Germany Statutory default interest (gesetzlicher Verzugszinssatz)
Germany Statutory default interest (gesetzlicher Verzugszinssatz) is 6.52 percent, in force since 1 Jul 2026. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
Germany's general statutory default interest under § 288(1) BGB: the Bundesbank Basiszinssatz plus five percentage points, refixed each calendar half-year — 6.52% per annum from 1 July 2026.
Compare statutory interest rate across all 34 European countries →
| Current value | 6.52 percent |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-07-01 |
| Official source | BGB § 288 Abs. 1: 'Eine Geldschuld ist während des Verzugs zu verzinsen. Der Verzugszinssatz beträgt für das Jahr fünf Prozentpunkte über dem Basiszinssatz' (a money debt bears interest during default; the default rate is five percentage points above the base rate); Deutsche Bundesbank, Basiszinssatz nach § 247 BGB: 1,52 % ab 1. Juli 2026 (1,27 % im ersten Halbjahr 2026) — 1,52 + 5 = 6,52 % |
| Last verified | 2026-08-10 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
This is the GENERAL/CIVIL default rate: § 288(1) BGB applies to any money debt in default, whoever the parties are. It is distinct from the commercial late-payment rate we serve in the late-payment-interest product — § 288(2) BGB gives NINE points over the Basiszinssatz (10.52% from 1 July 2026) for Entgeltforderungen (claims for payment for goods or services) in transactions where no consumer is involved, alongside the € 40 flat recovery charge under § 288(5). Setter: the rate is not fixed by decree — § 247(1) BGB moves the Basiszinssatz on 1 January and 1 July of each year by the change in the ECB main refinancing rate applying before the first calendar day of that half-year, and § 247(2) requires the Deutsche Bundesbank to publish the resulting figure in the Bundesanzeiger. THREE TRAPS: (1) the '3,62 Prozent' written into § 247(1) is the 2002 starting value, not a current rate — never serve the statute figure; read the Bundesbank table. (2) § 246 BGB sets a separate 4% general rate for debts that bear interest by law or contract WITHOUT a stated rate — that is not default interest and must not be substituted for § 288. (3) § 291 BGB charges interest at the § 288 rate from the point litigation becomes pending, so a judgment debt does not switch to a different judgment rate. Half-yearly SNAPSHOT: the rate does not move when the ECB moves mid-half-year. NEXT FIXING: effective 1 January 2027, announced by the Bundesbank at the turn of the year.
Get it programmatically
curl https://euroref.dev/v1/de/statutory-interest
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://euroref.dev/v1/de/statutory-interest/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://euroref.dev/provenance/de/statutory-interestOther Germany series: Policy Rate (ECB Deposit Facility Rate) · Value Added Tax (Umsatzsteuer / Mehrwertsteuer) · Statutory Minimum Wage (Gesetzlicher Mindestlohn) · Public Holidays · Consumer Price Inflation (Verbraucherpreisindex, year-on-year) · Corporate Income Tax (Koerperschaftsteuer) · Withholding tax rates · Personal Income Tax (Einkommensteuer) · Statutory social-insurance contributions (Sozialversicherungsbeiträge) · ECB main refinancing operations rate (fixed rate) · Late-payment interest (EU Late Payment Directive) · VAT registration threshold (Kleinunternehmerregelung)
The same figure elsewhere: Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · all 34