Nevada: Prejudgment Interest Rules

The short answer

Nevada answers this question with two statutes rather than one, and which one applies depends on whether the claim sounds in contract or in tort. Both use the same underlying rate — the prime rate at Nevada's largest bank, reset every January 1 and July 1, plus 2% — but they start the interest clock at different points and lock in the rate as of different dates. Once the facts needed to calculate interest are established, awarding it isn't optional for the court. Simple interest is the default; compounding requires the parties' own written agreement.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Contract claims run under NRS 99.040(1), in the "Money of Account and Interest" chapter. Tort and other noncontract claims run under NRS 17.130(2), in the general judgments chapter. A separate statute, NRS 41.035, caps tort recoveries (including any interest question) when the defendant is a state or local government entity, and NRS 17.117 layers an offer-of-judgment interest penalty on top of either track.

Interest rate

Both statutes use the identical formula: the prime rate at the largest bank in Nevada, as ascertained twice a year (each January 1 and July 1) by the state's Commissioner of Financial Institutions, plus 2 percentage points. For the second half of 2026 (July 1 through December 31), that works out to 8.75% — a 6.75% prime rate plus 2% — unchanged from the first half of the year. The Nevada Supreme Court has held the six-month step adjustment governs only the postjudgment period; for the prejudgment award itself, the rate is instead locked at a single snapshot — the rate in effect on the date judgment is entered for a tort claim, or the rate in effect on the date the underlying transaction occurred for a contract claim.

When interest starts running

For a tort or other noncontract claim under NRS 17.130(2), interest runs "from the time of service of the summons and complaint" — not from the date of the injury. Interest on any future-damages portion of the award instead starts only when judgment is entered. For a contract claim under NRS 99.040(1), interest instead runs "from the time it becomes due" — the date the debt matured or the obligation was breached, which is typically earlier than when a lawsuit gets filed or served.

Contract vs. tort claims

Nevada draws a real line here: two different statutes, two different accrual triggers (service of process for tort, date-due for contract), and two different dates used to lock in the shared rate formula (judgment date for tort, transaction date for contract). The underlying prime-plus-2% rate mechanism is the same either way, but which claim type you have changes both when the clock starts and which rate you actually get.

Mandatory or discretionary

Mandatory. The Nevada Supreme Court held in Gibellini v. Klindt that the legislature didn't give courts discretion over the interest rate on a judgment, and in Schoepe v. Pacific Silver Corp. that NRS 99.040(1) interest is recoverable "as a matter of right," leaving only factual questions — the applicable rate, the commencement date, and the principal amount — for the court to work out.

Simple or compound

Simple interest is the default. NRS 99.050(1) makes compounding something the parties have to agree to in writing; absent that agreement, interest under NRS 17.130 or NRS 99.040 accrues without compounding.

Claims against the government

NRS 41.035(1) caps a tort award against the State of Nevada, a political subdivision, or a covered public officer/employee/immune contractor at $200,000 per claimant, and bars punitive damages entirely. The statute excludes only "interest computed from the date of judgment" — that is, postjudgment interest — from the cap by name. Because the statute doesn't separately exclude prejudgment interest, the plain text suggests prejudgment interest is counted inside the $200,000 ceiling for a government defendant, though no Nevada Supreme Court opinion located this session squarely decides that question — treat it as the most likely reading of the text rather than a settled holding.

Other exceptions

Punitive damages never draw prejudgment interest in Nevada — the state Supreme Court held in Ramada Inns, Inc. v. Sharp that punitive damages punish rather than compensate, so the compensatory rationale for prejudgment interest doesn't apply to them. Separately, Nevada's offer-of-judgment statute, NRS 17.117, can cut off part of a losing party's own interest recovery: if a party rejects a formal settlement offer and then fails to beat it at trial, that party can't recover interest for the period between the offer and the judgment.

