search "New York trustee fee" and you will land on the 5%-of-income, 5%-of-principal schedule. That schedule is SCPA § 2307, and § 2307 governs executors and other fiduciaries who wind up estates. Trustees are not those fiduciaries. New York trustees take § 2309, a different animal entirely. A fee document quoting 5% plus 5% for a trustee is quoting the executor rule, and any New York estates lawyer will spot it in about a second. Which is why this page walks the two-part schedule first. It’s the most confidently quoted wrong number in New York trust work, and I suspect plenty of trustee fee letters have inherited it straight from an executor computation nobody re-checked.
Family trustees: waiving is common, and binding
New York families waive or trim the statutory schedule constantly, and the statute doesn’t stop them (its the default benchmark, not a bill anyone forces you to present). A waiver, though, is a decision with teeth. Courts generally treat a knowing waiver as binding, so the trustee who casually signed away commissions without advice may find the signature sticks. Get advice before waiving, and record the decision and its reasoning in your minutes. Our guide on how to write trust minutes covers the entry, or start from a trust minutes template.
A quick estimate, and one honest caveat
First the caveat. This tool’s New York band is a simplified customary approximation, roughly 0.5% to 1.0% of trust size. It’s a quick estimate, nothing more. The statutory computation lives in the tables above, and that’s the math that holds up in front of a Surrogate. We’d rather tell you the tool’s limits than oversell it.
Run your numbers right here
Enter the trust's approximate size — this page uses New York's customary annual range (NY rates locked).
Estimated annual fee in New York
$1,250 – $2,500
New York: N.Y. SCPA § 2309. Statutory commissions on settlement: 1% of principal paid out plus tiered annual commissions ($10.50/$4.50/$3.00 per $1,000 of principal value). Instrument may explicitly displace the schedule.
New York trustee fee questions
Does the 5% executor commission apply to trustees?
No. The 5%-of-income plus 5%-of-principal schedule is SCPA § 2307, which covers executors and other fiduciaries who wind up estates. Trustees take commissions under § 2309, which sets 1% of principal sums paid out plus tiered annual commissions on principal value. A trustee fee document that quotes 5% plus 5% is quoting the executor rule and can draw an objection when the account settles.
What is a reasonable trustee fee in New York?
For an instrument that is silent, the § 2309 schedule is the reasonable default. Courts treat it as the benchmark when the trust document doesn’t set terms. An instrument with express commission provisions displaces the schedule. Estimate your statutory amount from the worked examples above, or run a quick estimate to sense-check it.
Can a trustee take commissions without court approval?
It’s nuanced. Annual commissions can be retained without a court order when the trustee furnishes the annual statements the statute requires. Full allowance still comes on settlement of the account, where beneficiaries can object, and commissions can be forfeited entirely for fraud, gross neglect, or disloyalty. The practical reading is that you may not need a judge to keep the money, but you need the paperwork, and the paperwork is what survives review.
Does New York charge a percentage every time money moves?
No. The 1% commission attaches to principal sums paid out, allowed at settlement. It is not charged on every transaction, and income passing through doesn’t trigger it. The annual commission computes once per trust year on principal value, tiered by size.
Does SCPA § 2309 always control the fee?
No. Express commission provisions in the trust instrument control. The Surrogate’s Court honored fixed annual commissions in place of the statutory schedule in Matter of Terranova. Vague references, like authorizing "the commissions allowed by law," leave the statute standing.
Once the fee is settled, keep the decision on paper. Documenting trust decisions is what makes a fee survive review years later.
How New York stacks up
New York differs from the reasonable-compensation states in one big way. The statute names numbers.
| State | Statute | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| New Yorkyou are here | SCPA § 2309 | Statutory commission schedule |
| California trustee fees | Prob. Code §§ 15680–15681 | Reasonable compensation standard |
| Florida trustee fees | Fla. Stat. § 736.0708 | Reasonable compensation standard |
| Texas trustee fees | Prop. Code § 114.061 | Reasonable compensation standard |
| New Jersey trustee fees | N.J.S.A. 3B:18-2 | Reasonable compensation standard |
Compare all 10 states in the full 2026 guide.
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This page is general information for trustees, not legal advice. Fee questions turn on the four corners of your instrument, so talk to a New York estates attorney before acting on any figure above. For the full terms, see the disclaimer.
Updated October 2026
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Related resources
Fee questions never travel alone. These guides cover the paperwork around them.
What Are Trust Minutes?
The plain-English primer behind the paperwork a trustee signed up for.
How to Write Trust Minutes
Drafting a meeting record, commission entry included.
Trust Record Keeping Requirements
What a fiduciary files and retains, New York and beyond.
Trust Minutes Template
A free skeleton with the commission and statements lines already in place.
California trustee fees
The reasonable-compensation contrast to New York’s fixed schedule.
Trustee Fees by State
The full 2026 guide, all ten states plus court-approval basics.
Document the fee the way a Surrogate expects
The wizard produces trust meeting minutes that record the commission method, the statements furnished, and the reasoning, in a form New York settlements recognize.
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