1. Whether the interest of private lending exceeds the principal legally depends on different situations, as follows:

(1) The interest rate agreed by both lenders and borrowers does not exceed the annual interest rate of 24%, and the court should support it;

(2) The interest rate agreed between the borrower and the borrower exceeds the annual interest rate of 36%, and the interest agreement in excess is invalid.

2. Legal basis: Article 680th of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC).

It is forbidden to lend at high interest, and the interest rate of borrowing shall not violate the relevant provisions of the state.

If there is no agreement on the payment of interest in the loan contract, it shall be deemed that there is no interest.

If the loan contract does not specify the method of interest payment, and the parties cannot reach a supplementary agreement, the interest shall be determined according to the local or the parties' trading methods, trading habits, market interest rates and other factors; Loans between natural persons are regarded as having no interest.

Second, what are the restrictions on private lending interest?

If the lender requests the borrower to pay interest at the interest rate agreed in the contract, the people's court shall support it, except that the interest rate agreed by both parties exceeds four times the quoted interest rate of the one-year loan market at the time of the establishment of the contract. If the interest rate agreed by private lenders and borrowers exceeds four times, the court will not order the return of more than four times the interest. According to relevant laws and regulations, the interest rate agreed by both parties shall not exceed four times that of similar loans in the same period, and the excess is not protected, that is, the excess collected by the lender is not protected, and the excess returned by the borrower is not protected.