Hello,
I am wondering why Shopify is charging me the sales tax for an order I canceled based on their high fraud risk? 
can someone on Shopify’s side please help me resolve this?
Topic summary
Merchants question being charged after canceling/refunding high‑risk orders, initially mistaking the charge for sales tax. Shopify staff clarifies the charge is the nonrefundable payment processing fee when a payment is captured and later refunded.
One merchant says Shopify plans to deduct these fees from their Shopify Balance even at $0, feeling penalized. Another expresses frustration about limited protection for high‑risk orders.
Shopify points to Chargeback Protection for eligible merchants as a risk‑mitigation option (no commitment to waive/return fees). A community member recommends switching from automatic payment capture to manual capture: the card is authorized first (a hold), fraud analysis is reviewed, and only then is the payment captured (actually charged). If the authorization is voided without capture, processing fees typically do not apply.
Current outcome: no fee reversal offered. Actionable guidance focuses on checking eligibility for Chargeback Protection and changing payment capture settings to manual. The issue of fees on canceled high‑risk orders remains unresolved for the affected merchants.
Hey there! To clarify, are you referring to the processing fee for a now refunded payment? Shopify does not refund processing fees, so if the payment went through, even if you cancel or refund the order, the gateway processing fees are not refunded.
Let me know if that answered your question.
It seems like Shopify wants to deduct fees from my Shopify balance (which is currently at $0) for the transaction that I canceled and refunded. So it seems like I’m “paying” for having been a potential victim of the fraud.
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How can victims of fraud pay for the consequences that comes with high risk order. I think I’m done with shopify on this one. Since they cannot offer protection, what the need. I cancelled the high risk order immediately and they want to charge me. Am so done with them.
Hey, @Miakay
I understand chargebacks and fraudulent orders can be a stressful part of running a business. Unfortunately there are scammers out there and it’s a part of running of a business. With that said, we do have Chargeback Protection if you meet certain eligibility requirements. You can learn more about the feature here
If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know.
Sounds like you might have automatic payments enabled.
This means that the full amount is charged to the customer’s card immediately, so you’ll be paying transaction fees even if you end up refunding the customer.
It’s much safer to switch to manual payments.
The card is authorized for the full amount of the order, but you have full control of actually charging it later after the fraud analysis is finished.
Here’s how to set up manual payment capture: https://getverdict.com/blog/how-to-setup-manual-payment-capture-on-shopify