Calculation of legal interest

Verified 28 June 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

When a court order requires a person to pay an amount, and that person pays the amount late, then they have to pay legal interest on top of that. The total amount to be paid varies according to the terms of the judgment, the date of actual payment of the sum due and the value of the statutory interest rate. We'll lay out the regulations for you.

It exists 2 types of legal interests:

The simple statutory interest rate, which is used when the sum due is paid within 2 months following the date of application of the judgment
The statutory interest rate plus, which is used in other cases. Since 2015, the premium rate has been the statutory simple interest rate, increased by 5 percentage points.

Tableau - Simple statutory interest rate
		The creditor is an individual who is not acting for professional purposes	Other cases (including creditor is a professional)
2024	2^e semester	4.92%	8.16%
2024	1^er semester	8.01%	5.07%
2023	2^e semester	6.82%	4.22%
2023	1^er semester	4.47%	2.06%
2022	2^e semester	3.15%	0.77%
2022	1^er semester	3.13%	0.76%
2021	2^e semester	3.12%	0.76%
2021	1^er semester	3.14%	0.79%
2020	2^e semester	3.11%	0.84%
2020	1^er semester	3.15%	0.87%
2019	2^e semester	3.26%	0.87%
2019	1^er semester	3.40%	0.86%
2018	2^e semester	3.60%	0.88%
2018	1^er semester	3.73%	0.89%
2017	2^e semester	3.94%	0.90%
2017	1^er semester	4.16%	0.90%
2016	2^e semester	4.35%	0.93%
2016	1^er semester	4.54%	1.01%
2015	2^e semester	4.29%	0.99%
2015	1^er semester	4.06%	0.93%

Simple legal interests shall run from the date of the decision, unless another date is indicated in the court decision.

Legal interest is due when the sentenced person pays the sum within 2 months of the date of application of the judgment.

To calculate simple legal interest that is due, multiply the amount due by the number of days late and by the applicable legal interest rate over the period. The result obtained must then be divided by 365×100, that is to say by 36,500.

Tableau - Simple statutory interest rate
		The creditor is an individual who is not acting for professional purposes	Other cases (including creditor is a professional)
2024	2^e semester	4.92%	8.16%
2024	1^er semester	8.01%	5.07%
2023	2^e semester	6.82%	4.22%
2023	1^er semester	4.47%	2.06%
2022	2^e semester	3.15%	0.77%
2022	1^er semester	3.13%	0.76%
2021	2^e semester	3.12%	0.76%
2021	1^er semester	3.14%	0.79%
2020	2^e semester	3.11%	0.84%
2020	1^er semester	3.15%	0.87%
2019	2^e semester	3.26%	0.87%
2019	1^er semester	3.40%	0.86%
2018	2^e semester	3.60%	0.88%
2018	1^er semester	3.73%	0.89%
2017	2^e semester	3.94%	0.90%
2017	1^er semester	4.16%	0.90%
2016	2^e semester	4.35%	0.93%
2016	1^er semester	4.54%	1.01%
2015	2^e semester	4.29%	0.99%
2015	1^er semester	4.06%	0.93%

Example :

Judgment on 25 June 2020, served on 1^er September 2020 and becoming applicable that same day.

Decision: Order to pay €2,000

Legal interest rate on 2^d 2020 semester: 3.11% (creditor is an individual)

If the convicted person commits to pay on September 30, 2020, you get:

(2,000 x 30 x 3.11%) / 365 = €5.11

2,000 + 5.11 = €2,005.11

Total to be paid is €2,005.11.

Remember: even if 2020 is a leap year, 365 should be used in the calculation.

Where the amount due is not paid within 2 months of the date of application of the judgment, simple statutory interest shall be paid over the period of the first 2 months. And increased interest is payable beyond these 2 months.

If the judgment is applicable immediately (provisional execution), the two-month period shall run from the date of significance of judgment.

If the judgment is applicable after a period (in the case of a judgment which may be subject to appeal or opposition), the period of two months shall run from the day on which the remedies expire.

Reminder

Since 2015, the increased rate corresponds to the simple statutory interest rate, increased by 5 points:

To calculate the statutory interest payable, the amount due must be multiplied by the number of days late and by the applicable statutory interest rate for the relevant period. The result obtained must then be divided by 365.

Example :

Date of judgment: 1^er September 2019, served on 17 September 2019 and becoming applicable that same day.

Decision: Order to pay €2,000

The period for the payment of the simple statutory interest (first 2 months of delay) ends on 17 November 2019. The increased legal interest is due from 18 November 2019.

The sentenced person commits to pay on April 10, 2020.

Simple statutory interest rate of 2^d 2019 semester: 3.26% (creditor is an individual)

Statutory interest rate plus 2^d 2019 semester: 8.26%

Statutory interest rate plus 1^er 2020 semester: 8.15%

The amount of the statutory interest payable for each period must be calculated and added together as follows:

Simple legal interest amount from September 17 to November 17, 2019:
(€2,000 x 62 x 3.26%) / 365 = €11.08
Amount of legal interest increased from 18 November to 31 December 2019:
(€2,000 x 44 x 8.26%) / 365 = €19.91
2020 statutory interest plus:
(€2,000 x 100 x 8.15%) / 365 = €44.66

The total amount of the statutory interest is: €11.08 + €19.91 + €44.66 = €75.65

The total to be paid is: €2,000 + €75.65 = €2,075.65

Remember: even if 2020 is a leap year, 365 must be used in the calculation.

The judgment may provide for the capitalization of interest, i.e. the obligation to integrate interest into capital at the end of each year.

Here is an example of calculation of statutory interest with capitalizable interest (called compound statutory interest) :

Example :

Using the example above, the amount of the legal interest of the must be calculated for the year 2019 and then included in the capital for the calculation of the year 2020. The calculation to be made is as follows:

Amount of the simple and increased statutory interest of for the year 2019
€11.08 + €19.91 = €30.99
In 2020, the amount due becomes:
€2,000 + €30.99 = €2,030.99
Amount of the statutory interest plus the for 2020:
(€2,030.99 x 100 x 8.15%) / 365 = €45.35