Vencido vs. atrasado vs. impagado
When talking about an overdue payment in Spanish, the words vencido, atrasado, and impagado are commonly used, but they carry distinct nuances. The word vencido focuses on a missed deadline, atrasado emphasizes falling behind schedule on ongoing payments, and impagado serves as a formal term to simply state that a debt remains unpaid.
Vencido
The word vencido translates to expired, matured, or past due, focusing specifically on the fact that a strict deadline or due date has passed. It is commonly used for invoices, contracts, or bills that had a specific expiration date that the payer failed to meet.
El recibo de la luz está vencido desde la semana pasada.
(The electric bill has been past due since last week.)
Tienes que pagar un recargo por el plazo vencido.
(You have to pay a surcharge for the expired term.)
No me di cuenta de que el pago del seguro ya estaba vencido.
(I did not realize that the insurance payment was already past due.)
La factura tiene un saldo vencido de cien dólares.
(The invoice has a past due balance of one hundred dollars.)
Si el préstamo está vencido, el banco iniciará acciones legales.
(If the loan is past due, the bank will take legal action.)
Atrasado
The term atrasado means late, behind schedule, or in arrears, emphasizing the delay rather than a specific expiration date. It is frequently used when someone is lagging behind on a series of recurring payments, such as rent or monthly installments, implying a state of falling behind.
El inquilino tiene tres meses de alquiler atrasado.
(The tenant is three months behind on rent.)
No quiero estar atrasado con mis impuestos este año.
(I do not want to be behind on my taxes this year.)
Hice un pago adicional para cubrir el saldo atrasado.
(I made an additional payment to cover the late balance.)
Tengo un pago atrasado en la tarjeta de crédito.
(I have a late payment on my credit card.)
El proyecto se detuvo porque el financiamiento estaba muy atrasado.
(The project stopped because the financing was very behind schedule.)
Impagado
The adjective impagado directly translates to unpaid, focusing purely on the objective fact that no money has been received. It is a more formal or financial term often used in business contexts, accounting, or banking to describe outstanding debts, returned receipts, or unsettled invoices regardless of how much time has passed.
El banco me cobró una comisión por un recibo impagado.
(The bank charged me a fee for an unpaid receipt.)
La empresa tiene una alta tasa de créditos impagados.
(The company has a high rate of unpaid loans.)
El abogado envió una carta reclamando el saldo impagado.
(The lawyer sent a letter claiming the unpaid balance.)
Acumularon muchas facturas impagadas durante la crisis económica.
(They accumulated many unpaid invoices during the economic crisis.)
El cheque fue devuelto y ahora figura como impagado en el sistema.
(The check was returned and now appears as unpaid in the system.)
Summary
In summary, you should use vencido when a specific payment deadline has expired, atrasado when you are running late or falling behind on recurring payments, and impagado in formal or financial contexts to state the simple fact that a debt remains unpaid.