Calculate Danish statutory late-payment interest (procesrente/morarente) under the Interest Act (renteloven): Danmarks Nationalbank's reference rate + 8%, split by half-year, with workings for each claim.
Danish rules
This calculator applies Danish law and Danish collective agreements. It is for employment in Denmark and does not reflect the rules of other countries.
• Interest is calculated from the limitation date (if given) or the claim date
• Supplement: 8%, but 7% for claims that fell due before 1 March 2013
• Calculations are supported from 1 August 2002
• The rate is Danmarks Nationalbank's lending rate + the supplement under the Danish Interest Act (renteloven)
• Interest rates are updated automatically from Danmarks Nationalbank
• Rates are set twice a year: 1 January and 1 July. Periods after the next fixing are calculated at the latest known rate and marked with *
Statutory late-payment interest in Denmark (procesrente) is calculated as principal × (reference rate + 8%) × interest days ÷ 360. The reference rate (referencesats) is Danmarks Nationalbank's official lending rate as set on 1 January and 1 July. The calculation is therefore split into half-years: each half-year has its own rate, and the interest is added up at the end.
If you need the calculation in your own spreadsheets, the Excel macro pack (Excel Makropakken) adds the function =procesrente() to Excel.
The table shows the rates the calculator uses. Statutory interest (procesrente) is the reference rate plus the supplement of 8 percentage points — even when the reference rate was negative, as in 2021 and 2022.
| Half-year | Reference rate | Statutory / default interest |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd half of 2026 | 2.00% | 10.00% |
| 1st half of 2026 | 1.75% | 9.75% |
| 2nd half of 2025 | 1.75% | 9.75% |
| 1st half of 2025 | 2.75% | 10.75% |
| 2nd half of 2024 | 3.50% | 11.50% |
| 1st half of 2024 | 3.75% | 11.75% |
| 2nd half of 2023 | 3.25% | 11.25% |
| 1st half of 2023 | 1.90% | 9.90% |
| 2nd half of 2022 | -0.45% | 7.55% |
| 1st half of 2022 | -0.45% | 7.55% |
| 2nd half of 2021 | -0.35% | 7.65% |
| 1st half of 2021 | 0.05% | 8.05% |
| 2nd half of 2020 | 0.05% | 8.05% |
| 1st half of 2020 | 0.05% | 8.05% |
| 2nd half of 2019 | 0.05% | 8.05% |
| 1st half of 2019 | 0.05% | 8.05% |
The reference rate is Danmarks Nationalbank's official lending rate as at 1 January and 1 July. The rates are updated in the calculator when Danmarks Nationalbank sets a new rate; a half-year without a change has the same rate as the half-year before.
The rate is the same, but the start date depends on the claim. This is where most interest statements go wrong — the calculator counts from the date you enter, so choose it according to section 3 of the Interest Act (rentelovens § 3):
The court can move the start date where special circumstances justify it (§ 3, stk. 5), and the Act gives way to what has been agreed (§ 1, stk. 3). In Danish labour disputes, a request for a joint meeting (fællesmødebegæring) only counts as a request for payment if it contains a specific calculation of the claim.
Claim: DKK 50,000, due date 1 January 2024, calculate to 1 January 2025.
Wages of DKK 30,000 fell due on 1 October 2025 and are paid on 1 October 2026.
Claim: DKK 25,000 with no fixed due date. The demand for payment was sent on 2 July 2023, so interest runs from 1 August 2023. Calculate to 1 January 2024.
If wages have a fixed due date, interest runs from that day — no reminder is needed first. The longer a back payment drags on, the more interest has to be paid on top.
Objections to the interest must be tied to the conditions of the Interest Act (renteloven) itself — e.g. that the claim had not been calculated, so you could not assess it (§ 3, stk. 3).
The Interest Act applies to monetary claims in the area of property and contract law and gives way to what has been agreed. So check the collective agreement (overenskomst) and the employment contract for their own interest rules.
If you are owed wages, holiday pay (feriepenge) or compensation, present a specific calculation of the amount as early as possible. It is the calculation that turns your approach into a request for payment, which starts the interest running.
Interest follows the main claim: if the claim becomes time-barred (forældet), so does the interest. Interest that falls due on a running basis can also become time-barred on its own after 3 years. Check the limitation period with the date calculator and your trade union (fagforening).
The calculator is for guidance only. Always have the result checked by your trade union or a lawyer before you bring a claim before industrial arbitration (faglig voldgift), the Danish Labour Court (Arbejdsretten) or the courts.
=amount*(reference_rate+8%)*days/360 for each half-year and add up the results. The Excel macro pack (Excel Makropakken) gives you the function =procesrente(), which uses 30/360 and fetches the rates from Danmarks Nationalbank.Content last reviewed October 2026.