Enter the contract, the retention percentage and the completion date. Get the exact amount held, when each half is due back, and whether it is already overdue. Then put the release dates in your calendar so they stop slipping.
All figures update instantly. Retention is normally deducted from each interim payment, so the amount locked builds up as work is certified and stays locked until the release dates above.
Retention gets lost because nobody asks for it on time. Enter your email and we will send you these two dates now and a reminder 14 days before each one, with a release request you can forward to the contractor.
Retention is a slice of every payment, usually 3% or 5%, that the party paying you holds back as security against defects. It is released in two halves. The first half (the first moiety) is due when the works reach practical completion. The second half is due when the rectification period ends and the defects certificate is issued, most often 6 or 12 months later.
The catch for subcontractors is that many subcontracts tie both releases to the main contract's dates, not your own. You can finish your package in March and wait for a main contract that completes in November, then a further 12 months for its defects period. Tick the box above to model that, because it is usually the real answer.
| Form | Default retention | Release |
|---|---|---|
| JCT Standard Building Contract 2016 | 3% | Half at practical completion, half at the Certificate of Making Good |
| JCT Design and Build 2016 | 3% | Same two-stage release |
| JCT Minor Works / Intermediate 2016 | 5% | Same two-stage release |
| JCT subcontracts (SBCSub, DBSub) | Mirrors the main contract, 3% or 5% | Often keyed to main contract dates |
| NEC4 ECC / ECS | None unless Option X16 applies; percentage in Contract Data | Half at Completion, half at the Defects Certificate |
Your contract can say something different. If it does, use the custom percentage and defects period above and treat the dates the calculator gives as the contract's dates.
The VAT tax point for a retention payment is the earlier of the date you receive it and the date you issue a VAT invoice for it, not the date the underlying work was certified. That is a specific rule for retention in the construction industry, so do not account for VAT on the retention until it is actually released or invoiced. Where the domestic reverse charge applies to the supply, it applies to the retention too. CIS deductions are made when the retention is paid.
Retainage is the same mechanism under a different name. 5% to 10% of each progress payment is withheld and released after substantial completion within a window set by the contract or by state statute. Many states cap retainage on public projects at 5%, some require it to be reduced or stopped once the project passes 50% completion, and most set a deadline in days for release once the conditions are met. Switch to US mode above to model a single release window; check your state's prompt payment statute for the cap and deadline that apply to you.
Under most UK standard forms, half at practical completion and half at the end of the rectification period once the defects certificate is issued. On subcontracts both dates are frequently tied to the main contract, which is why the second half can take two years or more to come back.
3% under the JCT Standard Building Contract and Design and Build forms, 5% under Minor Works and Intermediate, and 5% on many subcontracts. NEC only holds retention where Option X16 is selected.
Pay-when-paid clauses are unenforceable in UK construction contracts except where the paying party upstream is insolvent. Pay-when-certified clauses, which key your release to certification under the main contract, are a different thing and are common. Read the release clause in your subcontract.
Yes. Once the final date for payment has passed it is a late commercial debt and statutory interest applies at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, unless the contract provides its own substantial remedy for late payment.
Only when the retention is paid or invoiced, whichever is first. Until then there is no tax point for that part of the supply.
Unless the retention was held in a separate trust account, you rank as an unsecured creditor for it. That is the strongest reason to apply for each release on the day it falls due rather than letting it roll into a final account.
This calculator is a free tool for general guidance and is not legal, contractual or financial advice. Release dates are calculated from the practical completion date, the defects period and the payment terms you enter; your contract's actual terms and certificates govern what is due and when. Interest figures use the statutory rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.