Do you get Shopify fees back when you refund an order?
Short answer
No. When you refund an order paid through Shopify Payments, “the original credit card transaction fee isn't refunded to you,” and the refunded amount comes out of your next payout.1 Currency conversion fees aren't returned either.2 On a $50 order at 2.9% + 30¢, a full refund still costs you $1.75 in fees, plus any shipping you paid and the product if it doesn't come back sellable.
What Shopify says
- “The original credit card transaction fee isn't refunded to you when issuing a refund.”1
- “Currency conversion fees and credit card fees are not returned to you when you issue a refund, but you're not charged additional conversion fees when you issue a refund or when you receive a chargeback.”2
- Refunded amounts are deducted from your next available payout.1
Merchants ask about this in the Shopify Community.3
What a refund really costs
For a $50 order on Shopify Payments (Basic, 2.9% + 30¢):
| Card fee kept by Shopify | $50 × 2.9% + $0.30 = $1.75 |
|---|---|
| Shipping label you paid | Not returned by the carrier once used |
| Ad cost to get the order | Already spent |
| The product | Lost if it can't be resold |
With PayPal, check PayPal's own terms; its US checkout rate is 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction.4 With another provider as your main gateway, Shopify's third-party transaction fee also applies to the original sale.5
How much do refunds add up to?
Multiply your refund count by your average fee and add the shipping and product losses. For a sense of scale, retailers in an NRF and Happy Returns survey estimated online returns at 19.3% of online sales in 2025.6 That survey covers large retailers, so your rate may be very different; use your own Refunded Amount column to find it.
How to count refunds in your profit
- Subtract refunded amounts from sales, but keep the original card fee as a cost.
- Pick one month rule (month of the original order, or month of the refund) and keep it.
- Track refunds by product. A product that comes back often can lose money even with a good margin on paper.
The Shopify fees calculator shows the card fees you lose to refunds each month. The Shopify Profit Report counts refunds by product and month, with the fee treatment listed on its Assumptions sheet.
Questions
Does Shopify refund transaction fees?
No. Shopify keeps the original card transaction fee when you refund an order, and currency conversion fees aren't returned either.
Does Shopify charge an extra fee to issue a refund?
Shopify's help center says you're not charged additional conversion fees when you issue a refund. The cost is the original fee you don't get back.
Where does the refund money come from?
It's deducted from your next available Shopify Payments payout.
Do I get the fee back on a cancelled order?
If the payment was captured and then refunded, treat it like any refund: the original card fee isn't returned. Check the transaction in your payout details.
How should I count refunds in profit?
Subtract the refunded amount from sales, keep the card fee as a cost, and track refunds by product so you can see which products come back most.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Refunds and Shopify Payments payouts
- Shopify Help Center: Fees (currency conversion and refunds)
- Shopify Community: Does Shopify retain transaction fees after issuing refunds?
- PayPal: Merchant fees (US)
- Shopify Help Center: Shopify Payments
- NRF and Happy Returns: 2025 Retail Returns Landscape (online return rate)
Checked October 18, 2026. If something has changed, email hello@groundworkmetrics.com and I'll fix it.