If you need to charge sales tax, VAT, or GST on subscriptions, you can enable automatic tax collection so Stripe handles the calculation for you.
There are two parts to the setup: first configure Stripe Tax in your Stripe Dashboard, then turn on the Enable Stripe Tax toggle in the platform.
Part 1: Set up Stripe Tax in your Stripe Dashboard
#Log into your Stripe account at dashboard.stripe.com, open the More + menu in the left sidebar, and click Tax.
Steps and details
Click Get started, enter your business address, and then add the tax registrations for the states or countries where you are actually registered to collect tax.
For example, add California if you are registered there for sales tax, or add the relevant EU country and VAT number if you are registered there for VAT. Only add places where you are genuinely registered.
- Log into Stripe
- In the left sidebar, click
More +, then clickTax - Click
Get started - Enter your business address
- Add your tax registrations
- Save the registrations to activate Stripe Tax on the account
Stripe Tax is a paid Stripe feature, so Stripe charges a small fee on transactions where tax is calculated. Check Stripe pricing for current costs.
Part 2: Turn on tax collection in your platform
#Once Stripe Tax is configured in Stripe, switch back to the platform and enable the platform-side toggle.
Steps and details
- Make sure you are in your agency sidebar: if a bar at the top says
You're ina customer, clickBack to Agency; if your sidebar shows theAgency/Customerswitcher, selectAgency - In the left sidebar, under the
Businesssection, expandBilling & Revenue - Click
Connect Stripe - Find the
Enable Stripe Taxtoggle with the descriptionAutomatically calculate and collect sales tax - Turn it on
How it works for your customers
#Once Stripe Tax is active in Stripe and the platform toggle is turned on, Stripe handles the actual tax calculation automatically during checkout and invoice generation.
Steps and details
- New customers are asked for their country and postal code during checkout
- Postal code is required for US and Canada
- Stripe calculates the correct rate automatically based on customer location and your saved tax registrations
- Tax appears as a separate line item on invoices
- If a customer updates their billing address later, future tax calculations update automatically
- Checkout also prompts for a Tax ID (such as a VAT number) automatically. There is no separate toggle for it
- Country becomes a required field on the registration form and on the Add Customer form while Stripe Tax is on
What about existing customers?
#If you already had customers before enabling tax collection, their next checkout will ask for their country and postal code and tax will apply from that point forward.
Steps and details
If an existing customer updates their billing information under Manage -> Billing, tax starts applying on the next invoice after that change. This area is hidden entirely if the customer's plan sets Billing Pages to Hidden.
This is a customer-side screen. Because you are in your agency account, you can reach it two ways: go to Business -> Customers -> Manage Customers and click Open dashboard on the customer: you go into their dashboard with nothing locked, even features their plan hides, and a bar at the top shows whose dashboard you are in (handy for done-for-you setups or granting access beyond a plan); or choose View as customer on the same page to see their dashboard exactly as they see it, with their plan's limits. If your sidebar shows the Agency / Customer switcher, the Customer tab plus the location switcher is a shortcut to the same place.
Quick setup checklist
#Stripe Tax is activated in your Stripe Dashboard through More + -> Tax -> Get started
Steps and details
- At least one tax registration has been added
- The
Enable Stripe Taxtoggle is turned on in the platform underBusiness -> Billing & Revenue -> Connect Stripe
Troubleshooting
#If tax is not being applied, there are usually only a few things to check.
Steps and details
- Make sure at least one tax registration exists in Stripe under
Tax -> Registrations - Check that the customer has a country on file because Stripe cannot calculate tax without a location
- If you create manual invoices directly in Stripe, enable the tax toggle on the invoice itself because the platform setting only affects subscription checkouts
Only want to charge tax in certain states or countries?
#That is exactly how Stripe Tax is designed to work. Stripe only charges tax in places where you have added a registration. Customers in other locations will not be taxed.
Want to turn it off?
#Go back to Connect Stripe in the platform and turn the Enable Stripe Tax toggle off.
Steps and details
New checkouts and invoices will stop including tax, while your registrations remain saved inside Stripe in case you want to enable it again later.