Late payment interest between businesses: France, Germany, Spain and Italy
An invoice of 5,000 euros paid 61 days late by a German company carries 87.91 euros of statutory interest, plus a fixed 40 euros. The same delay costs 103.62 euros in France, where the margin is 10 points instead of 9. The four countries all start from an ECB or central bank rate, but they add different margins and pick the rate on different dates. This calculator applies each country's rule half-year by half-year.
Calculate the interest
Covers due dates and payments between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2026. Rates for the first half of 2027 are fixed on 1 January 2027 and are not in the tool yet. Business-to-business only: consumer debts follow other rules.
Statutory rates by half-year
| Country | Rule | Jul-Dec 2025 | Jan-Jun 2026 | Jul-Dec 2026 | Fixed sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | ECB rate + 10 points | 12.15 % | 12.15 % | 12.40 % | 40 € |
| Germany | Basiszinssatz + 9 points | 10.27 % | 10.27 % | 10.52 % | 40 € |
| Spain | ECB rate + 8 points | 10.15 % | 10.15 % | 10.40 % | 40 € |
| Italy | ECB rate + 8 points | 10.15 % | 10.15 % | 10.40 % | 40 € |
The ECB main refinancing rate was 2.15 % from 11 June 2025 and 2.40 % from 17 June 2026. It went to 2.65 % on 16 September 2026, which changes nothing for the second half of 2026: France, Spain and Italy freeze the rate in force at the start of each half-year. Germany uses its own base rate, published by the Bundesbank: 1.27 % from 1 July 2025 and 1 January 2026, 1.52 % from 1 July 2026.
What differs from one country to the next
France. The contract may set its own rate, but not below three times the legal interest rate. When the contract says nothing, the default is the ECB rate plus 10 points. The 40 euro recovery fee is owed once per invoice, not per day, and excludes VAT.
Germany. § 288 (2) BGB sets 9 points above the base rate when no consumer is party to the deal. § 288 (5) adds a 40 euro flat fee when the debtor is not a consumer.
Spain. Ley 3/2004, article 7: ECB rate of the most recent main refinancing operation before the first day of the half-year, plus 8 points. The Treasury publishes the result in the BOE: 10.40 % for the second half of 2026. Article 8 adds a fixed 40 euros.
Italy. Decreto legislativo 231/2002: ECB rate in force on 1 January or 1 July, plus 8 points (article 5). Businesses may agree another rate within the limits of article 7. Article 6 gives 40 euros flat, and more if higher recovery costs are proven.
How the figure is computed
Simple interest, no compounding. Each day from the day after the due date up to the payment date is charged at the rate of the half-year it falls in, on a 365-day year. The laws above fix the annual rate; none of them fixes the day count, so a court or a contract may use another convention and land a few cents away. The example at the top: due 15 September, paid 15 November 2026, that is 15 days in September at 10.52 %, 31 in October, 15 in November, 61 days in all.
Sources, read on 9 November 2026
- ECB key interest rates: ecb.europa.eu
- German base rate: bundesbank.de; § 288 BGB: gesetze-im-internet.de
- France: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr (F23211)
- Spain: Ley 3/2004 (BOE); rate for July-December 2026: BOE-A-2026-14327
- Italy: D.Lgs. 231/2002 (Normattiva)
Also on this site: e-invoicing deadlines in six EU countries.