Late Fee on a $250,000 Invoice, 30 Days Overdue
Interest at 1.5% a month
$3,750.00
1.5% a month, simple interest charged pro rata by day, with no flat fee added.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Unpaid invoice amount250000 $
- Late fee rate you wrote in the contract1.5 % per month
- Days past due30
- Flat fee, if your contract has one0 $
Now owed$253,750.00
| Original invoice | $250,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Days late | 30 (1 months) |
| Interest at 1.5% a month | $3,750.00 |
| Flat fee | $0.00 |
| Total now due | $253,750.00 |
| Annual rate this equals | 18% |
| Per day from here | $125.00 |
Days past due compared
Interest is simple and pro rata by day, so it climbs in a straight line rather than accelerating.
| Days past due | Now owed | Total now due |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | $253,750.00 | $253,750.00 |
| 60 days | $257,500.00 | $257,500.00 |
| 90 days | $261,250.00 | $261,250.00 |
| 120 days | $265,000.00 | $265,000.00 |
What else matters here
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars 30 days late carries $3,750 of interest, a total of $253,750, and $125 a day. At 60 days it is $7,500.
An application this size is usually on a bonded project, and on public work the security is not a lien. Public property generally cannot be liened, so federal jobs under the Miller Act and state jobs under the little Miller Acts are protected by a payment bond instead, which the surety pays against when the contractor does not.
A bond claim is a separate track with its own deadlines, and they are frequently shorter and stricter than lien deadlines. Notice to the general and to the surety, a claim within a fixed number of days of last furnishing labor or material, a suit filed within a fixed window after that. Ask for a copy of the bond at the start of the job, because the timing runs from the work rather than from the invoice, and a claim that is one day late is simply gone.
What this calculator assumes
- A late fee is only collectable if it was in the contract or on the invoice before the invoice went late. A fee that first appears in a reminder email is not enforceable anywhere.
- 1.5 percent a month is 18 percent a year and is the common trade figure, but states cap this. Several cap it below 18 for consumer work, and a rate over the cap can void the whole fee clause, not just the excess.
- Interest here is simple, charged pro rata by day. Compounding monthly is legal in some states and not others, so the simple figure is the safe one to put on paper.
Questions people ask
What is the late fee on a $250,000 invoice at 30 days?
$3,750 at 1.5 percent a month, for a total of $253,750 and $125 a day after that.
Can I lien a public project?
Generally no. Public property cannot usually be liened, so payment on public work is secured by a payment bond under the Miller Act or a state equivalent.
How long do I have to make a bond claim?
Less time than you expect, and the clock usually runs from your last day of furnishing labor or material rather than from the invoice. Get a copy of the bond and its deadlines at the start of the job.
The late fee calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.