Work out the interest and compensation the law lets you claim on a late invoice, and get a claim letter ready to send.
| Invoice | Days late | Rate | Interest | Compensation |
|---|
Fill in the names and the letter is ready to print or send.
Under the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012, a business or a public body that pays a business late owes it interest at the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate plus 8 percentage points, and a fixed sum of compensation for each late invoice. Neither needs a reminder or a clause in your contract.
The ECB rate in force on 1 January applies for the first half of the year, and the one in force on 1 July for the second half. When a delay runs into a new half-year, the days in each half count at that half-year's rate. Interest starts the day after the payment date in the contract or, if none was agreed, 30 days after your client received the invoice or the goods or services, if those came later.
Interest = amount unpaid × rate × days late ÷ 365, for each half-year
| Amount of the invoice | Fixed sum |
|---|---|
| Up to €1,000 | €40 |
| Over €1,000 and up to €10,000 | €70 |
| Over €10,000 | €100 |
Further reasonable recovery costs, such as a solicitor's or a debt collection agency's fees, can be claimed on top.
A €5,000 invoice due on 1 August 2026 and paid on 30 September 2026 is 60 days late, all of them in the half-year from 1 July 2026, when the rate is 2.40% + 8% = 10.40%: €5,000 × 10.40% × 60 ÷ 365 = €85.48. With €70 of compensation, the claim comes to €155.48.
The ECB main refinancing rate on 1 January or 1 July, plus 8 percentage points. Checked on 24 October 2026 against the table published by Ireland's Department of Enterprise.
| Half-year | ECB rate | Interest rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July to 31 December 2026 | 2.40% | 10.40% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2026 | 2.15% | 10.15% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2025 | 2.15% | 10.15% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2025 | 3.15% | 11.15% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2024 | 4.25% | 12.25% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2024 | 4.50% | 12.50% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2023 | 4.00% | 12.00% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2023 | 2.50% | 10.50% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2022 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2022 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2021 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2021 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
| 1 July to 31 December 2020 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
| 1 January to 30 June 2020 | 0.00% | 8.00% |
Late payment: claim for interest and compensation
Dear ,
The invoice below was not paid by its due date.The invoices below were not paid by their due dates.
Under the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 we are entitled to interest on iteach of them from the day after its due date, at the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate plus 8 percentage points (), and to fixed compensation for recovery costs for each late invoice.
The amount now due is : of interest and of compensation, plus the still unpaid. Please pay it within 14 days of the date of this letter.
Interest continues to run on the unpaid amount at a day until it is paid.
Yours sincerely,
Interest calculated with the free late payment calculator at gocons.eu
The law that governs the contract. Most contracts choose it; when yours does not, a contract for services is usually governed by the law of the supplier's country, under the EU's Rome I Regulation and similar rules elsewhere. Choose that country in the calculator.
Not in the European Union, the United Kingdom and many other countries: the law adds interest, and usually a fixed sum of compensation, to every late invoice between businesses. In others, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, there is no statutory rate for business invoices: you charge the rate your contract sets, and without one only a court can award interest. The calculator then asks for your contract's rate.
Yes, where the law sets one. Under the EU Late Payment Directive and the UK Late Payment Act, the fixed sum is owed for each late invoice on top of the interest, and reasonable recovery costs above it can usually be claimed too. The calculator adds the amount the chosen country sets.
It depends on the country. Most of the EU applies each half-year's rate to the days in that half-year, while the UK keeps the rate in force when interest started until the debt is paid. The calculator follows the rule of the country you choose and shows the rates it used.
The rates are updated when central banks and governments publish them, usually for 1 January and 1 July. Until a new rate is in, the calculator says so rather than work with an old one.
No. The calculation and the letter are made in your browser. When you change country, the page only downloads that country's rules; your amounts, dates and names are never sent.
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