Virginia Post-Judgment Interest Rate: How to Calculate What You're Owed

Interest Starts Accruing the Day the Judgment Is Entered

Under Va. Code § 6.2-302, every Virginia money judgment accrues post-judgment interest automatically. The default rate is 6% per year. If the underlying contract specifies a lawful higher rate — say 9% — the court will award that contractual rate instead. But for most small claims judgments where no written contract exists or the contract is silent on interest, 6% is what applies.

You don't need to file anything to start earning interest. It accrues by operation of law from the date of judgment entry.

The Daily Accrual Formula

Post-judgment interest is calculated on a simple daily basis:

Daily interest = (Unpaid principal × Annual rate) ÷ 365

For a $3,000 judgment at 6%:

• Daily interest = ($3,000 × 0.06) ÷ 365 = $0.49 per day
• After 6 months (182 days): $3,000 × 0.06 × (182 ÷ 365) = $89.75 in accrued interest

Interest accrues only on the outstanding principal balance. It does not compound — meaning you don't earn interest on unpaid interest — and it doesn't accrue on court costs, even though costs are part of the total judgment debt.

How Partial Payments Are Applied

When the debtor makes a partial payment, Virginia follows the American Rule of Accounting. Payments are applied in this order:

1. Accrued interest first
2. Court costs second
3. Principal last

Here's what that looks like with real numbers. Suppose you have a $3,000 principal judgment with $74 in court costs at 6% annual interest, and the debtor pays $1,000 after 182 days:

• Accrued interest through day 182: $89.75
• Total owed before payment: $3,000 + $89.75 + $74 = $3,163.75
• From the $1,000 payment: $89.75 covers all accrued interest (leaving $910.25)
• Next: $74 covers all court costs (leaving $836.25)
• Remaining $836.25 reduces principal from $3,000 to $2,163.75

Going forward, daily interest recalculates on the new principal:

• New daily rate = ($2,163.75 × 0.06) ÷ 365 = $0.36 per day

Why This Matters When You File for Garnishment

Every time you file a Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment (Form DC-450), you calculate the current total owed — principal, accrued interest to date, court costs, and prior service fees. Getting this number wrong creates problems: understating it means you leave money on the table; overstating it gives the debtor grounds to challenge the garnishment.

Keep a running ledger. Record every partial payment, note the date and the amount applied to interest versus principal, and recalculate the daily rate after each payment. When you're ready to file the next enforcement action, you pull the current balance directly from your ledger.

When the Contractual Rate Applies

If the original dispute involved a written agreement that specified a lawful higher interest rate — a promissory note at 8%, a lease at 10% — the judgment may reflect that rate instead of the statutory 6%. Check your judgment order. If it says "at the legal rate" or does not state a rate, use 6% only when no higher lawful contract rate applies.

The Virginia judgment collection guide includes a payment and interest tracking ledger that handles the American Rule calculations automatically — principal reductions, partial payment allocation, and updated daily accrual after each payment.

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