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Refunding orders

You can refund an entire order or only part of an order from the Orders page in your Shopify admin. Refunding an order sends payment back to the customer, which can help you resolve disputes, correct pricing errors, or honor your return policy.

You can refund an order without creating a return, but you can't create a return after a refund has been issued. In some cases, you can cancel an order and then issue a refund. As part of the refund process, you have the option to restock the items and to send a notification email to the customer. If there is no payment to refund, then you can restock the items from the order.

If you're a customer looking for a refund on an order that you placed on a Shopify store, then you need to contact the store directly.

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Considerations for refunding orders

Before you refund an order, review the following considerations:

  • To refund orders, you need to be the store owner, or have the following Orders permissions depending on the payment method that you want to refund to: _ Refund to original payment method _ Refund to original payment method > Over-refund orders previously refunded to store credit * Refund to store credit
  • When you refund an order, you can refund to the original payment method, store credit, or both. If you issue a refund to store credit, then you can optionally set an expiration date for the store credit. Countries have different laws for store credit expiration dates. Check the laws for your country before setting an expiration date.
  • If an order has multiple transactions and you issue a partial refund, then a suggested split for how the refund applies to each transaction is displayed. If the order includes a gift card, then the suggestion tries to refund the gift card in full first. You can adjust the refund amount manually for each payment method, up to the amount available for each payment method.
  • If you refund to the original payment and a customer no longer has access to that payment method, then they need to contact the bank or agency for the original payment method to claim the funds after the refund is sent.
  • If you've already refunded an order to store credit and the customer later changes their mind, then you can refund to the original payment method after store credit. This doesn't reverse the store credit refund that was already issued, so this can result in over-refunding the order.
  • You can't cancel or reverse a refund after you initiate a refund from your Shopify admin. If you initiate a refund by mistake, then you can create a new draft order and collect the payment again with the draft order.
  • When you refund or cancel a customer's order, the following scenarios apply for the original order fees, regardless of whether the order was fulfilled or not:
    • If the order was processed through Shopify Payments, then you don't get any credit card fees refunded. Learn more about purchases and refunds with Shopify Payments.
    • If the order was processed through a third-party payment gateway, but Shopify Payments is available in the country that your store is located in, then you don't get any transaction fees refunded. Transaction fees aren't the same as credit card fees. Any credit card fees are set and charged by the payment gateway that you use.
    • If the order was processed through a third-party payment gateway, and Shopify Payments isn't available in the country that your store is located in, then any transaction fees are refunded equivalent to the amount of the customer's order that was refunded. If you fully refund an order, then you're credited with 100% of the transaction fee to your account. If you refund 50% of an order's cost, then you're credited with 50% of the transaction fee to your account. A transaction fee credit applies only when you refund an order through your Shopify admin. If you refund an order through a third-party payment gateway, then you don't get a transaction fee credit.
    • If you refund an unfulfilled item, then the item is removed from the order and can't be fulfilled.

Refund an entire order

You can issue a full refund for all items in an order. You can also apply a discount to a line item directly from the refund page before completing the refund. When refunding an order, you can manually edit the Refund amount to deduct a restocking fee. You can also refund any shipping fees.

Steps:

Desktop

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to refund.

  3. Click Refund.

  4. Optional: To apply a discount to a line item before refunding, complete the following steps:

    1. For the item that you want to add a discount to, click the item price.
    2. From the Discount type drop-down menu, select a discount type.
    3. Depending on the discount type that you select, in the Discount value (per unit) or Discount value field, enter the discount amount.
    4. Optional: In the Reason for discount field, enter a note about the discount reason. This note is displayed to your customer.
    5. Click Save.

  5. Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund.

  6. Do any of the following optional steps:

    • Optional: If you want to restock your items manually, then deselect Restock items. This option is selected by default and is available only when you track inventory for the items included in the order.
    • Optional: To refund shipping, in the Refund shipping section, select Shipping, and then enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping
    • Optional: If the order includes duties and import taxes, then select whether you want to refund Duties and import tax on refunded items and Additional fees: Customs clearance.
    • Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.

