Do you owe someone money? Or a business? In many cases, it is the legal interest rate that automatically applies for the calculation of default interest. The applicable rates are known for the next few months, until the end of 2023. Unsurprisingly, they climb very quickly.
Already up very sharply in the first half of 2023, legal interest rates are continuing their frantic rise. This is true for debts due to individuals as well as receivables from companies and administrations. The judgment of June 27, 2023 sets the rate of legal interest for claims of natural persons not acting for professional needs 6.82% and for other cases 4.22%. A rate that flies away on the one hand, and one that doubles on the other. These rates are applicable until the end of 2023.
Updated every six months, these legal interest rates are used to calculate the amount of compensatory interest in the event of late payment of a debt.
The first rate, which therefore goes from 4.47% to 6.82%, serves if you owe money to an individual, for example in the event of late payment of child support.
The second rate, climbing from 2.06% to 4.22%, is applied to debts to companies or administrations. The rate of legal interest between professionals is used in particular in the event of delay of refund following an error in calculating the annual percentage rate of charge (APR) of a credit.
How is the legal interest rate determined?
In either case, for debts to individuals or companies, these rates have never been so high since the introduction of the new calculation method in 2015.