Inputs you need for interest in Maine
8 min read
Published June 25, 2025 • Updated February 2, 2026 • By DocketMath Team
Inputs you will need
To run prejudgment or post-judgment interest for Maine in DocketMath’s interest calculator, you’ll need a short but precise list of inputs. Think of this as your “ready-to-file” checklist before you click Run.
Use this as a working list (print it, or copy into your case notes):
- Prejudgment interest
- Post-judgment interest
- (or both, as separate runs)
- For prejudgment: usually a filing, demand, or accrual date (fact- and statute-dependent)
- For post-judgment: date of judgment entry
- Through a specific date (e.g., today, or a payoff date)
- Or through another event (e.g., date of payment, date of new judgment)
- Use Maine statutory / rule-based rate (jurisdiction-aware)
- Use a custom rate (you specify the percentage)
- Single fixed percentage (e.g., 6% per year)
- Or multiple rate periods (step changes over time)
- Simple (no interest-on-interest)
- Compound (with a compounding frequency)
- Annual, quarterly, monthly, daily, or custom
- Actual/365, Actual/360, Actual/Actual, etc.
- Dates of payment
- Amounts
- How they should be applied (to interest first, principal first, or pro rata)
- Court-approved costs
- Attorneys’ fees (if awarded or agreed)
- Other components that should earn interest as part of the principal
- Round to cents, dollars, or leave full precision (for documentation, you can always round later)
- Summary only (total interest, total due)
- Explain++ breakdown (period-by-period or day-by-day detail)
Note: DocketMath does not decide what dates, rates, or amounts are legally correct for your matter. It performs math based on the inputs you choose. For Maine law questions (e.g., which date counts as the “start” for prejudgment interest in your specific case), you’ll need to rely on legal research or counsel, not the calculator.
Where to find each input
Below is a practical map of where you can usually find (or derive) each input in a Maine case file. This is not legal advice—treat it as a workflow guide for organizing your data before you calculate.
| Input | Typical sources in a Maine matter | Practical notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction (US-ME) | Caption of complaint, judgment, docket header | Confirm you’re in the correct state and court level; interest rules can differ across jurisdictions. |
| Interest type (pre vs. post) | Maine statutes, rules, judgment order, settlement agreement | Both prejudgment and post-judgment interest may apply, but you’ll usually run them as separate calculations (different start dates and possibly different rates). |
| Principal amount | Complaint, verdict form, judgment, settlement agreement, amended judgment | Confirm whether principal includes or excludes fees/costs. Maine practice can differ by case type and by the specific order language. |
| Start date | - Prejudgment: filing date, demand letter, date of breach, or other date specified by statute/order - Post-judgment: judgment entry date on the docket or order | The “right” start date is a legal question; DocketMath just uses the date you give it. Double-check against Maine authority or the specific order. |
| End date | Payoff letter date, date of payment, date of new judgment, or “through today” | In DocketMath you can use any calendar date. For projections, you can set a future end date. |
| Rate selection mode | Your workflow choice | If you choose the jurisdiction-aware mode, DocketMath uses Maine-specific rules it knows about. If you’re following a contract or order with a specific rate, use custom. |
| Interest rate value(s) | - Maine statutes/rules (for default legal rate) - Contract provisions - Judgment or order language - Settlement agreement | If the rate changes over time (e.g., statutory rate updates, variable contract rate), gather each effective date and percentage so you can enter multiple rate periods. |
| Simple vs. compound | Contract terms, judgment/order, statute (if it speaks to compounding) | If nothing addresses compounding, many users default to simple interest—but that’s a legal interpretation question. DocketMath will calculate either way. |
| Compounding frequency | Contract or order terms | If compounding is specified (e.g., “12% per annum, compounded monthly”), match that in the calculator. If not specified, users often choose simple interest or annual compounding, depending on their interpretation. |
| Day-count convention | Financial terms in contract, lender documentation, or your internal standards | Maine statutes may not always specify this. If nothing is specified, you can pick a consistent convention (e.g., Actual/365) and document it in your workpapers. |
| Partial payments / credits | Payment history, ledger, trust account records, receipts, bank statements | For each payment, you’ll want: date, amount, and how it should be applied. DocketMath can model different application rules. |
| Costs / fees to include in principal | Judgment, cost bill, fee award order, settlement agreement | Check whether the order says interest runs on costs/fees or just on the base damages. If you decide to include them, add them to principal as of the relevant date. |
| Rounding preferences | Firm policy, opposing counsel agreement, or judgment language | DocketMath can display full precision; you can then round final numbers in your filings. Consistency across your documents is more important than the specific rounding rule. |
| Output detail level / Explain++ | Your documentation needs, client expectations, internal QC standards | For anything contested—or likely to be scrutinized—turn on Explain++ to get a line-by-line explanation you can attach as a calculation exhibit. |
Pitfall: Mixing prejudgment and post-judgment periods into a single “start–end” run can hide a rate change in the middle (for example, if Maine law applies different rules before and after judgment). When in doubt, split the timeline into two runs and label each clearly.
