Free Post-Judgment Interest Calculator

This post-judgment interest calculator serves as a free court interest calculator that determines the amount of interest accumulating on a court award from the judgment date until the payment is made. It applies the standard federal post-judgment interest rate formula to ensure creditors receive fair compensation for the delay. Understanding how to calculate post judgment interest helps both parties anticipate the final financial obligation and avoid surprises during settlement.

What Is Post-Judgment Interest?

Post-judgment interest is a statutory compensation mandated by federal law to preserve the economic value of a court award. The rational behind it rests on the time value of money — a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received in the future. Without this interest, the creditor would effectively lose purchasing power while waiting for the debtor to pay. Importantly, post-judgment interest is not a penalty against the losing party; it is a compensatory mechanism that maintains the real value of the judgment.

The federal post-judgment interest rate is typically set by the U.S. Treasury and published on the Federal Reserve website. This rate is applied as simple interest over the elapsed period.

How to Calculate Post Judgment Interest

Using this court interest rate calculator requires three key inputs:

• Judgment amount – the principal sum awarded by the court.
• Interest rate – the applicable post-judgment interest rate (usually the federal rate for the relevant period).
• Time period – the number of days between the judgment date and the actual payment date (often called the writ date).

The calculation follows a straightforward daily interest formula:

$$\text{Post-judgment interest} = \text{Judgment amount} \times \text{Interest rate} \times \dfrac{\text{Days}}{365}$$

This formula uses simple interest; the annual rate is converted to a daily rate by dividing by 365, then multiplied by the total number of days. No compounding occurs.

Example

Assume a creditor is awarded $200,000. According to the Federal Reserve, the applicable post-judgment interest rate for the period is 0.14% per annum (0.0014 as a decimal). The debtor pays 45 days after the judgment.

$$\text{Interest} = \$200,000 \times 0.0014 \times \dfrac{45}{365}$$ $$\text{Interest} = \$200,000 \times 0.0014 \times 0.1232877 \approx \$34.52$$

Thus, the creditor receives an additional $34.52 as statutory interest for the 45‑day delay.

Pre‑Judgment vs. Post‑Judgment vs. Statutory Interest

Both pre‑judgment and post‑judgment interest are types of statutory interest defined by the federal government. The key difference is the period they cover:

• Pre‑judgment interest – accrues from the date of the original damage or harm up to the date the judgment is entered.
• Post‑judgment interest – accrues from the judgment date until the day the debtor makes the full payment.

While the applicable rates may differ, both serve the same purpose: compensating the prevailing party for the time value of money. This statutory interest calculator focuses on post‑judgment interest, but the same logic can be extended to pre‑judgment calculations when a rate is specified.

Whether you are a creditor estimating what you are owed or a debtor planning for the final payoff, this free court interest calculator gives you a quick and reliable figure based on the judgment interest formula.