California does not have a probate tax. The state imposes no estate tax and no inheritance tax, and there is no separate levy triggered by moving assets through probate. What the process does cost is a set of statutory fees, court charges, and, for heirs who inherit real estate, a potential property tax reassessment that can outweigh every other expense combined. On a $1 million estate, the baseline executor and attorney fees alone come to $46,000.
Statutory Executor and Attorney Fees
The biggest line item in a California probate is the fee schedule paid to the executor and to the estate’s attorney. Both are set by statute, both use the same formula, and both are calculated on the gross value of probate assets rather than net equity. A home appraised at $800,000 with a $500,000 mortgage generates fees on $800,000.
The schedule under Probate Code Section 10800 for the executor,1Justia Law. California Probate Code 10800-10805 – Compensation of Personal Representative mirrored by Section 10810 for the attorney,2California Legislative Information. California Code PROB 10810 – Compensation of Attorney for the Personal Representative runs as follows:
- 4% of the first $100,000
- 3% of the next $100,000
- 2% of the next $800,000
- 1% of the next $9 million
- 0.5% of the next $15 million
- A reasonable amount set by the court on anything above $25 million
On a $1 million estate that produces $23,000 to the executor and $23,000 to the attorney. Both amounts are payable from the estate. Courts can also approve additional “extraordinary fees” when the case involves litigation, tax disputes, or unusual asset management, so the statutory figure is a floor rather than a ceiling.
Court Filing and Referee Costs
Filing the initial Petition for Probate costs $435 as of 2026, with some counties adding a small construction surcharge.3Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 Later petitions filed during the case, such as a request to approve a property sale, carry the same $435 charge. A petition for special letters of administration without full powers costs $200.
The court also appoints a probate referee to appraise non-cash assets. The referee’s commission is one-tenth of one percent of the total appraised value, with a floor of $75 and a ceiling of $10,000 per estate.4Justia Law. California Probate Code 8960-8964 – Commission and Expenses of Probate Referee On a $2 million estate the referee’s fee runs about $2,000. Cash accounts and publicly traded securities can be appraised by the executor directly, which trims the bill slightly.
Federal Estate Tax
Because California has no estate tax of its own, the only estate-level tax to worry about is federal, and it applies only above a high threshold. The federal exemption is $15 million per individual for 2026, and married couples can effectively double it through portability of the unused exemption.5Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax The exemption is permanent and indexed to inflation. Estates below the threshold owe nothing and generally need not file a return unless electing portability.
The estate can also owe income tax during probate. If it earns more than $600 in gross income in a year from rent, dividends, or interest, the executor must file IRS Form 1041.6Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return The executor is also responsible for the deceased’s final personal return. Distributing to heirs before those tax bills are settled can leave the executor personally liable to the IRS.
Property Tax Reassessment Under Proposition 19
For heirs who inherit California real estate, this is where the real money often goes. Before Proposition 19 took effect in February 2021, a child could inherit a parent’s home and keep the parent’s low Proposition 13 tax base regardless of the property’s value or how the child used it. Those rules are gone.
Under current law, the parent-child exclusion applies only to the parent’s primary residence, and the inheriting child must move in and use it as their own primary residence.7California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Family farms also qualify. Vacation homes, rental property, and investment property do not, and they are reassessed to full market value on transfer.
Even a qualifying primary residence carries a value cap. The exclusion covers the parent’s factored base year value plus $1,044,586 (the adjusted amount for February 2025 through February 2027). Anything above that sum is added to the base year value, producing a partial reassessment.7California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 If a parent’s factored base year value is $200,000 and the home is worth $1.8 million, the excluded amount is $1,244,586. The remaining $555,414 lands on top of the base, giving an adjusted taxable value of $755,414 rather than the full $1.8 million.
Two deadlines protect the exclusion. The child must file for the homeowner’s exemption within one year of the transfer and file a claim for the reassessment exclusion within three years.7California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Missing either one forfeits the benefit. Moving out later triggers reassessment to current market value as of the next lien date.
Step-Up in Basis
The main tax break running in the heir’s favor is federal. When you inherit property, your basis resets to fair market value on the date of death rather than what the deceased originally paid.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent A home a parent bought for $150,000 in 1985 that was worth $1.2 million on the date of death has a $1.2 million basis in your hands. Selling it for $1.25 million produces $50,000 of capital gain, not $1.1 million.
California community property gets an even better treatment. When the first spouse dies, both halves of community property receive a stepped-up basis, not just the deceased spouse’s half. For a surviving spouse holding long-appreciated property, that can eliminate a very large capital gain.
Medi-Cal Estate Recovery
If the deceased received Medi-Cal benefits, the state can file a claim against the probate estate to recover what it paid. A home that was exempt from Medi-Cal’s asset limits during the person’s lifetime becomes reachable after death.
The Department of Health Care Services can seek recovery in two situations: when the deceased was 55 or older when they received covered services, or when the deceased was a nursing facility patient of any age.9California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 14009.5 The claim is capped at the value of the probate estate.
Recovery is blocked when the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, a child under 21, or a child who is blind or disabled.9California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 14009.5 Because the claim reaches only assets passing through probate, property held in a living trust or transferred through other non-probate mechanisms sits outside its reach.
Small Estate Procedures That Avoid Most of These Costs
Not every estate needs full probate, and the small-estate shortcuts can save the entire statutory fee structure.
If the deceased’s California personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, investment accounts, personal belongings) totals $208,850 or less, heirs can collect it with an affidavit rather than opening a probate case. The affidavit cannot be presented until 40 days after the death, and the waiting period cannot be waived.10Judicial Branch of California. Check If You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property Only assets that would otherwise require probate count toward the threshold, so trust property and beneficiary-designated accounts do not.
For real property valued at $750,000 or less, heirs can use a simplified court petition instead of full administration. This threshold increased in April 2025.10Judicial Branch of California. Check If You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property Given California prices it will not cover every home, but for modest holdings it removes the statutory fee schedule from the picture entirely.
Assets that never enter probate in the first place avoid all of the fees described above. Property titled in a living trust, held in joint tenancy, or subject to a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation passes directly to the named recipient, and none of it counts against small-estate thresholds either. That is the difference between the $46,000 statutory bill on a $1 million probate estate and a transfer that costs almost nothing.