Costs, disbursements and additional allowances shall be taxed by the clerk upon the application of the party entitled thereto. A valuation of property necessary for fixing an additional allowance shall be ascertained by the court, unless it has been fixed by the decision of the court, verdict of the jury, or report of the referee or commissioners, upon which the judgment is entered. The clerk, whether or not objection is made, shall examine the bills presented to him for taxation; shall satisfy himself that all the items allowed by him are correct and allowable; and shall strike out all items of disbursements, other than the prospective charges expressly allowed by law, not supported by affidavit showing that they have been necessarily incurred and are reasonable in amount. The clerk shall insert in the judgment the total of the amount taxed as costs, disbursements and additional allowances.
§ 8401.Computation by clerk
Article 84. Taxation of Costs · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 8401 tells the county clerk how to compute a costs award: examine every item, strike disbursements that lack a supporting affidavit, and enter the taxed total in the judgment.
Full Text of CPLR 8401
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 8401 puts the mechanics of a costs award in the clerk's hands. The party entitled to costs applies to the clerk, who then taxes (calculates) the costs, disbursements, and any additional allowances due. If an additional allowance depends on the value of property, the court fixes that value, unless a decision, jury verdict, or referee's or commissioners' report already established it and the judgment rests on that finding.
The clerk's role is not a rubber stamp. The section requires the clerk to examine every bill presented, whether or not anyone has objected, and to be satisfied that each item is correct and allowable. Any item of disbursement, other than a prospective charge expressly allowed by law, must be struck unless it is backed by an affidavit showing it was necessarily incurred and is reasonable in amount.
Once the clerk has finished this review, the section requires the total taxed amount to be inserted directly into the judgment. That taxed figure is the product of whichever taxation route the parties used under CPLR 8402 or 8403, and it remains open to challenge through the judicial review procedure in CPLR 8404.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who calculates the amount of costs owed after an award?
The clerk does. CPLR 8401 has the clerk tax costs, disbursements, and additional allowances upon application by the party entitled to them.
Does the clerk have to check the bill even if no one objects to it?
Yes. The clerk must examine the bill presented for taxation whether or not an objection has been made, and must be satisfied that every allowed item is correct and allowable.
What happens to a disbursement item that has no supporting affidavit?
The clerk must strike it, unless it is a prospective charge expressly allowed by law. Other disbursements need an affidavit showing they were necessarily incurred and are reasonable in amount.
How is the value of property handled when it affects an additional allowance?
The court ascertains that valuation, unless it was already fixed by the court's decision, the jury's verdict, or a referee's or commissioners' report on which the judgment is entered.
Where does the final taxed amount end up?
The clerk inserts the total amount taxed as costs, disbursements, and additional allowances directly into the judgment.
Can a party dispute how the clerk taxed the costs?
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is a condensation of CPA §§ 1532, 1537 and 1538. The verbiage in CPA § 1532 dealing with additional allowances has been replaced by a general provision for taxing additional allowances. The deleted wording apparently referred only to the additional allowance prescribed by CPA § 1512, and thus omitted that of CPA § 1513. Moreover, since the civil practice act was enacted, other additional allowances have been added, but the section has never been amended to conform. By specifying “additional allowances” generally, those provided by CPA § 1512-a (enacted in 1928) and CPA § 1514-a (enacted in 1957) will also be included. To the extent that the allowances are discretionary, the court will direct the clerk as to the party entitled and the amount to be taxed, as it must do with discretionary costs. For this purpose, CPA § 1533, which was in the taxation article of the civil practice act, has been replaced by §§ 8108 and 8303(a). Cf. CPA § 440; RCP 200.
Before 1848, the words “taxation of costs” and “taxing officer” were in common usage. Field substituted the word “adjustment” for “taxation,” and the title of “taxing officer” was replaced by “clerk” in his § 311. Throop, in his notes to the taxation provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure, explained the reversion to earlier terminology in the Code: “The change [in the Field Code] met with so little favor from the profession, that the former expression is as familiar now, as it was before the enactment of that Code.” Code Civ Proc § 3263, preliminary note (Throop ed 1881); see also Stimson v Huggins, 16 Barb 658, 662 (1854). Sections added as new by the Code of Civil Procedure used “taxing officer,” while provisions carried over from § 311 of the Field Code retained the word “clerk.” For the sake of consistency, the word “clerk” has been used throughout the taxation provisions; it is the more direct term and is indicative of the actual practice.
A clause permitting the court to direct that interlocutory costs and costs in a special proceeding be taxed by a judge has been deleted from the first sentence of CPA § 1532. It was rarely, if ever, used. Section 311 of the Field Code provided for those costs to be adjusted (taxed) by the judge, or in such manner as the court or judge might direct. This was revised by the Code of Civil Procedure to require that these costs be taxed in the regular manner unless the court otherwise directed. The provision is unnecessary in practice, for a party aggrieved by a taxation may apply to the court under § 8404. Moreover, there is no distinction under the new CPLR between costs in an action and those in a special proceeding. See notes to § 8101.
The particular requirements of CPA § 1538 for witness and document affidavits have been deleted. These requirements are amply covered by the general provision for affidavits to support disbursements.
The former sections distinguished between “charges for fees” which, under CPA § 1537, must have been for services necessarily performed, and “items of disbursements” which, under CPA § 1538, must have been necessarily incurred and reasonable in amount. Since “charges for fees” were a class of “items of disbursements” under CPA § 1518, only the latter term is used. To the extent that the former distinction was based upon the lack of a requirement of reasonableness in the amount of fee charges, the requirement that the item be “allowable” suffices for both. Under the new CPLR, moreover, certain expenses incurred may be taxed as disbursements even if in excess of the “fee” prescribed. See § 8301(d).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: computation of costs by clerk New Yorkclerk taxing costs CPLRdisbursement affidavit requirement NYadditional allowance valuation CPLRtaxation of costs procedure New York