Quick answer: Iowa Code § 633.197 caps ordinary-service compensation at 6% of the first $1,000, 4% of the next $4,000, and 2% of everything above $5,000 of the gross probate estate. This is a ceiling the court may not exceed, not a minimum it must award — a $500,000 estate produces a $10,120 maximum, and the court can and does award less. Get an illustrative estimate with the Iowa executor fee calculator.
A ceiling, not a floor — and why that distinction matters
Iowa Code § 633.197(1): "Personal representatives shall be allowed such reasonable fees as may be determined by the court for services rendered, but not in excess of the following commissions... a. For the first one thousand dollars, six percent. b. For the overplus between one and five thousand dollars, four percent. c. For all sums over five thousand dollars, two percent." Missouri publishes a nearly identical-looking three-tier schedule — but Missouri's is a minimum the court must meet and may exceed. Iowa's is the mirror image: a maximum the court may not exceed, and frequently doesn't fully reach. Two states, similar numbers on paper, structurally opposite outcomes.
What counts toward the base
§ 633.197(2): "the gross assets of the estate shall not include life insurance proceeds, unless payable to the decedent's estate." Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary is excluded; life insurance paid to the estate itself is included.
Attorney fees use the same schedule
Iowa Code § 633.198: the identical 6%/4%/2% ceiling governs the estate's attorney fee. In practice, some Iowa attorneys treat the resulting 2% figure on larger estates as something close to a standard rate rather than a strict cap, though the statute frames it as a maximum, not an entitlement.
Extraordinary services: a real, itemized list
§ 633.199: "Such further allowances as are just and reasonable may be made by the court... for actual necessary and extraordinary expenses and services," construed to include "services in connection with real estate, tax issues, disputed matters, nonprobate assets, reopening the estate, location of unknown and lost heirs and beneficiaries, and management and disposition of unusual assets." The court weighs time necessarily spent, the nature and complexity of the issues, responsibilities assumed, resolution, and the fiduciary's experience and expertise.
A separate ceiling for smaller estates
Iowa Code § 635.8(4): estates that qualify for Iowa's small-estate administration track — gross probate assets not exceeding $200,000 under § 635.1 — use a different ceiling: generally 3% of gross probate assets, unless the personal representative itemizes the services provided. This is genuinely a separate schedule from § 633.197's tiered structure, not just a smaller version of it.
Worked examples
| Gross probate estate | § 633.197 ceiling |
|---|---|
| $100,000 | $2,120 |
| $500,000 | $10,120 |
| $1,000,000 | $20,120 |
Each figure is the tier-by-tier maximum under § 633.197 - the actual court-approved amount may be lower. Model your own estate, including the small-estate option, in the calculator.
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