Calculate Dutch statutory interest (wettelijke rente) and statutory commercial interest (handelsrente) on overdue claims under Netherlands law with our free online legal calculator. The tool applies the interest rates set by the Dutch central bank (De Nederlandsche Bank), automatically computes compound interest in accordance with article 6:119(2) of the Dutch Civil Code, and processes partial payments following the allocation rules of article 6:44 DCC.
The tool also calculates extrajudicial collection costs (buitengerechtelijke incassokosten) under article 6:96 DCC, including interest on those costs. It supports multiple claims, also for recurring obligations such as unpaid rent, and can generate a full payment schedule with customisable instalments and annual interest capitalisation.
What is Dutch statutory interest?
Statutory interest (wettelijke rente) is the compensation a debtor owes by law when a payment is overdue. It is governed by article 6:119 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek).
The rate is adjusted every six months (on 1 January and 1 July) by governmental decree. It is tied to the refinancing rate of the European Central Bank (ECB), plus a fixed mark-up of 3 percentage points.
When does statutory interest start to run?
Statutory interest starts to accrue once the debtor is in default (verzuim). How default arises depends on the situation.
The most common scenario is an unpaid invoice. Most invoices state a payment term, for example “payment within 30 days”. That payment term constitutes a contractual deadline. If the debtor does not pay within that period, default occurs automatically the day after the deadline expires. No reminder, no formal notice, no further action by the creditor is required. Statutory interest begins to run from that moment.
In the rare case that an invoice or contract does not contain a payment term, the creditor must first send a notice of default (ingebrekestelling), a written demand giving the debtor a reasonable period to pay. Default begins only when that period expires without payment. In practice this situation is uncommon, since virtually all commercial invoices include a payment term.
Default also arises automatically in certain other situations defined by law, for example when the debtor announces that he will not perform, or when performance has become permanently impossible.
Statutory interest and statutory commercial interest: what is the difference?
Dutch law recognises two types of statutory interest:
- Ordinary statutory interest under article 6:119 DCC applies, in principle, to monetary claims generally, including claims for damages, repayment of undue payments, court-awarded costs, and restitution claims arising upon termination of a contract for non-performance. The current statutory rate is 4% per annum;
- Statutory commercial interest (art. 6:119a DCC) applies specifically to business-to-business transactions. The rate is significantly higher: the ECB refinancing rate plus 8 percentage points. This higher rate is intended to discourage late payment between professional parties.
Commercial staututory interest was introduced to implement the EU Late Payment Directive (originally Directive 2000/35/EC, later replaced by Directive 2011/7/EU). In a commercial transaction, the higher rate applies by default when the debtor is in default, unless the parties have agreed on a different rate in their contract.
Generally calculated as compound interest
Under Dutch law, statutory interest is generally calculated as compound interest, because accrued interest is capitalized after each full year.
Parties may agree on a different contractual interest rate, in which case the statutory rate applies only insofar as no valid different arrangement has been made.
Current interest rates
| Period | Statutory interest (6:119 DCC) | Commercial interest (6:119a DCC) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 – present | 4.00% | 10.15% |
| 1 July 2025 – 31 December 2025 | 6.00% | 10.15% |
| 1 January 2025 – 30 June 2025 | 6.00% | 11.15% |
| 1 July 2024 – 31 December 2024 | 7.00% | 12.25% |
| 1 January 2024 – 30 June 2024 | 7.00% | 12.50% |
| 1 July 2023 – 31 December 2023 | 4.00% | 12.00% |
| 1 January 2023 – 30 June 2023 | 4.00% | 10.50% |
Source: Dutch Government / De Nederlandsche Bank. All historical rates since 1992 are included in the calculator.
Extrajudicial collection costs under Dutch law
The legal basis for extrajudicial collection costs (buitengerechtelijke incassokosten) is found in article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code. This article provides that both the decision to incur collection costs and the amount of those costs must be reasonable. To provide legal certainty and to protect consumers, the legislator introduced a statutory scale on 1 July 2012: the Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten (Decree on extrajudicial collection costs compensation).
Statutory scale for collection costs
The decree contains a scale based on which the maximum collection costs can be calculated:
| Principal amount | Percentage |
|---|---|
| First €2,500 | 15% (minimum €40) |
| Next €2,500 (€2,500 – €5,000) | 10% |
| Next €5,000 (€5,000 – €10,000) | 5% |
| Next €190,000 (€10,000 – €200,000) | 1% |
| Remainder above €200,000 | 0.5% |
The maximum amount of extrajudicial collection costs is €6,775.
Mandatory rules for consumers
The statutory scale is mandatory law (dwingend recht) in relation to consumers. Businesses may not agree on less favourable terms with consumers. If they do, the consumer may void those terms. Between businesses (B2B), the decree is not mandatory: parties may agree on different amounts, but if no agreement is made, the statutory scale applies by default.
The 14-day notice requirement
Before a creditor can claim extrajudicial collection costs from a consumer, the consumer must first receive a written reminder (14-dagenbrief) after being in default. This notice must grant the consumer a payment term of at least 14 days (recent case law suggests 16 days) and must state the consequences of non-payment, including the exact amount of collection costs that will be due. Once this notice period has expired without payment, the collection costs are owed regardless of whether the claim has actually been handed over to a collection agency or a lawyer.
Interest on extrajudicial collection costs
Once the debtor is in default with paying the extrajudicial collection costs, statutory interest accrues over those costs as well. The interest rate that applies is always the ordinary statutory interest rate under article 6:119 DCC, even if the underlying claim carries the higher commercial interest rate. This is because the collection costs are a claim for damages, not a commercial transaction.
In practice, the collection costs become due when the payment term in the 14-day notice letter expires (for consumer claims) or when the debtor is in default (for B2B claims). Statutory interest on the collection costs runs from that date until the date of actual payment. This calculator allows you to specify the date the collection costs became due and will automatically calculate the interest owed on those costs.