  7. In the Summary section, do the following:

    • Select a refund method from the Refund method drop-down menu.
    • Optional: Edit the amount in the Refund amount field. If you choose both the original payment and store credit as a payment method, then you can edit both fields.

  8. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  9. Click Refund to refund the customer's order.

Mobile

  1. From the Shopify app, tap the Orders icon .

  2. Tap the order that you want to refund.

  3. Tap … or ⋮, and then tap Refund.

  4. Optional: To apply a discount to a line item before refunding, complete the following steps:

    1. For the item that you want to add a discount to, tap the item price.
    2. From the Discount type drop-down menu, select a discount type.
    3. Depending on the discount type that you select, in the Discount value (per unit) or Discount value field, enter the discount amount.
    4. Optional: In the Reason for discount field, enter a note about the discount reason. This note is displayed to your customer.
    5. Tap Save or ✓.

  5. Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund.

  6. Do any of the following optional steps:

    • Optional: If you want to restock your items manually, then deselect Restock items. This option is selected by default and is available only when you track inventory for the items included in the order.
    • Optional: To refund shipping, in the Refund shipping section, select Shipping, and then enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping
    • Optional: If the order includes duties and import taxes, then select whether you want to refund Duties and import tax on refunded items and Additional fees: Customs clearance.
    • Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.

  7. In the Summary section, do the following:

    • Select a refund method from the Refund method drop-down menu.
    • Optional: Edit the amount in the Refund amount field. If you choose both the original payment and store credit as a payment method, then you can edit both fields.

  8. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  9. Tap Refund to refund the customer's order.

Refund part of an order

You can issue a partial refund for specific items in an order. You can also apply a discount to a line item directly from the refund page before completing the refund. You can then issue additional partial refunds until you've reached the total available to refund, which is the original amount of the order. After you issue a partial refund, your order's status changes to Partially refunded.

Refund to a gift card

If a customer made a purchase using a gift card and another method of payment, then when you perform a partial refund, the refund is applied to the gift card first, until the gift card reaches the full amount available for refund. The rest of the refund is applied to the other payment methods. You can adjust the refund amounts manually for each payment method up to the amount that is available for each payment method.

For example, if a partial refund amount of $50 USD is applied to the gift card, but you can apply up to $20 USD to a credit card, then you could can the refund by applying $30 USD to the gift card, and $20 USD to the credit card.

Steps:

Desktop

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to refund.

  3. In the Order Details section, click Refund.

  4. Optional: To apply a discount to a line item before refunding, complete the following steps:

    1. For the item that you want to add a discount to, click the item price.
    2. From the Discount type drop-down menu, select a discount type.
    3. Depending on the discount type that you select, in the Discount value (per unit) or Discount value field, enter the discount amount.
    4. Optional: In the Reason for discount field, enter a note about the discount reason. This note is displayed to your customer.
    5. Click Save.

  5. Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund. Any products with a quantity set to 0 aren't refunded.

  6. Do any of the following optional steps:

    • Optional: If you want to restock your items manually, then deselect Restock items. This option is selected by default and is available only when you track inventory for the items included in the order
    • Optional: To refund shipping, in the Refund shipping section, select Shipping, and then enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping.
    • Optional: If the order includes duties and import taxes, then select whether you want to refund Duties and import tax on refunded items and Additional fees: Customs clearance.
    • Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.

  7. In the Summary section, do the following:

    • Select a refund method from the Refund method drop-down menu.
    • Optional: Edit the amount in the Refund amount field. If you choose both the original payment and store credit as a payment method, then you can edit both fields.

  8. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  9. Click Refund to refund your selected items.

Mobile

  1. From the Shopify app, tap the Orders icon .

  2. Tap the order that you want to refund.

  3. Tap … or ⋮, and then tap Refund.

  4. Optional: To apply a discount to a line item before refunding, complete the following steps:

    1. For the item that you want to add a discount to, tap the item price.
    2. From the Discount type drop-down menu, select a discount type.
    3. Depending on the discount type that you select, in the Discount value (per unit) or Discount value field, enter the discount amount.
    4. Optional: In the Reason for discount field, enter a note about the discount reason. This note is displayed to your customer.
    5. Tap Save or ✓.

  5. Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund. Any products with a quantity set to 0 aren't refunded.

