Calculating collection costs: the rules, rates, and who pays what
Tip! Calculate collection costs immediately with our handy calculator
When a customer does not pay your invoice on time, it brings extra work and frustration. Fortunately, as an entrepreneur, you are not empty-handed. To cover the costs of sending reminders and dunning notices, you are entitled to charge statutory collection costs. But what exactly are collection costs? And how high can they be in 2026? On this page, we explain all the rules regarding extrajudicial collection costs, so you know exactly what you are entitled to.
What are collection costs?
Collection costs are extrajudicial costs that a creditor may charge to a debtor who does not pay on time. The amount that may be passed on is regulated by the Decree on Compensation for Extrajudicial Collection Costs (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten - BIK). This specifically concerns all costs you incur to collect an outstanding claim without court intervention. Think of drafting and sending reminders, calling your customer, or engaging a collection partner.
Legally, collection costs fall under Article 6:96 paragraph 2 sub c of the Dutch Civil Code. Technically, the law states here that companies are entitled to compensation to cover any financial loss caused by a bad payer.
The great advantage for you as an SME or freelancer is that the law states that the bad payer must pay these costs. This way, your own profit margin as an entrepreneur remains protected.
What is the statutory BIK scale in 2026?
The amount of extrajudicial collection costs is regulated by the government via the so-called BIK scale. This is a mandatory scale. You may never charge more collection costs than the scale prescribes.
The scale is structured using regressive percentages. This means that the higher the principal amount of the invoice, the lower the percentage applied to that specific part.
The official scale (2026):
| Principal claim amount (from - to) | Statutory percentage | Maximum collection costs per bracket | Cumulative maximum |
| Over the first €2,500 | 15% (with a minimum of €40) | €375 | €375 |
| €2,500 to €5,000 | 10% | €250 | €625 |
| €5,000 to €10,000 | 5% | €250 | €875 |
| €10,000 to €200,000 | 1% | €1,900 | €2,775 |
| Above €200,000 | 0.5% | Maximum €4,000 | Maximum €6,775 (statutory ceiling) |
Calculation examples with concrete amounts
To clarify how the scale works, we provide four concrete calculation examples:
- Example 1: An outstanding invoice of €150
According to the scale, a cost percentage of 15% applies (0.15 x 150 = €22.50). Because this is below the statutory minimum of €40, the total statutory collection costs amount to €40. - Example 2: An outstanding invoice of €350
According to the scale, a cost percentage of 15% applies (0.15 x 350 = €52.50). Because this is above the statutory minimum of €40, the total statutory collection costs amount to €52.50. - Example 3: An outstanding invoice of €4,000
The calculation is split into two brackets:
- Bracket 1: 15% over the first €2,500 is €375 (0.15 x 2,500).
- Bracket 2: 10% over the remaining €1,500 is €150 (0.10 x 1,500).
- Total statutory collection costs are €525 (€375 + €150). - Example 4: An outstanding invoice of €12,000
The calculation is split into four brackets:
- Bracket 1: 15% over the first €2,500 is €375 (0.15 x 2,500).
- Bracket 2: 10% over the second €2,500 is €250 (0.10 x 2,500).
- Bracket 3: 5% over the next €5,000 is €250 (0.05 x 5,000).
- Bracket 4: 1% over the remaining €2,000 is €20 (0.01 x 2,000).
- Total statutory collection costs are €895 (€375 + €250 + €250 + €20).
How does VAT on collection costs work?
An important aspect when calculating collection costs is the obligation to charge VAT. Whether VAT on collection costs can be passed on to your customer depends on your own VAT status:
- I am subject to VAT (standard SME/freelancer). You can reclaim the VAT on collection services from the Tax Authorities. In this case, you may not pass on VAT to your customer. Your customer simply pays the net collection costs from the scale.
- I am exempt from VAT (e.g., the medical or education sector): You cannot reclaim the VAT from the Tax Authorities. The VAT is a cost for you. To compensate for this, you may increase the statutory collection costs by 21% VAT and fully recover this amount from your customer.
Note! If there are multiple partial invoices, you must take the statutory cumulation rule into account.
Calculate your collection costs immediately
Easily and quickly calculate your statutory collection costs? Use our interactive calculation tool below.
Collection costs calculator
What does No Cure No Pay mean for your costs?
At incasso.nl, we believe that an entrepreneur should not be "punished" for someone else's default. That is why we operate on a no cure, no pay basis for the amicable collection trajectory.
This principle entails the following:
- If the full claim is collected, the debtor is effectively paying for our services. The client receives 100% of the original invoice amount.
- Should the customer pay nothing after all our efforts, then, in principle, no costs are charged to the client. As a client, you therefore run no financial risk at all.
For more details and any potential exceptions, such as when a legitimate claim is withdrawn prematurely, please refer to our page on no cure no pay collection.
VAT on collection costs and unpaid invoices
As an entrepreneur, you must still pay the VAT on an unpaid invoice to the Tax Authorities. This can cause an additional dent in your financial situation. Fortunately, if an invoice proves to be definitively uncollectible, you can reclaim the amount paid.
You can read about how this works on our page about VAT on unpaid invoices.
Frequently asked questions about collection costs
View the answers below to the most frequently asked questions about paying collection costs.
What happens if I charge a consumer too much in costs?
If you send a reminder, dunning notice, or WIK-letter (statutory notice of collection costs) with an amount that is too high, there is a high probability that the entire letter is legally invalid. You would then have to send a new reminder with the correct amounts. Furthermore, the 14-day period would restart.
These restrictions do not apply to business clients, unless the amounts are unreasonable.
Are administrative fees that companies charge themselves the same as collection costs?
No. Companies sometimes charge administrative fees (e.g., €5 or €15) for sending a reminder or dunning notice. As soon as a file is transferred to a collection agency, these administrative fees lapse and are replaced by statutory collection costs. These costs may therefore not simply be stacked. It is, however, important that a company clearly communicates any potential administrative fees in its general terms and conditions in advance.
Am I allowed to deviate from the statutory BIK scale?
With a private customer (B2C), you are absolutely not allowed to deviate to the detriment of your customer. The BIK scale is mandatory law. This means you may not charge collection costs higher than the amount prescribed by the scale.
With business customers, you are allowed to deviate from the scale, provided you have clearly communicated this to the customer in advance in your general terms and conditions.
May a collection agency charge fees for a payment arrangement?
According to the Wki (Debt Collection Quality Act), it is not permitted to charge the customer extra installment fees or administrative amounts for processing a payment arrangement. The costs for managing and processing a payment agreement must be covered by the statutory collection costs.
What is the minimum amount I am allowed to charge in collection costs?
The statutory minimum amount for extrajudicial collection costs is set at €40. You may always charge this amount, regardless of how small the outstanding invoice is (for example, even with an invoice of €15). Naturally, you must always comply with the rules for collection costs.
Must a customer pay collection costs if they pay the creditor directly?
If a customer only pays the invoice amount after the WIK period has expired or after the collection agency has sent an initial notice, the customer remains obligated to pay the statutory collection costs. The collection agency will then continue the trajectory purely to collect these costs.
Ready to submit your invoice?
Have you determined after calculating the collection costs that you are entitled to compensation? And do you want to have your outstanding invoice collected quickly and effectively? With the incasso.nl online application, you can start a professional collection trajectory based on no cure, no pay within two minutes.
Do you have a specific situation or would you like to consult with a specialist first? Please contact us at 0348-486425.
