Taxes and Fees
Hi.Events lets you add taxes (such as VAT or sales tax) and service fees to ticket purchases, and choose which products they apply to.
How to Get There
- Open your user menu and click Account Settings
- Click Taxes and fees in the Settings sidebar
Taxes and fees are shared by every organizer and event in your account. Team members whose access is limited to particular organizers don’t see this page, and Viewers can see the list but can’t add or change anything (see Managing Your Team).
Creating a Tax or Fee
- Click Add tax or fee
- Choose the Type: Tax (VAT, GST or sales tax) or Fee (a booking or service fee)
- Enter a Name (e.g. “Sales Tax”, “Service Fee”, “VAT”)
- Enter the Rate, and use the toggle beside it to choose Percentage (a percentage of each product’s price, up to 100) or Fixed amount (a set amount per product, in the event’s currency)
- Optionally add a Description for your own reference. It isn’t shown to buyers
- Add to new products automatically is on by default. Turn it off if you’d rather add this tax or fee to products yourself — see below
- Click Create tax or Create fee
To change or remove one later, open the … menu next to it and choose Edit or Delete. Deleting it means it’s no longer applied to new orders. Taxes and fees that are added to new products automatically are tagged Default in the list.
Applying to Products
You can assign a tax or fee to specific ticket types when creating or editing products (the Taxes & fees row in the product form). Each product can have multiple taxes and fees applied, and you can make a new one from there with Create Tax or Fee.
While Add to new products automatically is on, every product you create or duplicate has it selected automatically. You can still override this on any individual product — but be aware that this setting changes what buyers are charged on newly created tickets.
How Taxes Are Calculated
Taxes and fees are always added on top of the price you set. If you price a ticket at $100 with a 10% tax, the buyer is charged $110 — you keep $100 and $10 is tax.
Fees are calculated first, then tax is applied to the price plus fees. So a $100 ticket with a $5 fee and a 10% tax works out as:
- Fee: $5.00
- Tax: 10% of ($100 + $5) = $10.50
- Buyer pays: $115.50
A few other things to know:
- Fixed amounts are charged per unit. A $0.50 fixed fee on an order of 4 tickets adds $2.00.
- Free items are never taxed. If a product’s price is $0.00, no tax or fee is charged on it. When you add taxes or fees to a free product, the product form offers to remove them for you.
Price Display Mode
You can control how prices are shown to buyers, per event:
- Go to Event Settings
- Select Miscellaneous in the settings menu
- Choose a Price display mode:
- Include tax and fees in the price — buyers see the final total up front (e.g. $110)
- Show tax and fees separately — buyers see the base price, with tax and fees shown separately (e.g. $100 + $10 tax)
This setting only changes the display — the amount charged and the amount you receive are the same either way.
Tips
- Check your local tax regulations to determine the correct rate
- Use clear names so attendees understand what they are being charged
- Taxes and fees are configured at the account level and available to all events
Common Questions
Is tax included in my ticket price?
No. Taxes and fees are always added on top of the price you set. The Price display mode setting only changes whether buyers see them included or itemized.
Is tax charged on service fees?
Yes. Fees are calculated first, then tax is applied to the price plus fees.
Can buyers pay the Hi.Events platform fee?
Yes. The platform fee is separate from the taxes and fees you set up here. Choose Pass to Buyer or Absorb Fee under Default Fee Handling in organizer settings. That default applies to new events, and you can override it per event under Fee Handling in Event Settings → Platform Fees.
Last updated