Late payment penalty calculator (business-to-business)
A business paid late may claim, without any reminder, penalties at the ECB rate plus 10 points (or the contractual rate, never below three times the legal interest rate) and a €40 flat-rate recovery fee per invoice.
2026 rules — verified on September 4, 2026Free, no account
This content is part of the path: Invoicing and getting paid· Step 11 of 11· Last step of the path
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Fill in the fields, then run the calculation: the full breakdown appears here, free of charge.
Sources and assumptions
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — F23211 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « pour le 1er semestre 2026, le taux de refinancement en vigueur au 1er janvier est de 2,15 % (inchangé depuis le 2e semestre 2025), ce qui conduit à un taux de pénalités de 12,15 % »
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — F23211 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « pour le 2e semestre 2026, le taux de refinancement en vigueur au 1er juillet est de 2,40 %, ce qui conduit à un taux de pénalités de 12,40 % »
- legifrance.gouv.fr — LEGIARTI000038414392 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « au taux d'intérêt appliqué par la Banque centrale européenne à son opération de refinancement la plus récente majoré de 10 points de pourcentage »
- legifrance.gouv.fr — LEGIARTI000038414392 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Sauf disposition contraire qui ne peut toutefois fixer un taux inférieur à trois fois le taux d'intérêt légal, ce taux est égal au taux d'intérêt appliqué par la Banque centrale européenne à son opération de refinancement la plus récente majoré de 10 points de pourcentage »
- legifrance.gouv.fr — JORFTEXT000053165408 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Pour le premier semestre 2026, le taux de l'intérêt légal est fixé : 1° Pour les créances des personnes physiques n'agissant pas pour des besoins professionnels : à 6,67 % ; 2° Pour tous les autres cas : à 2,62 %. »
- legifrance.gouv.fr — JORFTEXT000054341315 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Pour tous les autres cas : à 2,75 % »
- legifrance.gouv.fr — LEGIARTI000043197457 — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Le montant de l'indemnité forfaitaire pour frais de recouvrement prévue au II de l'article L. 441-10 est fixé à 40 euros. »
Calculation assumptions
- The calculation applies to debts between businesses (French Commercial Code, art. L441-10): invoices addressed to a consumer and default interest on public procurement contracts are not covered.
- Penalties are simple interest on the amount including VAT, pro rata to the days of delay over a 365-day year; leap years and compounding of interest are not modelled.
- A single rate is applied to the whole delay: the rate of the selected half-year (ECB rate in force on 1 January or 1 July, legal interest rate of the same half-year). A delay straddling two half-years is not split.
- The flat-rate fee is owed automatically, but its amount and the penalty rate must appear in the general terms of sale and on the invoice: that mention is not checked here. Additional compensation for actual recovery costs, on proof, is not computed.
Go further
Understand this calculation: the related course
File it
The official form or forms to complete once you know the amount, explained field by field.
- Asking the French tax administration for time to pay
- Declaring your claim when a customer is in insolvency proceedings
- Referring the French business ombudsman — dispute with a customer or supplier
- General terms of sale — what they must contain
- Compulsory particulars on a business-to-business invoice
- Business-to-business SEPA direct debit mandate (B2B)
- Challenging the French tax administration amicably
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This result is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute personalised tax advice. Check your situation with the tax authorities or a professional.