Late payment interest (úrok z prodlení) is a statutory sanction that a debtor pays the creditor for every day a monetary debt remains unpaid after it falls due. Its amount is set by Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll. (nařízení vlády) as the repo rate of the Czech National Bank (Česká národní banka, ČNB) valid on the first day of the half-year in which the delay began, plus 8 percentage points. For a delay that began between 1 July and 31 December 2026, the statutory late payment interest is 11.75% a year. For a delay from the first half of 2026, it is 11.50% a year.
The rate does not change during the delay. A debt that has been overdue since March still accrues 11.50% in December, even though the ČNB has raised the repo rate in the meantime. You calculate the interest as amount owed × rate × days of delay / 365. An invoice for 50,000 CZK (about 2,300 USD) paid 45 days late therefore carries interest of 724.32 CZK (about 33 USD). The rules in this article are current as of 2 October 2026, and the next rate change may come on 1 January 2027.
Statutory late payment interest from July is 11.75% a year
Statutory late payment interest on debts that became overdue between 1 July and 31 December 2026 is 11.75% a year. It is based on the repo rate of 3.75%, which the ČNB Bank Board raised on 18 June 2026 with effect from 19 June 2026, and on the surcharge of 8 percentage points under Section 2 of Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll.
For a delay that began between 1 January and 30 June 2026, the rate is 11.50% a year. The repo rate on 1 January 2026 was 3.50% and had been unchanged since 9 May 2025. The Bank Board did not change the rate at its August or September meeting, as the overview of ČNB Bank Board decisions shows.
The rate for delays arising from 1 January 2027 will depend on the repo rate valid on that day. Before the end of the year, the Bank Board still meets on 5 November and 17 December 2026. Why and how the ČNB changes the repo rate is explained in our article on ČNB monetary policy.
The rate is set once, by the half-year in which the delay began
The late payment interest rate is set once and applies for the entire delay. Under Section 2(1) of Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll., the deciding figure is the ČNB repo rate “for the first day of the calendar half-year in which the delay occurred”. If the repo rate changes later, the late payment interest on a debt that is already overdue stays the same.
There are therefore only two decisive dates a year, 1 January for delays that began in the first half-year and 1 July for delays that began in the second. This wording has applied since the regulation took effect on 1 January 2014, and older delays are governed by Government Regulation No. 142/1994 Coll.
The statutory rate applies unless the parties agreed on a different one in their contract, which Section 1970 of the Civil Code (občanský zákoník) allows. Between businesses, a clause that excludes late payment interest entirely is invalid (Section 1964). A court may find an excessive contractual rate contrary to good morals (Section 580).
Late payment interest rates by half-year
Statutory late payment interest differs according to the half-year in which the delay began. It is the ČNB repo rate valid on 1 January or 1 July of the given year, plus 8 percentage points. It was highest for delays that began between July 2022 and the end of 2023, at 15% a year.
| Delay began | ČNB repo rate on the first day of the half-year | Late payment interest a year |
|---|---|---|
| second half of 2026 | 3.75% | 11.75% |
| first half of 2026 | 3.50% | 11.50% |
| second half of 2025 | 3.50% | 11.50% |
| first half of 2025 | 4.00% | 12.00% |
| second half of 2024 | 4.75% | 12.75% |
| first half of 2024 | 6.75% | 14.75% |
| second half of 2023 | 7.00% | 15.00% |
| first half of 2023 | 7.00% | 15.00% |
| second half of 2022 | 7.00% | 15.00% |
| first half of 2022 | 3.75% | 11.75% |
| second half of 2021 | 0.50% | 8.50% |
| first half of 2021 | 0.25% | 8.25% |
| second half of 2020 | 0.25% | 8.25% |
| first half of 2020 | 2.00% | 10.00% |
The repo rates come from the repo rate history on the ČNB website, and the calculation follows Section 2 of the regulation. A debt that has been overdue since September 2022 therefore still accrues 15% a year, even though today’s rate is 3.25 percentage points lower.
How to calculate late payment interest in CZK
You calculate late payment interest in CZK with the formula amount owed × annual rate × days of delay / 365. The regulation sets the rate as an annual one, and the examples in this article convert it to days by dividing by 365. The delay starts the day after the due date. With a bank transfer, the debt is paid when the money is credited to the account of the creditor’s payment service provider (Section 1957 of the Civil Code), not when it leaves the debtor’s account.