What trips people up

People often assume Nevada has one prejudgment interest rule because both statutes use the same rate formula. They don't — a contract claim's interest clock starts running well before a tort claim's would, since "date the debt became due" is usually much earlier than "date the complaint was served." Get the wrong statute and you'll misstate both the accrual date and, potentially, the rate-lock date.

The semiannual rate adjustment is also easy to misread. The January 1/July 1 stepping only matters for interest that accrues after judgment; for the prejudgment interest award itself, Nevada courts use a single fixed rate tied to one snapshot date, not a rate that changes as the case moves from one half of the year to the next.

Common questions

Does Nevada treat a car-accident claim differently from a breach-of-contract claim for interest purposes?
Yes — different statute, different start date for the interest clock, and a different date used to fix the rate, even though the rate formula itself is the same.

What's Nevada's current prejudgment interest rate?
8.75% for the second half of 2026 (a 6.75% prime rate plus 2%), reset every January 1 and July 1 — check the current figure before relying on last year's number.

Can I collect prejudgment interest against the State of Nevada?
The general rule applies, but a tort award against the state or a political subdivision is capped at $200,000 total, and that cap appears to include any prejudgment interest (only interest running after judgment is expressly carved out of the cap).

Does interest compound in Nevada?
No, not by default. Compounding only applies if the parties put it in writing in their contract.

Statutes and sources

• NRS 17.130 — "When no rate of interest is provided by contract or otherwise by law, or specified in the judgment, the judgment draws interest from the time of service of the summons and complaint until satisfied, except for any amount representing future damages, which draws interest only from the time of the entry of the judgment until satisfied, at a rate equal to the prime rate at the largest bank in Nevada as ascertained by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions on January 1 or July 1, as the case may be, immediately preceding the date of judgment, plus 2 percent. The rate must be adjusted accordingly on each January 1 and July 1 thereafter until the judgment is satisfied." Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-017.html
• NRS 99.040 — "When there is no express contract in writing fixing a different rate of interest, interest must be allowed at a rate equal to the prime rate at the largest bank in Nevada, as ascertained by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, on January 1 or July 1, as the case may be, immediately preceding the date of the transaction, plus 2 percent, upon all money from the time it becomes due, in the following cases: (a) Upon contracts, express or implied, other than book accounts." Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-099.html
• NRS 99.050(1) — "Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, parties may agree for the payment of any rate of interest on money due or to become due on any contract, for the compounding of interest if they choose, and for any other charges or fees. The parties shall specify in writing the rate upon which they agree, that interest is to be compounded if so agreed, and any other charges or fees to which they agree." Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-099.html
• NRS 41.035(1) — "An award for damages in an action sounding in tort brought under NRS 41.031 or against a present or former officer or employee of the State or any political subdivision, immune contractor or State Legislator arising out of an act or omission within the scope of the person's public duties or employment may not exceed the sum of $200,000, exclusive of interest computed from the date of judgment, to or for the benefit of any claimant. An award may not include any amount as exemplary or punitive damages." Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-041.html
• NRS 17.117(10)(a) — "If the offeree rejects an offer and fails to obtain a more favorable judgment: (a) The offeree may not recover any costs, expenses or attorney's fees and may not recover interest for the period after the service of the offer and before the judgment." Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-017.html
• Washoe County District Court, Legal Interest Rates table — publishes the current semiannual rate; "add 8.75% (prime rate 6.75% plus 2%)" for July 1-December 31, 2026. Accessed 2026-07-05: https://www.washoecourts.com/TopRequests/InterestRates
• Gibellini v. Klindt, 110 Nev. 1201, 885 P.2d 540 (1994); Schoepe v. Pacific Silver Corp., 111 Nev. 563, 893 P.2d 388 (1995); Ramada Inns, Inc. v. Sharp, 101 Nev. 824, 711 P.2d 1 (1985) — citations verified via CourtListener (legalresearch tool), accessed 2026-07-05.