Not legal advice
Late fees on a freelance invoice.
US freelancers · templates, not legal advice
A late fee is arithmetic you wrote down before the work started. It is not a mood.
US freelancers talk about late fees more than they collect them. The ones who collect them did two unromantic things: they put the fee in writing before the job, and they used a number they were willing to say out loud.
This page is how that usually looks. It is not legal advice. Afterdue is not a law firm. Some states limit late fees; some treat a sole proprietor’s invoice as a commercial account. You are responsible for what you send. If the balance is large or the relationship is already hostile, talk to a lawyer in your state.
Only if it was already agreed
Do not invent a 5% fee on the day the invoice goes quiet. Use a late fee only if the client already agreed to it — in a contract, an accepted estimate, or the notes on the original invoice.
If it was never mentioned, your options are still the follow-up sequence, a payment plan, pausing new work, or later a collections process. Adding a surprise fee is how a late invoice becomes a dispute.
Two structures people actually use
Pick one. Write it down. Do not stack both unless the writing says so.
A. Percent of the unpaid balance
fee = unpaid_balance × (percent / 100) new_total = unpaid_balance + fee
Typical freelance range in the US: 1.5% per month on the unpaid balance (often written as 18% APR), or a one-time 5% if you do not want to compound.
B. Flat fee
fee = flat_amount new_total = unpaid_balance + fee
Use a flat fee when the invoice is small and a percentage looks petty, or when you want one number you can say on a call. Example: $50 after 15 days past due.
Round to the cent. Put the fee on its own line on a revised invoice. Do not silently change the original line items.
A worked example
The sample invoice on Afterdue (Honey & Rye, #1042) totals $4,286.70 after 8.25% tax.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Original total | $4,286.70 |
| One-time 5% late fee | $214.34 |
| New total | $4,501.04 |
| Same invoice at 1.5% / month | $64.30 fee · $4,351.00 new total |
Those are the numbers on the site sample. Your invoice will be different. The Get Paid Pack has the worksheet so you are not doing this in the notes app.
When not to add a fee
- You never mentioned a late fee before the work started.
- You were late delivering, and they are paying against a disputed scope.
- The amount is under about $200 and the relationship is worth more than the fee.
- You are about to go to small claims — the court will want a clean original invoice.
Language that belongs on the invoice before the job
Invoices are due Net 15. Balances more than 15 days past due accrue a one-time late fee of 5% of the invoice total, or $50, whichever is greater.
Or, monthly:
Invoices are due Net 15. Unpaid balances accrue a finance charge of 1.5% per month (18% APR) on the unpaid amount, beginning on the 16th day after the due date.
The pack has longer clause versions — Net-15, late fee, pause of work — for a one-page agreement or the terms block of a proposal. Put the same numbers on the invoice. Templates, not counsel.
Pause is often more useful than the fee
A $50 fee on a $400 invoice is a gesture. Pausing new requests until the balance clears is how you stop digging. Only say you will pause if you will. The follow-up email that announces a fee should attach the revised PDF and, if you use it, say that new work is paused.
Afterdue does not apply the fee for you, does not email your client, and does not process the payment. You do the math. You send the revision.
The $19 Get Paid Pack is the worksheet, the clauses, and the message sequence that mentions the fee only when it is already in the terms. Polar handles checkout and tax. No account.