Late Fee on a $50,000 Invoice, 30 Days Overdue
Interest at 1.5% a month
$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 amount50000 $
- Late fee rate you wrote in the contract1.5 % per month
- Days past due30
- Flat fee, if your contract has one0 $
Now owed$50,750.00
| Original invoice | $50,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Days late | 30 (1 months) |
| Interest at 1.5% a month | $750.00 |
| Flat fee | $0.00 |
| Total now due | $50,750.00 |
| Annual rate this equals | 18% |
| Per day from here | $25.00 |
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 | $50,750.00 | $50,750.00 |
| 60 days | $51,500.00 | $51,500.00 |
| 90 days | $52,250.00 | $52,250.00 |
| 120 days | $53,000.00 | $53,000.00 |
What else matters here
Fifty thousand dollars 30 days late is $750 of interest, $50,750 due, and $25 a day from here.
An unpaid $50,000 is an emergency for most small contractors, not a collections matter. It is usually more than a month of payroll, and the interest, while real, is not what saves the business.
What saves it is the paperwork that was done months earlier: a signed contract with payment terms, preliminary notice where the state requires it, lien waivers exchanged for each payment, and a draw schedule tied to milestones rather than dates. All four of those are free to do beforehand and impossible to do afterwards.
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 $50,000 invoice at 30 days?
$750 at 1.5 percent a month, making $50,750 due in total.
Can I charge a late fee if it was not in the contract?
No. A late fee is only collectable if it was in the contract or printed on the invoice before that invoice went late. A fee that first appears in a reminder email is not enforceable anywhere, however overdue the money is.
Is 1.5 percent a month legal everywhere?
Not everywhere. One and a half percent a month is 18 percent a year and it is the common trade figure, but states cap this and several cap it below 18 for consumer work. A rate over the cap can void the entire fee clause rather than just the excess, so check your own state before printing it.
The late fee calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.