Construction Lien Calculator

Lien amount and filing deadline from project payments.

Legal Disclaimer

This calculator provides general estimates only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws, regulations, and court procedures vary significantly by jurisdiction. Consult a licensed attorney in your area for advice specific to your situation.

DEGRAD

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Original Contract Amount and Change Orders to establish total earned amount.
Input Payments Already Received and Retainage Held % to calculate unpaid balance.
Set Statutory Interest Rate and Days Since Last Payment for accrued interest.
Enter Filing Fee and Attorney Fee to prepare and file the mechanic's lien.
Check State Filing Deadline vs. Days Since Last Work — you must file before the deadline or lose lien rights.
Review Total Lien Amount to determine if filing is financially worthwhile given collection costs.

How the result changes with Original Contract Amount ($)

Original Contract Amount ($)	Total Lien Amount	Unpaid Balance
5,000,000	$5,086,000.68	$4,962,000.00
17,500,000	$17,894,219.86	$17,462,000.00
32,500,000	$33,264,082.88	$32,462,000.00
45,000,000	$46,072,302.05	$44,962,000.00

What each input means

Original Contract Amount ($): Original contract or invoice amount for work performed.
Change Orders / Extras ($): Additional work authorized via change orders.
Payments Already Received ($): Total payments received to date.
Retainage Held (%): Percentage of contract held as retainage.
Statutory Interest Rate (%): Annual interest rate on unpaid amounts (varies by state, often 10-12%).
Days Since Last Payment: Calendar days since the last payment was received.
Lien Filing Fee ($): County fee to record the mechanic's lien.
Attorney Fee ($): Attorney fee to prepare and file the lien.
State Filing Deadline (days): Days after last work to file a lien (varies by state: 60-120 typical).
Days Since Last Work: Calendar days since you last performed work on the project.

What each result means

Total Lien Amount: Unpaid balance + interest + filing and attorney fees.
Unpaid Balance: Total earned minus payments received.
Total Earned (Contract + Changes): Original contract plus change orders.
Payments Received: Total payments received to date.
Retainage Held: Amount withheld as retainage.
Accrued Interest: Simple interest on unpaid balance.
Days Until Filing Deadline: Days remaining before the lien filing deadline expires.
Urgency Level (1-3): 1 = comfortable, 2 = file soon, 3 = critical (14 days or less).
Lien as % of Contract: Total lien amount as a percentage of total earned.
Estimated Enforcement Cost: Rough estimate of litigation costs to foreclose on the lien.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Original Contract Amount ($) = 85000, Change Orders / Extras ($) = 12000, Payments Already Received ($) = 50000, Retainage Held (%) = 10 = 10 input(s) provided
Calculate Total Lien Amount
Total Lien Amount = r(totalLienAmount)
49808.9 = $49,808.9
Calculate Unpaid Balance
Unpaid Balance = r(unpaidBalance)
47000 = $47,000
Calculate Total Earned
Total Earned = r(totalEarned)
97000 = $97,000
Calculate Payments Received
Payments Received = 50000
50000 = $50,000