You cannot hide the ■■■■ tax added breakdown details behind a drop down because 100% of customers land on checkout page with a general price or even a very specific price in their head… THAT IS A FACT. So when they get to check out and see an amount thats 5 or 6 or more dollars higher with ZERO BASIC ONE FREAKIN LINE EXPLANATION this is for taxes, psychologicially DESTROYS sales for totally obvious reasons. And this is hard coded making it impossible for anyone with a regular Shopify account to fix. Sweet checkout guys. And it’s all bragged about in the commercial being the highest converting. Way to think it through
Hey @SmokeEraser ,
I can understand why that would be frustrating. If the total increases at checkout without the tax being immediately obvious it can definitely create confusion for customers.
At the moment checkout customization is quite limited for most merchants so there isn’t much control over how the tax breakdown is displayed. In the meantime one workaround is to make it clear on product pages or in the cart that taxes will be calculated at checkout so customers are less surprised by the final total.
I think a more visible tax breakdown in checkout would be a worthwhile improvement for transparency and the overall checkout experience.
Thank You !
Your criticism is valid.
To be on the pro-active side, why not add a little line next to the price on the product page that it doesn’t include tax? That would at least prepare the customer.
From shopify themselves:
If the state (or states) where you sell determines that you meet the requirements, you must collect sales tax on eligible online orders. You can either incorporate sales tax into your product pricing or add it at checkout.
Both approaches have their pros and cons. Extra costs at checkout are the biggest reason for online cart abandonment. Including sales tax in your product prices prevents customer sticker shock at checkout, but makes your products more expensive. This can be an issue if you’re mainly competing on price.
Reference: How to Charge Sales Tax for Your U.S. Business (2026) - Shopify
If you think it’s really hitting your sales hard, then I would re-think how your store is set up. Sounds like it would make you money.
All the best,
Nathan
Why would it take them years to fix such a thing then? If they ever do at all. It seems that these kind of criticisms just remain whatever the issues are they’re describing they just remain for years and years ignored. You can find them all over these forums with dates that go back 6, 7+ years. It’s pathetic
Craig Nowak
I understand why it feels frustrating when merchants see similar feedback and discussions continuing over several years.
At the same time Shopify has a large ecosystem with many different merchant needs, so changes to core checkout experiences usually require balancing technical limitations, security, performance, and the impact across different types of stores.
That being said checkout transparency is definitely an important area because unexpected costs are one of the common reasons customers hesitate before completing a purchase. Feedback from merchants who share specific examples and the impact on their businesses can help highlight where improvements would provide the most value.
Hopefully this continues to receive attention as Shopify keeps improving the checkout experience.