  6. Do any of the following optional steps:

    • Optional: If you want to restock your items manually, then deselect Restock items. This option is selected by default and is available only when you track inventory for the items included in the order
    • Optional: To refund shipping, in the Refund shipping section, select Shipping, and then enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping.
    • Optional: If the order includes duties and import taxes, then select whether you want to refund Duties and import tax on refunded items and Additional fees: Customs clearance.
    • Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.

  7. In the Summary section, do the following:

    • Select a refund method from the Refund method drop-down menu.
    • Optional: Edit the amount in the Refund amount field. If you choose both the original payment and store credit as a payment method, then you can edit both fields.

  8. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  9. Tap Refund to refund your selected items.

Refund shipping for an order

You can refund shipping fees for an order. If your order has multiple shipping fees, then all your shipping fees are displayed when refunding an order.

You can't exceed the available amount to refund for shipping. For example, if you're charged for shipping $15 USD, then you can refund up to $15 USD for shipping.

You can't refund shipping for orders that have an order level free shipping discount applied.

Steps:

Desktop

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to refund shipping for.

  3. Click Refund.

  4. In the Refund shipping section, select Shipping

  5. Enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping.

  6. Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.

  7. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  8. Click Refund to refund shipping for an order.

Mobile
  1. From the Shopify app, tap the Orders icon .
  2. Tap the order that you want to refund shipping for.
  3. Tap … or ⋮, and then tap Refund.
  4. In the Refund shipping section, select Shipping
  5. Enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping.
  6. Optional: In the Reason for refund section, enter a reason for the refund. The refund reason isn't displayed to your customer.
  7. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.
  8. Tap Refund to refund shipping for an order.

After you refund shipping for your order, your order's financial summary and order's Timeline are automatically updated.

Allow for over-refunding

If store credit was previously issued on an order and you need to refund to the customer's original payment method instead, then you can over-refund the order. This doesn't reverse the store credit refund that was already issued.

Over-refunding is available for orders processed through Shopify Payments.

To over-refund to the original payment method, you need the Refund to original payment method > Over-refund orders previously refunded to store credit permission.

Steps:

Desktop

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that was previously refunded to store credit.

  3. Click Refund.

  4. In the Refund amount section, click the lock icon next to Shopify Payments.

  5. In the Override refund amount dialog, select Allow for over-refunding, and then click Apply.

  6. In the Refund amount field, enter the amount that you want to refund to the original payment method.

  7. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  8. Click Refund to process the over-refund to the customer's original payment method.

Mobile
  1. From the Shopify app, tap the Orders icon .
  2. Tap the order that was previously refunded to store credit.
  3. In the Refund amount section, tap the lock icon next to Shopify Payments.
  4. In the Override refund amount dialog, select Allow for over-refunding, and then tap Apply.
  5. In the Refund amount field, enter the amount that you want to refund to the original payment method.
  6. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.
  7. Tap Refund to process the over-refund to the customer's original payment method.

Restock an order

If there's no payment to refund for an order, then you can restock the items without creating a return or a refund.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to restock.

  3. Click Restock.

  4. Enter the quantity of items in the order to restock.

  5. Click Restock items.

Limited refund amount after issuing store credit

When a store credit refund was previously issued on an order, the original payment method is locked on the refund screen, limiting the refundable amount (for example, to shipping costs only). To refund to the original payment method, ensure that you have the Over-refund orders previously refunded to store credit permission, and then allow over-refunding the order.

Handling chargebacks on partially refunded orders

When you partially refund an order, the customer can still initiate a chargeback for the full value of the order. If this happens, then you're debited for the full order amount, despite having issued a partial refund.

To resolve this, you need to dispute the chargeback by providing evidence of the partial refund. The evidence submission period is your only opportunity to communicate with the customer's bank. After you submit evidence through the Shopify admin, it can't be changed.

To increase your chances of winning the dispute, provide as much evidence as possible:

  • The order link
  • The disputed amount and date of the dispute
  • The refunded amount and date of the refund
  • The Acquirer Reference Number (ARN) associated with the refund
  • Any communication with the customer, such as emails or screenshots, that confirms the refund