Run it
Once you’ve assembled your inputs, you’re ready to run the Maine interest calculation in DocketMath. Here’s a streamlined workflow using the /tools/interest calculator.
1. Set up the scenario
- Open the Interest tool and:
- Select Jurisdiction: Maine (US-ME).
- Choose Prejudgment or Post-judgment interest for this run.
- Enter a scenario name that describes the run, for example:
Smith v. Jones – ME – Prejudgment interest – Complaint to JudgmentSmith v. Jones – ME – Post-judgment interest – Judgment to 02/01/2026
Descriptive names make it easier to compare scenarios later (for example, different rate assumptions).
2. Enter principal, dates, and rate
Principal amount
- Enter the dollar amount you want to accrue interest on for this run.
- If you’re including costs/fees in principal, you can either:
- Add them into the principal as of the same start date, or
- Model them as separate principal components with their own start dates (if the tool version you’re using supports multiple principal legs).
Start date and end date
- Set the start date according to your legal theory (e.g., filing date, judgment date).
- Set the end date to:
- The actual payoff/payment date, or
- “Today” (for current balance), or
- A future date (for projections).
Rate selection
- If you’re relying on Maine’s default rules, choose the jurisdiction-aware option and confirm the rate DocketMath shows.
- If you’re using a contract/order rate:
- Choose Custom rate.
- Enter the percentage and effective date(s).
- If the rate changed, add another rate period with its own start date.
Warning: If you know Maine law changed the applicable rate on a certain date but you enter only a single rate for the entire period, your total will be mathematically correct for your inputs—but legally off. In contested matters, explicitly model each rate change.
3. Configure method and conventions
Simple vs. compound interest
- Choose Simple if you don’t want interest-on-interest.
- Choose Compound and set the compounding frequency (annual, monthly, etc.) if that matches your contract or order.
Day-count convention
- If you have a required convention (e.g., Actual/365), select it.
- If you’re unsure, pick a convention, note it in your file, and keep it consistent across all scenarios.
**Payment schedule (optional but powerful)
- Add each payment date and **amount.
- Choose how
Inputs you will need
Use this checklist to gather the core inputs before you run the Interest tool.
- principal or judgment amount
- interest type (pre- or post-judgment)
- rate and compounding method
- start date and end/as-of date
- payments or credits that reduce principal
- day-count convention
Where to find each input
Most inputs live in the case file, contracts, or docket entries. Dates usually come from the triggering event notice; rates and caps come from governing documents or statute; and amounts come from the ledger or judgment. Record the source for each value so the run is reproducible.
Run it
Enter the inputs in DocketMath and run the Interest calculation to generate a clean breakdown: Run the calculator.
If an assumption is uncertain, document it alongside the calculation so the result can be re-run later.
Capture the source for each input so another team member can verify the same result quickly.