How much trustees get paid in bankruptcy depends on the chapter and whether there is anything to distribute. A Chapter 7 trustee in an asset case earns a tiered commission that starts at 25% of the first $5,000 distributed and drops to 3% above $1 million. In a no-asset Chapter 7, the trustee gets a flat $60, sometimes doubled. Chapter 13 standing trustees keep a percentage of every plan payment, usually 3% to 10% depending on the district. Chapter 11 trustees follow the Chapter 7 tiers, and Subchapter V trustees bill by the hour.
Chapter 7 With Assets
When a Chapter 7 trustee sells non-exempt property and distributes the proceeds, federal law caps their commission at a sliding scale based on the total distributed:
- 25% on the first $5,000
- 10% on amounts from $5,001 to $50,000
- 5% on amounts from $50,001 to $1,000,000
- 3% on anything above $1,000,000
These are ceilings. The court can award less if a lower number is reasonable for the work actually done.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 326 – Limitation on Compensation of Trustee
A quick example. If the trustee distributes $60,000 to creditors, the maximum fee is 25% of the first $5,000 ($1,250), plus 10% of the next $45,000 ($4,500), plus 5% of the last $10,000 ($500). That comes to $6,250, or about 10.4% of the total. The bigger the estate, the smaller the effective rate.
Chapter 7 With No Assets
Most Chapter 7 filings are no-asset cases. Everything the debtor owns is exempt, so there is nothing to sell. The trustee still reviews the petition, checks the property disclosures, and runs the creditors’ meeting. For that work, federal law pays a flat $60 taken out of the court filing fee ($45 under one provision and a $15 surcharge).2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 330 – Compensation of Officers
That $60 has not moved since 1994. The Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act, enacted in January 2021, added up to another $60 per eligible case, funded by excess collections in the U.S. Trustee System Fund. The program covers cases filed or converted through the end of fiscal year 2026, but funding depends on whether excess funds exist that year. Trustees got the full extra $60 in FY 2021 and FY 2024 and nothing in FY 2022 or FY 2023.3United States Courts. Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act Chapter 7 Trustee Payments
In practice, a Chapter 7 trustee handling a no-asset case earns $60 to $120 for the whole matter. If the debtor qualifies for a fee waiver that wipes out the filing fee, even the base $60 may not be funded.
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 works differently because nothing is being liquidated. A standing trustee manages a three-to-five-year repayment plan, collects the monthly payment, and forwards money to creditors. The trustee’s cut is a percentage of every payment, taken off the top.
Two overlapping rules control the amount. The Bankruptcy Code caps the trustee’s personal compensation at 5% of all plan payments.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 326 – Limitation on Compensation of Trustee A separate statute lets the trustee’s office collect a percentage fee of up to 10% to cover operational costs like staff and office expenses.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General The actual number varies by district. Some charge as little as 3%; others sit near the 10% ceiling.
That variation matters for budgeting. If the district percentage is 7% and the monthly plan payment is $1,000, the trustee’s office keeps $70 and creditors get $930. Over a five-year plan, that is $4,200 in trustee fees on $60,000 in payments. A bankruptcy attorney or the trustee’s office can give the exact figure before the plan is confirmed.
Chapter 11 and Subchapter V
In a standard Chapter 11 reorganization, trustee compensation follows the same tiered percentages as Chapter 7: 25% down to 3%, calculated on total disbursements.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 326 – Limitation on Compensation of Trustee Most Chapter 11 cases run with a debtor-in-possession and no separate trustee, but when a trustee is appointed, those caps apply.
Subchapter V, the small-business track, is different. Congress excluded Subchapter V trustees from both the percentage commission structure and the 5% plan-payment cap that governs Chapter 13. They bill hourly for actual time, and the court decides whether the rate and hours are reasonable given case complexity and customary local rates.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 330 – Compensation of Officers Those fees are administrative expenses of the estate, usually paid through the plan of reorganization.
Court Approval Is Not Automatic
Hitting the statutory cap does not mean the trustee collects it. Every fee goes through court review. The trustee files an application describing the services performed and how the fee was calculated, and the court weighs whether the amount is reasonable for the actual work, considering time spent, case complexity, and what comparably skilled professionals charge outside bankruptcy.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 330 – Compensation of Officers
The U.S. Trustee, creditors, and other interested parties can object. The judge can approve the full request, cut it, or deny it. Payment for duplicated work or services that did not benefit the estate is not allowed. Fee disputes usually turn on arguments that a trustee spent excessive time on a routine task, or that the trustee’s attorney billed for unnecessary research.
Who Actually Pays the Trustee
Trustee compensation is not a separate bill sent to the debtor. In a Chapter 7 asset case, the commission comes out of the sale proceeds before creditors are paid.5United States Courts. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Basics In a no-asset Chapter 7, the flat fee is drawn from the filing fee already paid at the start of the case. In Chapter 13, the percentage is skimmed from each monthly plan payment before the rest goes to creditors. In every scenario, the trustee’s pay reduces what creditors ultimately recover rather than adding a charge on top of what the debtor owes.