How Much Is 10% Retainage on a $50,000 Contract?
Retainage held at 10%
$5,000.00
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 amount50000 $
- Retainage10 %
- Work completed to date100 %
- Already paid to you0 $
Payable on this application$45,000.00
| Contract amount | $50,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Work completed | 100% |
| Earned to date | $50,000.00 |
| Retainage held at 10% | $5,000.00 |
| Less already paid | $0.00 |
| Due on this application | $45,000.00 |
| Retainage held at completion | $5,000.00chase 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% | $11,250.00 | $1,250.00 | $11,250.00 |
| 50% | $22,500.00 | $2,500.00 | $22,500.00 |
| 75% | $33,750.00 | $3,750.00 | $33,750.00 |
| 100% | $45,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $45,000.00 |
What else matters here
Ten percent of a $50,000 contract is $5,000. By the time the work is finished you have been paid $45,000 and $5,000 of money you already earned is sitting with the customer.
On a job this size the retainage is usually close to the entire profit. That is the reason to read it as profit held hostage rather than as an accounting detail, and the reason the release condition belongs in writing before the first invoice.
The table below shows it building up. At 25 percent complete you have $1,250 held, at 75 percent you have $3,750. It grows with the work, which means it is largest exactly when you are most exposed.
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 $50,000 contract?
$5,000 held by completion, with $45,000 paid across the progress applications.
Is retainage the same as a deposit?
No. A deposit is money paid before work. Retainage is money you have already earned and already put labor and material into, held back until the job closes out. It is not a discount, it is not a contingency, and it is not the customer's money.
Why does retainage get forgotten?
Because it is the last money on a job and the job is finished by the time it comes due. Track the retainage balance separately from the invoice balance, put the release condition in the contract in plain words, and diary the date. Money nobody is watching does not arrive on its own.
The retainage calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.