What happens to sales tax when you refund

When Esano refunds an order, the buyer gets back the item price plus their share of the sales tax on it. The tax part doesn't come out of your payout. Only the item price does.

How tax is returned

• Whole items. A refund on whole items returns the item price plus that item's share of the order's tax. The Terms of Use say approved whole-item refunds return the applicable item tax.
• Custom amount. A partial amount includes the applicable tax refund. The buyer keeps all files and must accept the offer before Esano approves it.
• Several items at once. Tax is worked out once on the items' combined price, not item by item.
• Several refunds on one order. Tax is worked out across all the refunds on the order, so rounding cancels out. If every item is refunded, the buyer gets back exactly all the tax they paid.

A refund can never be more than what the buyer's payment has left after earlier refunds. If the order has tax, the buyer's refunded tax is included in that limit.

What you see in the refund dialog

When you offer a refund from an order (see issue a refund to a buyer), the dialog is titled Offer {buyer name} a refund. Choose Whole items or Custom amount. The summary shows:

• {Buyer name} gets back: the item price plus tax.
• Items + tax: the item price and the tax, separately. This line appears only when the order has tax.
• This order's payout: your payout for the order after the refund. It goes down by the item price, not by the tax.

Esano decides within 5 calendar days. See how Esano decides a refund request for the full process.

What it does to your payout

Your payout for the order drops by the refunded item price. If the payout already went out, the refunded principal is recorded against your earnings, and future earnings may repay it. A refund doesn't authorize a bank debit. The tax returned to the buyer isn't taken from you. See how refunds affect your earnings and payouts and how sales tax affects your earnings.

When a refund can't go ahead because of tax

If the original tax for an item isn't recorded yet, the refund waits. You see "Original item tax must be reconciled before this refund can proceed." See why the Tax column says Under review.

What buyers see

Buyers who accept a partial offer agree to "a partial refund of $X plus applicable refunded tax." If the original item tax isn't recorded yet, a buyer's refund summary can read "plus reconciled item tax." Buyers can read more in full and partial refunds.