District of Columbia Late Fee Calculator
Your late fee
$62.50
At the legal limit
Paid 12 days late, after the 5-day grace period.
The lease asks for $62.50, exactly the most D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 permits on these figures.
- Days past due
- 12 days
- Grace period ends
- October 3, 2026
- Earliest fee date
- October 4, 2026
- Lease late fee
- 5% of $1,250.00 = $62.50
- Legal maximum
- $62.50
- Rent + late fee
- $1,312.50
Limit set by District of Columbia (5% of the monthly rent): $62.50
5% × $1,250.00 monthly rent = $62.50
District of Columbia, earliest legal fee date: October 4, 2026
Next step: turn these figures into a late rent notice for the tenant.
District of Columbia rent late fee law
District of Columbia: the late fee is capped at 5% of the full rent due, needs a written lease that states the maximum, applies only when the rent is still unpaid more than 5 days after it was due (or past any longer grace period in the lease), and can be charged once per late payment.
(a) Pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, a housing provider may charge a late fee of no more than 5% of the full amount of rent due by a tenant. (b) A housing provider may only charge a late fee: (1) If the written lease agreement between the housing provider and the tenant informs the tenant of the maximum amount of the late fee that may be charged pursuant to this section; and (2) If the tenant has not paid the full amount of rent within 5 days, or any longer grace period that may be provided in the lease, after the day the rent payment is due. (c) A housing provider shall not: [...] (3) Impose a late fee more than one time on each late payment;
Late rent notice builder
Before you send it: this builds a reminder letter about overdue rent and a late charge. It is not an eviction notice. A notice to pay rent or quit is a separate document, and District of Columbia has its own rules for it. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
[Your name or company]
Date: October 10, 2026
To: [Tenant name]
[Rental property address]
Re: Overdue rent for [Rental property address]
Dear [Tenant name],
This letter is a reminder that the rent of $1,250.00 for [Rental property address] was due on September 28, 2026. As of October 10, 2026, $1,250.00 of it is still unpaid (12 days past due).
Your lease provides for a late charge, which comes to $62.50.
Amount now due
- Unpaid rent
- $1,250.00
- Late charge
- $62.50
- Total
- $1,312.50
Please pay $1,312.50 at your earliest opportunity.
If this letter crossed with your payment, please disregard it.
Regards,
[Your name or company]
How to use the District of Columbia rent late fee calculator
- Enter the monthly rent and the rent that is overdue.
- Enter the date the rent was due and the date it was paid, or today if it is still unpaid.
- Choose how the lease sets the late fee (percent of rent, flat amount or dollars per day) and type the figure from the lease.
- Enter the grace days written in the lease.
- Read the late fee, the earliest fee date and the most D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 allows, then copy the figures or print a late rent notice.
Work out interest on an overdue B2B invoice under District of Columbia law. The legal default rate — what applies when the contract is silent — is 6%, and the statute is quoted verbatim below. All math runs locally in your browser.
Default absent an expressed rate; on liquidated debts interest runs from the due date.
Late fee breakdown
- Interest owed
- —
- Daily rate
- —
- Total (invoice + interest)
- —
Still unpaid? Generate a formal demand letter — it computes the interest and cites District of Columbia's statute (D.C. Code §§ 28-3301, 28-3302, 15-108) for you.
Worked example: District of Columbia invoice interest at 6%
Interest at District of Columbia's statutory default of 6% a year, worked out with the same formula as the calculator above: amount × (6% ÷ 365) × days. If your contract states its own rate, enter that rate in the calculator instead.
| Invoice amount | 30 days late | 60 days late | 90 days late |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000.00 | $4.93 | $9.86 | $14.79 |
| $5,000.00 | $24.66 | $49.32 | $73.97 |
| $10,000.00 | $49.32 | $98.63 | $147.95 |
What District of Columbia law says about invoice interest
The rate of interest in the District upon the loan or forbearance of money, goods, or things in action in the absence of expressed contract, is 6% per annum.
Quoted verbatim from the linked official source — not our paraphrase. How we source and re-check every row is documented in the data methodology.
Maximum late fee in District of Columbia — written B2B contracts
Conditional cap 24% (deals $2,500 or less).
