How to calculate interest in Wyoming

Quick takeaways

• Wyoming contract-founded judgment interest: interest is allowed at the contract rate; if the contract provides no rate, Wyoming applies 10% per year (10% per annum) under Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a).
• Wyoming “legal rate of interest”: the legal rate is 7% per year under Wyo. Stat. § 40-14-106(e).
• DocketMath helps you compute interest using a jurisdiction-aware workflow: you enter principal and the date window, then choose the Wyoming rate rule that matches your scenario.
• This guide focuses on the default/general rule drawn from the cited statutes. No claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified beyond those statute references.

Inputs you need

Before using DocketMath’s Interest tool, gather the core facts you’ll need to define the principal and the time window.

Core inputs

• Principal amount (e.g., $25,000)
• Start date (the date interest begins accruing for your scenario—commonly tied to the contract/judgment framework you’re modeling)
• End date (the cutoff date for your calculation—e.g., judgment date or payment date)
• Interest method / compounding setting

  • If your scenario is modeled as simple statutory interest, choose simple in DocketMath (if offered).
  • If DocketMath offers multiple methods and your facts require compounding, use the method your scenario requires. (This guide is about the rate rules tied to Wyoming statutes; the tool’s method settings control how the rate is applied over time.)

Rate inputs (choose the path that matches Wyoming law in your scenario)

Wyoming’s cited statutes point to two different rate references, depending on what interest you’re calculating:

1. Contract rate path — Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a)

   • Enter the contract interest rate if the contract specifies a rate.
   • If the contract provides no rate, use 10% per annum.

2. Legal rate path — Wyo. Stat. § 40-14-106(e)

   • Enter 7% per annum for the Wyoming legal rate of interest.

Quick reference table for Wyoming rate selection

How the calculation works

DocketMath generally calculates interest by:

1. Using your principal,
2. Applying an annual rate,
3. Prorating that annual rate across the number of days between your start date and end date,
4. Producing a total interest amount for the chosen date window.

The key Wyoming-specific step is selecting the correct rate rule (7% vs. 10% vs. contract rate).

Step 1: Decide which Wyoming rate rule applies

Wyoming’s cited statutes provide these practical rate frameworks:

1. Contract-founded judgment interest rule (contract rate or 10%)

   • Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a):

     • If the judgment is founded on a contract, interest is allowed at the rate provided in the contract.
     • If the contract provides no rate, interest is allowed at 10% per annum.

2. Wyoming “legal rate of interest” (7%)

   • Wyo. Stat. § 40-14-106(e):

     • The legal rate of interest is 7% per year.

Default/general rule clarity:

• Based on the jurisdiction data provided, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified beyond the above cited statutes. In practice, that means your calculator’s “default” rate should be selected from these statutory buckets based on the scenario you’re modeling, rather than from a more granular claim classification.

Step 2: Enter the rate into DocketMath

In DocketMath’s Interest tool, set the rate to match the statute bucket:

• Contract provides a rate → enter the contract rate
• Contract is silent (contract-founded scenario) → enter 10%
• Legal-rate scenario → enter 7%

Step 3: Enter dates and compute

In DocketMath:

• Set Start date to the date interest begins accruing under your scenario.
• Set End date to the date you want interest calculated through.
• Confirm the tool’s interest type/method settings (especially if it distinguishes simple vs. compound).
• Review the output, including:

  • computed interest amount,
  • days/term used,
  • and any rounding shown by the tool.

Example scenarios (illustrative)

These examples are for understanding how the rate choice changes output. Your real results depend on your exact start/end dates and DocketMath’s chosen method settings.

Example A: Contract provides no interest rate → use 10% (Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a))

• Principal: $5,000
• Start date: 2024-01-01
• End date: 2024-04-01
• Rate: 10% per annum

If you push the end date forward by 30 days, the interest output should increase because the same annual rate accrues over more time.

Example B: Contract provides a rate → use contract rate (Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a))

• Principal: $25,000
• Start date: 2023-09-15
• End date: 2024-09-15
• Contract rate: 9% per annum

Changing the rate from 9% to 10% increases interest for the same period (10/9 ≈ 1.111…), assuming the same date window and method.

Example C: Legal rate model → use 7% (Wyo. Stat. § 40-14-106(e))

• Principal: $12,000
• Start date: 2024-06-01
• End date: 2024-12-01
• Rate: 7% per annum

Compared to a 10% contract-default model over the same date window, a 7% model yields a smaller number (7/10 = 0.70), all else equal.

Common pitfalls

• Using 7% when the 10% default should apply
  If the scenario is contract-founded and the contract provides no rate, Wyoming’s 10% per annum under Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a) is the figure to model.

• Using the contract rate when the contract is silent
  DocketMath will only apply the rate you enter. If the contract provides no rate, enter 10% for the contract-founded scenario.

• Mixing up the start date
  Even with the correct rate, changing the start date (e.g., breach date vs. filing date vs. judgment date) can significantly change total interest. Align the date choice to the interest-beginning trigger you intend to model.

• Assuming there is one “Wyoming interest rate”
  Wyoming’s cited statutes point to multiple rates depending on the governing rule: 10% (contract silent) vs. 7% (legal rate) vs. contract-provided rates.

• Not matching DocketMath’s method settings
  If the tool offers simple vs. compound options, keep those settings consistent when comparing scenarios; otherwise, you may compare different math methods, not just different rates.

Sources and references

• Wyo. Stat. § 1-16-102(a) — Interest on judgments founded on contracts; contract rate or 10% per annum default
  Source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf
• Wyo. Stat. § 40-14-106(e) — Legal rate of interest is 7% per year

Next steps

1. Open DocketMath’s interest calculator: /tools/interest
2. Enter:

   • principal,
   • start date,
   • end date,
   • and the correct Wyoming rate:

     • contract rate (if the contract specifies it), or
     • 10% (contract-founded scenario with no contract rate), or
     • 7% (Wyoming legal rate scenario).
3. Sanity-check the result:

   • Change the end date by a known increment (e.g., +30 days) and confirm interest moves in the expected direction.
4. If you’re unsure which statutory bucket applies, you can run multiple scenarios (7% vs. 10% vs. contract rate) and compare outputs—then decide which best matches your underlying facts.

Disclaimer: This is a general calculation guide based on the cited statutes. It’s not legal advice, and it may not cover all Wyoming interest scenarios that could arise from additional facts.

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