Idaho Retainage Requirements
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5% Retainage Limits
Upt to 5% of each payment, and cannot exceed 5% of the total contract price. The limit does not apply if a performance bond is requested and not posted.
35 Day Pay Period
Retainage funds must be released to the original contractor within 35 days from the final completion of the work, unless there's a dispute. The original contractor must release retainage to each subcontractor within 10 days from the time that any portion of retainage is received by the original contractor.
There's No Process to Recover
Not specified
Not Held In Escrow
In Idaho, contractors and owners do not need to hold retainage funds in a separate escrow account.
5 Percent
On projects for which a performance or payment bond in excess of 50% of the total contract amount is required, retainage is limited to not more than 5% of the money owed to the contractor. Otherwise, 10% of the contract price must be withheld.
30 Day Pay Period
Retainage must be released within 30 days after the acceptance of the portion of the work related to the retainage. For projects without payment and performance bonds, retainage will be released 90 days after the completion of work. Retainage must be released down-the-chain within 30 days of receiving retainage payments.
There is a Process to Recover
Yes, written notice must be provided within 90 days.
Retainage serves two general purposes: (1) To provide an incentive to the contractor or subcontractor to complete the project; and (2) To give the owner some protection against problems like liens, contractual defaults, delays, and more. In most states, laws exist to regulate how the parties use the retainage concept, mostly protecting some parties against abuse of the tool from others. The following are resources, legal information, and frequently asked questions about Idaho’s retainage requirements. The Idaho retainage statutes are reproduced below on this page.