Louisiana Late Fee Calculator

Work out interest on an overdue B2B invoice under Louisiana law. When the contract is silent, the default is variable — the currently published figure, the official page that sets it, the written-contract cap, and the statute are all on this page.

7.50% 2026 — resets periodically
Max written B2B rate
12% maximum conventional rate fixed in writing — but commercial/business obligations are exempt.
Cap regime
No statutory cap
Statute
La. R.S. 9:3500, 13:4202; Civ. Code art. 2000
Current rate source
official current-rate page
Verified
how we verify · changelog

Judicial interest, reset each calendar year by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (Fed discount rate on first business day of October +3.25 pts); runs from the time the sum was due.

Louisiana's default (contract silent): variable. Published figure: 7.50% (2026) — see the note above for when it applies, confirm it on the official page, then enter the rate that applies (or your contract's rate).

What Louisiana law actually says

[...] The commissioner of financial institutions shall ascertain, on the first business day of October of each year, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors approved "discount rate" published daily in the Wall Street Journal. The effective judicial interest rate for the calendar year following the calculation date shall be three and one-quarter percentage points above the discount rate as ascertained by the commissioner.
— La. R.S. 13:4202(B)(1). Read it at the official source · row verified 2026-08-19.

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 Louisiana — written B2B contracts

No statutory cap

12% conventional cap does NOT apply to commercial/business-purpose obligations; B2B parties may agree to any rate in writing.

Basis: La. R.S. 9:3500(D), 9:3509. Compare all 51 jurisdictions on the full state table and the cap-regime map.

B2B invoices only — not rent, not consumer debt

Everything on this page is about business-to-business invoices. Residential rent late fees live in Louisiana's landlord-tenant law and consumer credit has separate, stricter rules — two different bodies of law. The distinction is explained in B2B invoice late fees vs. residential rent.

Use this data

Louisiana'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.

Louisiana late fee FAQ

Can I charge late fees on overdue invoices in Louisiana?

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: Variable; currently published figure: 7.50% (2026). Judicial interest, reset each calendar year by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (Fed discount rate on first business day of October +3.25 pts); runs from the time the sum was due. Statute: La. R.S. 9:3500, 13:4202; Civ. Code art. 2000, verified 2026-08-19. Consumer and rent debts follow separate laws.

What is the maximum late fee I can charge in Louisiana?

For a written B2B contract: 12% maximum conventional rate fixed in writing — but commercial/business obligations are exempt. Basis: La. R.S. 9:3500(D), 9:3509. The full cap analysis is in the section above; 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 Louisiana?

Variable — Judicial interest, reset each calendar year by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (Fed discount rate on first business day of October +3.25 pts); runs from the time the sum was due. Currently published figure: 7.50% (2026). Confirm the applicable figure via the official page linked on this page before relying on it. Statute: La. R.S. 9:3500, 13:4202; Civ. Code art. 2000.

Does this cover rent, apartment, or consumer late fees in Louisiana?

No. This page covers business-to-business invoices only. Residential rent late fees are governed by Louisiana's landlord-tenant law, and consumer credit for personal, family, or household purposes has its own stricter caps and disclosure rules. Those are different statutes than the commercial-interest law cited here.

Where does this data come from, and when was it verified?

Every 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 — Louisiana'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).