24% written cap, but a business-purpose loan OVER $2,500 (not home-secured) may carry any rate. At/under $2,500 the 24% cap applies.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 28-3308, and chapter 36 of this subtitle, the parties to an instrument in writing for the payment of money at a future time may contract therein for the payment of interest on the principal amount thereof at a rate not exceeding 24% per annum. [...] (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter: (1) any loan, except a loan which is secured directly or indirectly by a mortgage or deed of trust on residential real property [...] where the borrower receives the use of an amount in excess of $2,500 shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter and it shall be lawful to contract for, or receive, any rate of interest thereon if any of the following conditions are satisfied: [...] (B) the borrower is an individual, group of individuals, corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, or other entity, and the loan is made for the purpose of acquiring or carrying on a business, professional, or commercial activity
Basis: D.C. Code § 28-3301(a),(d)(1)(B). Compare all 51 jurisdictions in the maximum late fee by state table and cap-regime map.
Rent and invoices follow different laws — consumer debt is not covered
The Invoice tab, the rate card and the statute sections on this page are about business-to-business invoices. Residential rent late fees live in District of Columbia's landlord-tenant law. On the Rent tab, D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 is checked against your lease figures and quoted in full. Consumer credit has separate, stricter rules. The distinction is explained in B2B invoice late fees vs. residential rent.
Use this data
District of Columbia's row — rate, cap, citation, verbatim quote, verification date — is part of our open 51-jurisdiction dataset: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0, cite myinvoicetemplate.com). Set late-fee terms on your next invoice with the free invoice generator, or state them clearly using the wording guidance in the payment terms guide.
District of Columbia late fee FAQ
Is there a legal limit on rent late fees in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia: the late fee is capped at 5% of the full rent due, needs a written lease that states the maximum, applies only when the rent is still unpaid more than 5 days after it was due (or past any longer grace period in the lease), and can be charged once per late payment. Source: D.C. Code § 42-3505.31, checked 2026-10-03; the Rent tab quotes it word for word.
When can a landlord charge a late fee in District of Columbia?
Not before day 6 after the rent was due (D.C. Code § 42-3505.31). Enter the due date and the lease's grace days in the calculator to get the earliest date a fee may be charged.
How do I work out a late fee on rent in District of Columbia?
Enter the monthly rent, the overdue amount, the date the rent was due and the date it was paid, then the late fee in the lease (a percent of rent, a flat amount or dollars per day) and its grace days. The calculator gives the late fee, the earliest fee date, the most D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 allows and rent plus fee, and turns them into a late rent notice.
Can I charge late fees on overdue invoices in District of Columbia?
Yes — on business-to-business invoices. If your contract or invoice states a late-fee rate, that rate governs (subject to the cap rules below). If nothing was agreed: 6%. Default absent an expressed rate; on liquidated debts interest runs from the due date. Statute: D.C. Code §§ 28-3301, 28-3302, 15-108, verified 2026-08-19. Consumer and rent debts follow separate laws.
What is the maximum late fee on a B2B invoice in District of Columbia?
For a written B2B contract: 24% written cap — but business-purpose loans over $2,500 are fully exempt (any agreed rate). Basis: D.C. Code § 28-3301(a),(d)(1)(B). The full cap analysis is on the Invoice (B2B) tab; this covers business-to-business deals only — consumer credit has stricter separate caps.
What interest applies if my contract doesn't mention late fees in District of Columbia?
The statutory default rate of 6%. Default absent an expressed rate; on liquidated debts interest runs from the due date. Statute: D.C. Code §§ 28-3301, 28-3302, 15-108 (verbatim quote on this page, verified 2026-08-19).
Where does this data come from, and when was it verified?
Every invoice-interest figure on this page comes from our 51-jurisdiction dataset: each row researched against the controlling statute or the state's official current-rate page, independently re-checked, and stamped with its own verification date — District of Columbia's row was last verified 2026-08-19. The operative legal text is quoted verbatim on this page with a link to the official source, the methodology is public, every verification pass is logged in the changelog, and the full dataset is downloadable (CC BY 4.0). For rent, the Rent tab quotes D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 word for word, links its source and gives the date it was checked (2026-10-03).
Not legal advice. This page summarizes D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 and District of Columbia's commercial-interest statute for general information, with the verification date shown above — it tells you when we last confirmed the figures, not that they are still current today. Statutes change and courts interpret them; verify the cited statute at the official source, or ask a licensed attorney in your state, before charging a late fee or demanding interest.