Indiana late fee calculator

No statutory maximum that I can cite for a commercial invoice. Indiana's 25 percent figure is a consumer loan finance charge in Ind. Code section 24-4.5-3-201. Section 24-4.5-1-202 excludes credit extended primarily for a business, commercial, or agricultural purpose from that article. A written 1.5 percent a month on a business invoice is not cut off by that consumer cap. Courts can still refuse a rate that is unconscionable. 18 percent a year is ordinary. 90 percent is a different conversation. If the contract stated no rate, you get 8 percent under section 24-4.6-1-102, not a number you prefer.

Eight percent a year. Section 24-4.6-1-102 says that when the parties do not agree on the rate, interest on loans or forbearances of money, goods, or things in action is 8 percent a year until payment of judgment. That is the whole rule. It is not 1.5 percent a month, and it is not the consumer loan cap. Use 8 percent simple interest for the days the invoice is past due. The calculator on this page can drop the monthly field to that rate.

No, when the credit is primarily for a business purpose. The Indiana Uniform Consumer Credit Code is a consumer statute. Section 24-4.5-1-202 lists the exemptions, and business, commercial, and agricultural credit are on that list. A company hiring you to do the work is not a consumer loan. A neighbor hiring you for a personal project might be closer to the line, and I would not use a consumer exemption as a dare. For a normal B2B invoice, ignore the 25 percent consumer chart and use either your written rate or the 8 percent default.

Ten thousand dollars. Ind. Code section 33-29-2-4 gives the small claims docket jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount sought is not more than $10,000, for cases after June 30, 2021. The Indiana courts' 2026 small claims manual says the same thing. You can waive the excess to stay on that docket, which is usually a bad trade if the excess is real. Attorney fees are hard to get in small claims unless a statute or the contract clearly allows them. If the invoice plus the agreed fee is over $10,000, file it as a regular civil case.

Six years. Ind. Code section 34-11-2-9 says an action on a promissory note, bill of exchange, or other written contract for the payment of money must be started within six years. There is a longer statute for some other written contracts, and older summaries still quote 10 years. An invoice is a contract for the payment of money, so I use the six year section, and the 2026 small claims manual groups notes and contracts for the payment of money at six years as well. Do not miss the shorter clock because a blog remembered the longer one.

Yes, if the contract says so and the fee is not a disguise for a consumer finance charge you are not allowed to take. A flat $50 on a $400 invoice can be easier to explain than a percent that rounds to pennies. It still has to be in the writing before the client is late. A silent contract gives you 8 percent a year under section 24-4.6-1-102, not a flat fee you announce in the third reminder. Pick one method for the next engagement and use it every time.

No. Ind. Code section 5-17-5 is about public purchasing and the state's own payment timing. It does not order a private client to pay your invoice in a set number of days, and it does not add a statutory percent to a design bill. If your client is a government unit, read that chapter before you invent a rate. If your client is a business, use the contract or the 8 percent default. Citing a public purchasing statute in a demand to a private company is the kind of mistake that makes the rest of the letter easy to dismiss.

Only if you promised one. Section 24-4.6-1-102 does not insert a grace period into a silent contract, and there is no commercial statute that forces 10 days of waiting before interest starts. If your terms say net 30 and then 10 days of grace, count from day 41. If they say net 30 and nothing else, the days overdue start the next day. The calculator has a grace field for this. Use the number you printed, including zero. A grace period you mention for the first time in a collection email is not a grace period. It is a concession.

It can drop. Section 24-4.6-1-101 says interest on a money judgment runs at the contract rate, but not above 8 percent a year, even if a higher rate was proper before judgment. If there was no contract rate, the judgment rate is 8 percent. A 1.5 percent monthly rate can be a pre judgment rate and still become 8 percent once the court enters judgment. Build that into the demand. The point of the higher rate is to get paid before you sue, not to keep compounding after you win. Show both numbers if you are explaining the claim.