How Much Is 10% Retainage on a $10,000 Contract?
Retainage held at 10%
$1,000.00
10% retainage, shown at 100% completion so the figure is the full amount held by the end of the job.
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.
- Contract amount10000 $
- Retainage10 %
- Work completed to date100 %
- Already paid to you0 $
Payable on this application$9,000.00
| Contract amount | $10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Work completed | 100% |
| Earned to date | $10,000.00 |
| Retainage held at 10% | $1,000.00 |
| Less already paid | $0.00 |
| Due on this application | $9,000.00 |
| Retainage held at completion | $1,000.00chase this at closeout |
Work completed compared
Retainage accumulates as the work does, so each progress application leaves a little more of your own money behind.
| Work completed | Payable on this application | Retainage held at 10% | Due on this application |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | $2,250.00 | $250.00 | $2,250.00 |
| 50% | $4,500.00 | $500.00 | $4,500.00 |
| 75% | $6,750.00 | $750.00 | $6,750.00 |
| 100% | $9,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $9,000.00 |
What else matters here
Ten percent of $10,000 is $1,000 held and $9,000 paid. On a contract this small the holdback costs both sides more in administration than it protects.
Most residential work at this size has no retainage at all, and that is the sensible arrangement. A final payment at completion already gives the customer everything a holdback gives them, in one number, on one date, without a second release to chase months later.
The important point is that retainage only exists if the contract created it. A customer who decides partway through the job to keep back ten percent until they are satisfied is not applying retainage, they are withholding payment, and the answer to that is the contract rather than a calculator.
What this calculator assumes
- Retainage is money you have earned that is held back until the job closes out. It is not a discount and it is not a deposit.
- Most states cap retainage on public work, commonly at 5 or 10 percent, and several require it to be released or reduced at substantial completion. Private contracts are freer and often worse.
- Retainage is usually the last money a contractor sees and the first thing forgotten at closeout. Track it separately from the invoice balance.
Questions people ask
How much is 10 percent retainage on a $10,000 contract?
$1,000 held and $9,000 payable across the job, with the $1,000 released at closeout.
Should a small job have retainage at all?
Usually not. A final payment at completion does the same job in one number on one date, without a second release to chase months later.
Can a customer start holding retainage partway through a job?
No. Retainage exists only if the contract created it. Deciding to keep ten percent back mid job is simply withholding payment.
The retainage calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.