The Chapter 13 trustee fee percentage is capped by federal law at 10 percent of every dollar you pay into your repayment plan, but most districts charge less. Actual rates run roughly 4 to 10 percent depending on where you file, and the fee is deducted from each monthly payment before any money reaches your creditors.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General
How Your District’s Rate Is Set
The Attorney General, after consulting the local United States Trustee, sets the percentage for the standing Chapter 13 trustee in each judicial district. The rate is recalculated periodically based on the trustee’s capped compensation and the actual, necessary expenses of running that office. Whatever percentage results applies uniformly to every Chapter 13 case that trustee administers during the period.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General
The statutory ceiling is 10 percent of all payments received. Data published by the U.S. Trustee Program shows real-world rates as low as 3.6 percent in some districts and up to the full 10 percent in others.2U.S. Trustee Program (Dept. of Justice). Administrative Expenses Multiplier Large-caseload districts spread fixed costs across more debtors and tend to land lower. Smaller districts sit closer to the ceiling because the same office expenses are divided among fewer payments.
To find the current rate for your district, contact the standing Chapter 13 trustee’s office, ask your bankruptcy attorney, or look up the administrative expense multiplier schedule the U.S. Trustee Program publishes on the Department of Justice website.2U.S. Trustee Program (Dept. of Justice). Administrative Expenses Multiplier
How the Fee Comes Out of Your Payment
The percentage is applied to your entire gross monthly plan payment, not just the portion earmarked for unsecured creditors. Every dollar that flows through the trustee’s hands gets reduced by the fee before distribution. If your plan calls for a $1,200 monthly payment and your district’s fee is 7 percent, the trustee keeps $84 and distributes the remaining $1,116 to creditors and other claims.
Payments begin quickly. Federal law requires you to start plan payments within 30 days of filing your petition or the order for relief, whichever comes first.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1326 – Payments The trustee holds those early payments until the court confirms the plan, then distributes the accumulated funds under the confirmed terms.
Some practitioners build plans using the 10 percent maximum even when the local rate is lower. The cushion protects against a mid-plan fee increase that could otherwise throw off the payment schedule and force an amended plan.
Building a Plan Around the Fee
Because the fee comes off the top, your creditors collectively receive less than you pay in, and the plan has to account for that gap. Priority claims such as back taxes and domestic support obligations must be paid in full through the plan.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1322 – Contents of Plan Secured creditors generally must receive at least the value of their collateral. Whatever remains after those obligations and the trustee’s cut goes to general unsecured creditors.
The math is straightforward. Say your plan needs to deliver $25,000 to creditors and your district’s fee is 8 percent. You need to pay roughly $27,174 into the plan so that after the trustee takes 8 percent ($2,174), the full $25,000 remains for distribution. The formula: divide the amount creditors need by (1 minus the fee percentage). Here, $25,000 รท 0.92 = $27,174.
Attorney fees paid through the plan also flow through the trustee, which increases the total dollars handled and therefore the total fee collected. That is one more reason every line item in the plan has to be built with the fee percentage factored in.
Where the Money Actually Goes
The standing trustee does not keep the whole percentage. Federal law caps the trustee’s personal compensation at the pay rate for Level V of the Executive Schedule, which is $184,900 for 2026, plus benefits comparable to a federal employee at that grade. Fees collected beyond the trustee’s allowed compensation and actual necessary expenses are turned over to the United States Trustee System Fund at the Department of Justice.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General
A secondary check works alongside that cap: if the trustee’s actual compensation would exceed 5 percent of all payments received across their caseload, the overage is deposited into the same fund. The fee percentage you pay funds office operations, and the government recaptures whatever is left.
Alabama and North Carolina Cases Work Differently
Bankruptcy cases in the six judicial districts covering Alabama and North Carolina are not administered by the U.S. Trustee Program. They fall under Bankruptcy Administrators appointed by the federal judiciary, and the administrative expense schedules for those districts are issued separately and published on the federal judiciary’s website rather than the DOJ site.2U.S. Trustee Program (Dept. of Justice). Administrative Expenses Multiplier If you are filing in one of those states, direct fee questions to the Bankruptcy Administrator for your district.