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Interest on unpaid invoices in North Carolina: 8% a year if no rate was agreed; the most you can set depends on the deal

By Yossi Grunwald, founder of Workeey · Updated

In North Carolina, 8% a year if no rate was agreed; the most you can set depends on the deal. Read from North Carolina's own statutes, agencies and courts, checked November 6, 2026, with every answer quoted below, and a late fee calculator.

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North Carolina's rate when no rate was agreed

8% a year. Legal rate 8% a year (G.S. 24-1). In an action for breach of contract the amount awarded bears interest from the date of breach (G.S. 24-5(a)); after judgment, at the contract rate if the parties agreed it applies after judgment, otherwise the legal rate.

  • “the legal rate of interest shall be eight percent (8%) per annum for such time as interest may accrue, and no more.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1 (Legal rate of interest), read November 6, 2026
  • “In an action for breach of contract, except an action on a penal bond, the amount awarded on the contract bears interest from the date of breach.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-5(a) (Interest on judgments), read November 6, 2026
  • “If the parties have agreed in the contract that the contract rate shall apply after judgment, then interest on an award in a contract action shall be at the contract rate after judgment; otherwise it shall be at the legal rate.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-5(a), read November 6, 2026

The most you can set in North Carolina

For a homeowner: Principal $25,000 or less: the greater of 16% or the 6-month T-bill rate + 6% (set monthly by the Commissioner of Banks); over $25,000: any rate agreed in writing. G.S. 24-1.1 covers a loan, purchase money loan, advance, commitment or forbearance (not a credit card/open-end loan). Where the goods or services are purchased primarily for a personal, family, household or agricultural purpose, G.S. 25A has its own rules, not checked here.

For a business customer: Any rate agreed — no cap in an 'exempt loan' (borrower not a natural person, or a natural person's non-personal/family/household-purpose loan, or $300,000+). G.S. 24-9(b): in an exempt loan any agreed interest, fees and charges may be collected and a usury claim or defense is prohibited.

  • “Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter or other applicable law, the parties to a loan, purchase money loan, advance, commitment for a loan, or forbearance, other than a credit card, open-end, or similar loan, may contract in writing for the payment of interest not in excess of the following:” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1.1(a) (Contract rates and fees), read November 6, 2026
  • “Where the principal amount is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less, the rate set under subsection (c) of this section.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1.1(a)(1)-(2), read November 6, 2026
  • “U.S. Treasury bills with a six-month maturity as of the fifteenth day of the month plus six percent (6%), rounded upward or downward, as the case may be, to the nearest one-half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) or sixteen percent (16%), whichever is greater.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1.1(c), read November 6, 2026
  • “there may be charged and collected interest, finance charges or other fees at a rate in the aggregate not to exceed one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) per month” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-11(a) (Certain revolving credit charges), read November 6, 2026
  • “any borrower in an exempt loan transaction may agree to pay, and any lender, including a bank, may charge and collect from the borrower, interest at any rate and fees and other charges in any amount that the borrower agrees to pay. A claim or defense of usury is prohibited in an exempt loan transaction.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-9(b) (Loans exempt from rate and fee limitations), read November 6, 2026
  • “b. The borrower is a person other than a natural person; or” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-9(a)(3), read November 6, 2026
  • “a. The loan amount is three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) or more; or” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-9(a)(3), read November 6, 2026

Late fees in North Carolina

What the text says: It depends: see N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25A-29. Consumer credit installment sales (goods or services to a natural person for personal, family, household or agricultural use, payable in installments or with a finance charge): one default charge of $18 per default, on an installment 10+ days past due. Revolving charge accounts: late charge max $5 (balance under $100) or $10 ($100+) for a payment 30+ days past due. G.S. 24-11(d1): open-end credit / revolving charge accounts under 24-11.

  • “If any installment is past due for 10 days or more according to the original terms” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25A-29 (Default charges), read November 6, 2026
  • “a default charge may be made in an amount of eighteen dollars ($18.00)” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25A-29, read November 6, 2026
  • “A default charge may be imposed only one time for each default” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25A-29, read November 6, 2026
  • “The goods or services are purchased primarily for a personal, family, household or agricultural purpose” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25A-2(a) (Consumer credit sale), read November 6, 2026
  • “a late payment charge not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) on accounts having an outstanding balance of less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and ten dollars ($10.00) on accounts having an outstanding balance of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more, for any payment past due for 30 days or more” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-11(d1), read November 6, 2026

Does North Carolina want it agreed in advance?

Agreed in advance: yes, in the cases below. A contract interest rate must be agreed in writing (G.S. 24-1.1(a): 'may contract in writing'). The 8% legal rate on a breach-of-contract award runs from the date of breach without agreement (G.S. 24-5(a)).

  • “may contract in writing for the payment of interest not in excess of the following:” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1.1(a), read November 6, 2026

Homeowners and businesses in North Carolina

Usury limits protect natural persons borrowing for personal, family or household purposes under $300,000. A homeowner buying services on installments or with a finance charge is in a consumer credit sale, where the late (default) charge is a flat $18 after 10 days (G.S. 25A-29).

  • “c. The loan is obtained by a natural person primarily for a purpose other than a personal, family, or household purpose.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-9(a)(3), read November 6, 2026

Prompt payment on private construction in North Carolina

See the state's words below. G.S. ch. 22C (Payment to subcontractors) on improvements to real property; owner = a person with an interest in the real property who ordered the improvement. The interest section read (22C-5) covers contractor → subcontractor payments, not owner → contractor.

  • “the contractor or subcontractor shall pay his subcontractor interest, beginning on the eighth day, at the rate of one percent (1%) per month or a” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 22C-5, read November 6, 2026
  • “a person who has an interest in the real property improved and for whom an improvement is made and who ordered the improvement to be made.” — N.C. Gen. Stat. § 22C-1 (Definitions) — owner, read November 6, 2026

Work out a late charge in North Carolina

Starts at North Carolina's 8%, the rate when none was agreed, not a maximum.

Days since the due date
The rate or fee your terms set

$7.89 late charge

Days late
30
New total
$1,207.89

$1,200.00 × 8% a year × 30 days ÷ 365 = $7.89

What was not checked for North Carolina

  • North Carolina's current monthly maximum under G.S. 24-1.1(c), announced by the Commissioner of Banks, was not read.
  • North Carolina's late-charge rule for loans (G.S. 24-10.1) was not read.
  • North Carolina's text, as read, does not say whether an unpaid service invoice is a "loan" or a "forbearance" under chapter 24.

Check North Carolina's own text

Before you charge: read N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1 (Legal rate of interest) and the other North Carolina texts quoted on this page, or ask a lawyer. As of November 6, 2026.

This is a plain-words summary of each state's own laws as of November 6, 2026, not legal advice. Rules have exceptions. Check the state's own text, linked on every state's page, or a lawyer before you charge a late fee or interest.

Compare North Carolina with every state's answer, or with its neighbours just below.

Next door to North Carolina

  • Georgia: 7% if none agreed, depends by agreement (not fully confirmed)
  • South Carolina: 8.75% if none agreed, depends by agreement
  • Tennessee: up to 10% if none agreed (not fully confirmed)
  • Virginia: 6% if none agreed, depends by agreement

Official sources for North Carolina

Every state in one file: Excel and CSV downloads

Where our data comes from

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