Reference · 1 July – 31 December 2026

EU late payment interest rates by country

Name: EU statutory late-payment interest rates by country
Creator: DueTrail
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The statutory interest you can charge on an overdue B2B invoice in each EU member state — under Directive 2011/7/EU and national law. Every figure is the commercial (B2B) rate for 1 July – 31 December 2026, with the reference rate, margin, and an official source per country.

Last verified 9 July 2026. Rates reset every 1 January and 1 July.

Highlighted rows apply a higher national margin than the EU minimum of +8pp.

Statutory B2B late-payment interest rate by EU member state for 1 July – 31 December 2026, with reference rate, margin, currency, and source.
Country	Rate	Reference + margin	Source
Austria	10.73%	1.53% + 9.2pp	Source
Belgium	10.50%	2.50% + 8pp	Source
Bulgaria	12.40%	2.40% + 10pp	Source
Croatia	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Cyprus	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Czechianon-€	11.75%	3.75% + 8pp	Source
Denmarknon-€	10.00%	2.00% + 8pp	Source
Estonia	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Finland	10.50%	2.50% + 8pp	Source
France	12.40%	2.40% + 10pp	Source
Germany	10.52%	1.52% + 9pp	Source
Greece	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Hungarynon-€	14.00%	6.00% + 8pp	Source
Ireland	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Italy	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Latvia	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Lithuania	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Luxembourg	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Malta	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Netherlands	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Polandnon-€	13.75%	3.75% + 10pp	Source
Portugal	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Romanianon-€	14.50%	6.50% + 8pp	Source
Slovakia	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Slovenia	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Spain	10.40%	2.40% + 8pp	Source
Swedennon-€	10.00%	2.00% + 8pp	Source

Reference rate for euro-area states is the ECB main refinancing rate in force on 1 July 2026 (2.40%); Germany, Austria and Finland use their own national base rate, and non-euro states use their national central-bank rate. The margin is the percentage points added for B2B statutory interest — most states apply the Directive minimum of +8pp, but France (+10), Germany (+9), Austria (+9.2) and Bulgaria (+10) apply higher national margins.

Bulgaria: figure is lower-confidence — confirm against the official source before relying on it.

How to read this

What the numbers mean

Under EU Directive 2011/7/EU, a business can charge statutory interest on a late commercial (B2B) invoice equal to a reference rate plus at least 8 percentage points, plus a fixed €40 recovery fee. Member states transpose this into national law and some set a higher margin.

The rate is fixed per calendar half-year: the reference rate in force on 1 January or 1 July governs the whole six-month period and does not change mid-period, even if the central-bank rate moves. The figures above are for 1 July – 31 December 2026 — the next reset is 1 January 2027.

Every figure is the commercial (B2B)rate. Most countries also publish a separate, usually lower, consumer or civil default-interest rate — don't confuse the two.

Invoicing customers in the United States? The model is inverted there — no automatic fee, contract first — but every state has a fallback legal rate: see the US late-payment interest rates by state.

Before you rely on a figure: this is a reference summary, not legal advice. Rates change every six months and national transposition varies — verify against the relevant national official gazette before using a number for collection, litigation, or invoicing. The official EU starting point is the European Commission late-payment portal.

The cost of late payment

EU late payment statistics

What paying late actually does to businesses — sourced figures you are welcome to cite, with a link to the primary source or to this page.

>12%

of European businesses' revenue is now received late — above the level firms say they can sustain without disrupting operations.

Intrum, European Payment Report 2026 (8,385 executives, 20 countries)

62%

of European businesses say payment delays lead them to pay their own suppliers late — late payment cascades down supply chains.

Intrum, European Payment Report 2026

59%

of US small businesses carry invoices overdue by 30+ days — up from 47% a year earlier, with an average of $17.7K outstanding.

Intuit QuickBooks, Small Business Late Payments Report 2026

1 in 4

EU SME bankruptcies have late payment as a contributing cause, and only around 40% of EU businesses are paid on time.

European Commission figures, via Accountancy Europe (2024)

Statistics last checked 21 August 2026. Figures belong to their publishers — each card links the primary source. The rates table above follows its own verification schedule.

Work it out

Calculate what you're owed

Pick the rate for your country above, then use the calculator to work out the interest and the €40 recovery fee on a specific overdue invoice.

Late payment interest calculator →Verzugszinsen-Rechner (DE) →

Charging interest is the easy part. Collecting is the work.

DueTrail turns overdue invoices into managed cases with reviewable reminders and promise-to-pay tracking — so your team follows up consistently across every market you sell into.

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