- Find the due date on the invoice or in the contract. The delay starts the following day.
- Pick the rate from the rate table according to the half-year in which the delay began.
- Count the days from the first day of delay up to and including the day of payment, which is the difference between the two dates.
- Plug the numbers into the formula.
| Example situation | Calculation | Late payment interest |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice for 50,000 CZK (about 2,300 USD) due 15 October 2026, paid 29 November 2026 (45 days) | 50,000 × 11.75% × 45 / 365 | 724.32 CZK (about 33 USD) |
| Loan of 10,000 CZK (about 460 USD) repaid 120 days after the due date, delay from October 2026 | 10,000 × 11.75% × 120 / 365 | 386.30 CZK (about 18 USD) |
| Debt of 100,000 CZK (about 4,600 USD) due 28 February 2026, paid 31 December 2026 (306 days) | 100,000 × 11.50% × 306 / 365 | 9,641.10 CZK (about 440 USD) |
The third example shows a common mistake. The delay began on 1 March 2026, so 11.50% applies for all 306 days, even after the June repo rate increase. Anyone who switched the rate from July would count 122 days at 11.50% and 184 days at 11.75%. They would get 9,767.12 CZK (about 450 USD), which is 126.03 CZK (about 5.8 USD) more than the debtor owes.
For a quick estimate, a debt of 100,000 CZK (about 4,600 USD) at 11.75% costs roughly 32 CZK (about 1.5 USD) for each day of delay and 11,750 CZK (about 540 USD) for a full year. How regular interest on a loan or deposit is calculated is explained in our article how to calculate interest.
Late payment interest and a contractual penalty are not the same
Late payment interest arises directly from the law, and the creditor is entitled to it even without a contract, provided the creditor has fulfilled its own obligations and the debtor is responsible for the delay (Section 1970 of the Civil Code). A contractual penalty (smluvní pokuta) arises only if the parties agree on it, either as a fixed amount or as a method of calculation (Section 2048). Under Section 2050, a penalty rules out only compensation for damage from the same breach, and the law does not rule out late payment interest alongside it.
| Aspect | Late payment interest | Contractual penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Section 1970 of the Civil Code and the government regulation | a clause in the contract (Section 2048) |
| Amount | ČNB repo rate + 8 pp, unless agreed otherwise | per the contract, a fixed amount or a percentage |
| How it grows | on the amount owed for each day of delay | as the contract specifies |
| Compensation for damage | only damage not covered by the interest (Section 1971) | rules out damage from the same breach (Section 2050) |
| Excessive amount | a clause contrary to good morals is invalid (Section 580) | a court may reduce it at the debtor’s request (Section 2051) |
Paying the penalty does not extinguish the debt, and the debtor must still pay the principal itself (Section 2049). For consumer loans, a penalty for a late instalment may be at most 0.1% of the amount owed per day under Section 122 of the Consumer Credit Act (zákon o spotřebitelském úvěru).
A business can claim an extra 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) per receivable
In addition to late payment interest, a business is entitled to compensation for the costs of recovering a receivable, at least 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) per receivable. Under Section 3 of Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll., this applies to obligations between businesses and to paid supplies of goods or services to a public contracting authority. A fixed amount alongside late payment interest is also granted by Section 1972 of the Civil Code.
The 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) amount is fixed, and the creditor does not lose the right to costs above it (Section 1972). If a supplier of goods or services issues another business an invoice for 50,000 CZK (about 2,300 USD) and it is paid 45 days late, the supplier can claim 724.32 CZK (about 33 USD) in late payment interest and 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) in costs, 1,924.32 CZK (about 88 USD) in total.
Between businesses, the price of goods or services is due within 30 days of receipt of the invoice, or of delivery of the goods or provision of the service, unless the parties agreed otherwise. A payment term longer than 60 days must be expressly agreed and must not be grossly disadvantageous to the creditor (Section 1963). An invoicing app can keep track of due dates and reminders, as shown in our article how to automate invoicing.
