Practical guide

How to Calculate Italian Statutory Interest (with Calculator)

3 min read · Updated September 2026 · Editorial oversight: Avv. Federico Papa

Statutory interest is the interest owed by law on monetary obligations when the parties have not agreed a different rate. Computing it is daily work for anyone drafting payment demands, enforcement notices or court filings: the difficulty is not the formula, which is elementary, but the fact that the rate changes every year by ministerial decree, so every period must be split by calendar year. This guide explains the rules, the formula and the typical mistakes, with an interactive calculator preloaded with the worked example used in the text.

Calculator: Italian statutory interest

Art. 1284 Civil Code · rate set by annual ministerial decree

Principal (€)

Start date

End date

Statutory interest accrued

€881.68total due €10,881.68

How the result is computed

2020	0.05%	365 gg	€5.00
2021	0.01%	365 gg	€1.00
2022	1.25%	365 gg	€125.00
2023	5.00%	365 gg	€500.00
2024	2.50%	366 gg	€250.68

For each year: principal × rate × days / 365 (calendar year, simple interest). Official rates 2015-2025.

Indicative tool: it does not replace a formal computation.

In brief

Statutory interest is computed by applying to the principal, for each calendar year, the rate set annually by ministerial decree under Art. 1284 of the Civil Code: principal × rate × days / 365, adding up the yearly results. Accrual follows the due date of the debt (Art. 1282) or default (Art. 1224). Since 2015 the rate has ranged from 0.01% (2021) to 5% (2023): on a principal of 10,000 euros from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024, statutory interest amounts to roughly 882 euros.

The steps

1.
Establish the start date
The first step is establishing when interest starts to accrue. For liquid and due debts, interest accrues automatically from the due date (Art. 1282 Civil Code); for tort obligations and in case of default, Art. 1224 applies. In practice the start date usually coincides with the invoice due date, the formal demand for payment or the date stated in the enforceable title. The first day is excluded from the count, the last day is included.
2.
Find the rate for each year
Art. 1284 entrusts the rate to a decree of the Ministry of the Economy published by 15 December each year, effective from the following 1 January. Recent rates: 0.05% (2020), 0.01% (2021), 1.25% (2022), 5% (2023), 2.5% (2024), 2% (2025). A period spanning several years must therefore be split into yearly segments, each with its own rate: this is where nearly all computation errors arise.
3.
Apply the formula for each year
For each yearly segment the formula is: principal × rate × days / 365. Days are the actual days of the segment within the calendar year. Statutory interest accrues on a simple basis: one year's interest does not itself bear interest (compounding is allowed only within the limits of Art. 1283, from the date of a court claim or by agreement made after maturity).
4.
Add up the segments and check the example
Adding the yearly results gives total interest; adding the principal gives the total due. Worked example, the same one preloaded in the calculator: 10,000 euros from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. Year by year: 2020 ≈ 5 euros (0.05%), 2021 ≈ 1 euro (0.01%), 2022 = 125 euros (1.25%), 2023 = 500 euros (5%), 2024 ≈ 250 euros (2.5%): total ≈ 882 euros (the calculator shows the exact day-count detail). The 5% year alone outweighs all the others combined.
5.
Distinguish default and enhanced rates
The ordinary statutory rate must not be confused with default interest in commercial transactions (Legislative Decree 231/2002: ECB rate plus 8 points, far higher) nor with the enhanced rate of Art. 1284(4), which applies the commercial-transactions rate to civil debts from the filing of a court claim. A computation in a legal act should always state which regime is invoked and from which date.

Legal basis: Art. 1284 c.c.Art. 1282 c.c.Art. 1224 c.c.Art. 1283 c.c.D.Lgs. 231/2002

Mistakes to avoid

Applying a single rate to a period spanning several years instead of splitting by calendar year
Compounding interest year over year: the regime is simple interest, save for Art. 1283 cases
Confusing the statutory rate with commercial default rates under Legislative Decree 231/2002 or with the enhanced rate from the court claim
Counting the first day: the dies a quo is excluded
Using rates from memory: the value changes every year with the December decree

Frequently asked questions

Does statutory interest compound?

No, as a rule it accrues on a simple basis. Compounding is allowed only within the limits of Art. 1283 of the Civil Code: from the date of a court claim or by agreement made after maturity, and only for interest due for at least six months.

What is the difference between statutory and default interest?

The statutory rate under Art. 1284 is the general fallback rate. Default interest in commercial transactions is governed by Legislative Decree 231/2002 at a much higher rate (ECB plus 8 points); for civil debts, from the filing of a claim the enhanced rate of Art. 1284(4) applies.

Where do I find the current year's statutory rate?

In the decree of the Ministry of the Economy published in the Official Gazette by 15 December of the previous year. The calculator on this page embeds the official rates from 2015 to 2025.

Editorial oversight: Avv. Federico Papa·ICAMUpdated 18 September 2026Content drafted with AI support and subject to editorial source checks. Despite these controls, inaccuracies may remain: reports and rectification requests are welcome. Report a correction

What edit.legal automates

—When drafting payment demands, the assistant computes interest on the data you provide and inserts the breakdown into the act
—Querying the case file, it reconstructs principal and accrual dates relevant to the computation
—The in-editor reference check verifies cited provisions against the updated legislative database