The parts of a kill fee
A kill fee is what a client pays when they cancel a project part-way: for example, if an $8,000 website is cancelled after the first draft (about 40% done) and your contract adds 25% of the unfinished part, the kill fee comes to $4,400.
A kill fee usually has two parts: payment for what you already did, and a charge for the time you held for the client and now cannot fill.
- Project fee
- The full price agreed for the whole job, before any deposit. Use the figure from your quote or contract.
- Work done
- How far the project got before the client stopped it, as a share of the whole. If you are not sure, pick the stage the work reached and adjust the suggested share.
- Cancellation part
- The extra on top of the work done. It pays for the weeks you turned other clients away, and for the gap in your calendar that is now hard to fill at short notice.
- Share of what is left
- A policy where the cancellation part is a percentage of the unfinished work. Late cancellations cost the client less extra, because less work is left.
- Charge on the whole fee
- A policy where the cancellation part is a percentage of the full project fee, whatever stage the work reached. Simple to explain, and the same for every stage.
- Already paid
- A deposit or instalments the client has paid. The calculator takes it off so you can see what is still left to invoice, or whether the deposit already covers it.
Cancelled projects, worked through
These are made-up projects, not real cases. Each row runs through the same logic as the calculator above, so you can compare a policy before you put it in a contract.
| Example | Project fee | Work done | Policy | For work done | Cancellation part | Kill fee | Left to invoice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: logo, cancelled after the brief | $2,000 | 10% | 25% of what is left | $200 | $450 | $650 | $650 |
| Example: website, first draft sent | £8,000 | 40% | 25% of what is left | £3,200 | £1,200 | £4,400 | £400 |
| Example: brand refresh, in revisions | €12,000 | 70% | 10% of the whole fee | €8,400 | €1,200 | €9,600 | €9,600 |
| Example: video edit, nearly final | A$3,500 | 90% | 50% of what is left | A$3,150 | A$175 | A$3,325 | A$3,325 |
| Example: app design, half done | CA$15,000 | 50% | 15% of the whole fee | CA$7,500 | CA$2,250 | CA$9,750 | CA$4,750 |
| Example: illustration set | ₹90,000 | 30% | 20% of what is left | ₹27,000 | ₹12,600 | ₹39,600 | ₹39,600 |
Things to settle before you send the invoice
Your contract decides, not the calculator
A kill fee is only easy to collect when the contract already says how it works. If your contract is silent, treat the result as a starting point for a polite conversation, not a bill the client has agreed to.
Be fair about how much was done
Stages are a rough guide. A first draft on a large site can be a small share of the work, and on a logo it can be most of it. Look at the hours you logged before you settle on a number.
The fee never goes above the full price
If the work done and the cancellation part together pass the full project fee, the calculator stops at the full fee. Charging more than the whole job is hard to defend.
Who owns the unfinished work
Say in writing what the client receives for the kill fee. Many freelancers keep the rights to rejected concepts and hand over only what was approved; others hand over everything once paid.
Tax and currency
The result leaves out sales tax or VAT. Add it on the invoice the same way you would for a normal invoice in your country.
Questions about kill fees and cancelled projects
What percentage is normal for a kill fee?
There is no single standard. Many freelance contracts pay the work done in full and add a cancellation part somewhere between a small share and half of what is left. Pick a level you would be comfortable defending to a client face to face.
Can I charge a kill fee if it is not in my contract?
You can ask, but the client may refuse. You are usually on firmer ground asking for payment for work you already did. Add a kill fee clause to your next contract so the question never comes up again.
Should the deposit count towards the kill fee?
Usually yes. Most contracts treat a deposit as part payment of the project, so it counts towards whatever is owed when the project stops. If your deposit is non-refundable and separate, leave the already-paid field blank.
Is a kill fee the same as a cancellation fee?
People use the words loosely. In this calculator, the kill fee is the whole amount owed when a project is cancelled, and the cancellation part is the extra on top of the work done.
What if the client cancels before any work starts?
Set the work done to 0. With the share-of-what-is-left policy the cancellation part is then a share of the whole fee, which covers the time you had reserved.
How do I bring up the kill fee without losing the client?
Keep it short and factual, point to the clause you both agreed, and offer to pause instead of cancel if that suits them. The email sentence the calculator writes is a calm place to start.