Consumers pay the same interest but have extra protection
A consumer in delay pays the same statutory late payment interest as a business, so 11.75% a year for delays from 1 July 2026, unless the contract sets a different rate. The flat 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) under Section 3 of the government regulation does not apply to consumers, however, because the regulation limits it to dealings between businesses and supplies to a public contracting authority.
When a consumer in delay pays only part of the debt, the money is applied first to costs already determined, then to the principal, then to interest, and to late payment interest only at the end (Section 1932(2)). For other debtors, after costs it goes first to late payment interest, then to interest, and to the principal only at the end (Section 1932(1)). For a consumer, each payment therefore reduces the amount on which interest accrues more quickly.
For a debt under a consumer credit agreement, Act No. 257/2016 Coll. only allows the parties to agree, in case of delay, on compensation for reasonably incurred costs, late payment interest no higher than the statutory rate, or a contractual penalty (Section 122). Apart from small amounts, the penalty may be at most 0.1% of the amount owed per day, and all penalties together at most half of the total amount of credit, up to 200,000 CZK (about 9,200 USD).
When a delay on a consumer loan lasts longer than 90 days, the creditor is entitled only to interest at the repo rate plus 8 percentage points, unless a lower rate was agreed (Section 122(4)). Other lender practices are covered in our article how to get rid of unfair non-bank loans.
Child maintenance and taxes have their own rules
Since 1 January 2026, late payment interest on maintenance for a minor child (výživné) has been higher than the standard rate. For the first 6 months of delay it is 2.5 per mille of the amount owed for each day, after which the standard repo rate plus 8 percentage points applies. This was introduced by Government Regulation No. 517/2025 Coll., and delays that arose before 1 January 2026 follow the original rule.
The difference is large. Maintenance of 5,000 CZK (about 230 USD) paid 30 days late means late payment interest of 375 CZK (about 17 USD), while at the standard 11.75% rate it would be 48.29 CZK (about 2.2 USD). A daily rate of 2.5 per mille equals 91.25% a year.
For taxes, late payment interest arises from the fourth day after the due date and its amount corresponds to interest under the Civil Code (Section 252 of the Tax Code, daňový řád). However, the repo rate is taken separately for each day according to the half-year it falls in (Section 251a(5)), so for taxes the rate does change during a longer delay. The tax administrator does not assess the interest if it does not exceed 1,000 CZK (about 46 USD) for one type of tax for one tax period (Section 251a(2)).
Late payment interest becomes time-barred after three years
Late payment interest is an accessory of the receivable (Section 513 of the Civil Code) and becomes time-barred under the general three-year limitation period (Section 629). The period runs from the day the creditor could first claim it. A court takes the limitation into account only if the debtor raises it (Section 610), and anyone who pays a time-barred debt cannot ask for the money back (Section 609).
If the debtor acknowledges the debt, it becomes time-barred after 10 years (Section 639), the same as a right granted by a court judgment (Section 640). The ten-year period does not, however, apply to interest that falls due only after the acknowledgement or the judgment (Section 642), which becomes time-barred under the general rules, usually after three years. Paying interest is also considered an acknowledgement of the debt (Section 2054). The periods are covered in more detail in our article on debt limitation in the Czech Republic.
What to do when a debtor has not paid on time
You are entitled to late payment interest from the first day after the due date. If a due date was agreed, the debtor is in delay even without a reminder (Section 1958). For the debtor to pay the interest, however, you have to claim it, usually with a written demand stating the exact amount.
- Check the due date. If no due date was agreed, first send the debtor a demand, and the debt is then due without undue delay.
- Determine the rate by the half-year in which the delay began and calculate the interest as of a specific date.
- In the demand, state the principal, the late payment interest and, for an invoice between businesses, also 1,200 CZK (about 55 USD) per receivable.
- Keep an eye on the three-year limitation period.
- In a dispute or for a large amount, contact a lawyer, and for a smaller question a free legal advice service can also help.
If, on the other hand, you are the debtor, late payment interest stops growing only on the day the money reaches the creditor’s bank. How to handle several debts at once is described in our article 10 tips for getting out of debt.
USD amounts are approximate, converted at the Czech National Bank rate of 21.80 CZK per USD on 2 October 2026.
