Payment terms and reminders: your rights as a freelancer
Short answer
If you agreed nothing, a business client must pay within 30 days. Between businesses you may agree at most 60 days. If a client pays late, you may charge statutory interest (10.4% a year for businesses, from 1 July 2026) and collection fees (incassokosten) of at least €40. For a consumer you first send a 14-day letter.
What is the statutory payment term?
| Client | Term |
|---|---|
| Business, nothing agreed | 30 days |
| Business, term agreed | At most 60 days |
| Large business paying you as an SME | At most 30 days |
| Government | 30 days, 60 in exceptional cases |
| Consumer | No statutory term, but a reasonable one you agree |
Put the term on your invoice and in your general terms. Then your client knows where they stand, and so do you. What else belongs on an invoice is explained in invoice requirements.
How do you write a payment reminder?
If the term has passed, send a short, friendly reminder. Often an invoice is simply forgotten. Include:
- the invoice number, the invoice date and the amount
- the original due date
- a new date by which you expect payment
- your account number
- that you will charge statutory interest and collection fees if payment stays away
An example: 'Dear Linda, on 1 September I sent invoice 2026-031 for €1,210.00. The due date was 1 October. I have not seen a payment yet. Please transfer the amount before 15 October to NL00 BANK 0123 4567 89? If you do not pay after that, I will charge statutory interest and collection fees.'
What is a 14-day letter?
If your client is a consumer (particulier), you may only charge collection fees after a reminder with a 14-day term. That letter is called the 14-day letter (14-dagenbrief). It states for which supply and invoice it is, that your client gets 14 days to pay, and how high the collection fees become if they do not. Send it so you can prove it arrived.
For a business client no such letter is required if your terms record how you collect. Sending a reminder remains wise.
How much statutory interest may you charge?
| Type of client | Interest per year | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Business or government (commercial interest) | 10.4% | 1 July 2026 |
| Consumer | 4% | 1 January 2026 |
Worked example: a business pays an invoice of €5,000.00 30 days late. The interest is €5,000.00 × 10.4% × 30/365 = €42.74.
How high are the collection fees?
There is a statutory scale. You calculate per band of the outstanding amount. The minimum is €40, the maximum €6,775.00.
| Part of the claim | Percentage |
|---|---|
| On the first €2,500 | 15% |
| On the next €2,500 | 10% |
| On the next €5,000 | 5% |
| On the next €190,000 | 1% |
| On the part above €200,000 | 0.5% |
Example: a client leaves an invoice of €8,000.00 unpaid. That is 15% of €2,500 (€375.00), plus 10% of €2,500 (€250.00), plus 5% of €3,000 (€150.00). Together €775.00. On an invoice of €200.00, 15% is €30.00, so you charge the minimum of €40.
Note. If you are liable for VAT (btw-plichtig) yourself, you charge no VAT on top of the collection fees. Any VAT a collection agency charges you, you already deduct yourself.
What if the client still does not pay?
- Call your client. Sometimes there is a problem you can solve together, such as a payment plan.
- Bring in a collection agency. It sends letters, but it cannot force anyone to pay.
- Go to court. With a judgment, a bailiff can seize assets.
Allow for expiry. A claim against a business expires 5 years after the end of the payment term. Against a consumer that is usually 2 years.
Questions
May I agree a 90-day payment term with a business?
No, between businesses 60 days is the maximum. If a large business pays you as an SME, the maximum is 30 days.
From when does statutory interest run?
From the day after the payment term expires. For a business you do not need to send a separate reminder for that.
Must I send a 14-day letter to a business?
That is not required if your terms contain your collection rules. For consumers it is required, otherwise you may not charge collection fees.
May I charge VAT on collection fees?
Not if you are liable for VAT yourself. That is only allowed if the creditor cannot deduct VAT.
Read on and work it out
Sources
This is general information, not tax advice for your situation. Amounts are for 2026. Also available as Markdown.