TikTok Shop Referral Fee Updates - 2024
Summary
- One-line takeaway: Referral fee rises to 6% from Apr 1, 2024; refund fee rules updated May 15, 2025.
- Core Value/Change: ① Qualified orders charged 6% per order ② New sellers keep promo plans until period ends ③ Category-level rates link referenced
- Red Lines & Compliance: ① Refund admin fee = 20% of referral fee ② From May 15, 2025, capped at $5 per SKU ③ No fee for eligible pre-ship auto-cancels or creator sample refunds
- Thresholds & Requirements: ① Qualified orders are completed orders ② Fee base: Buyer Paid + Platform Discount - Tax ③ Settlement pays after delivery, no active refund/return, $1 threshold
- Immediate next action: Review category-level referral rates and refund fee impact
TikTok may modify this Article from time to time, in which case TikTok will update the “Last Revised” date at the top of this Article. If TikTok makes material changes to this Article, TikTok will use reasonable efforts to notify you, such as by email or notifications in your User Account, 30 days before the changes take effect. However, it is your sole responsibility to review this Article from time to time to stay apprised of all updates.
Updates to Referral Fees in 2024TikTok Shop charges a fee from sellers on all qualified transactions. This policy document defines such a fee as a "referral" fee which encompasses all TikTok Shop fees, with the exception of shipping and tax fees.
Starting April 1, 2024, TikTok Shop will increase the referral fee on all qualified transactions to 6% per order.
All new sellers enrolled in promotional plans will continue on their respective plans until the conclusion of the promotional period.
These changes are designed to allow us to better serve customers while ensuring that we continue to provide great value.
For more details on Referral Fees at the category level, please check out:
Category Level - Referral RatesDefinitions
Referral Fees
ExamplesSample computation - Referral Fee (effective April 1, 2024)
Updates to Referral Fees in 2024TikTok Shop charges a fee from sellers on all qualified transactions. This policy document defines such a fee as a "referral" fee which encompasses all TikTok Shop fees, with the exception of shipping and tax fees.
Starting April 1, 2024, TikTok Shop will increase the referral fee on all qualified transactions to 6% per order.
All new sellers enrolled in promotional plans will continue on their respective plans until the conclusion of the promotional period.
These changes are designed to allow us to better serve customers while ensuring that we continue to provide great value.
For more details on Referral Fees at the category level, please check out:
Category Level - Referral RatesDefinitions
- Qualified Orders: Orders that have been completed are eligible orders. The baseline GMV used for the calculation will be referred to as Buyer Paid + Platform Discount - Tax.
- Referral Fee: The fee that TikTok Shop charges and collects on all completed orders.
Customers can request a cancel/return/refund request through the Orders section within the TikTok App. The request can only be made if the order falls within the return period. If a refund, return, or cancellation occurs after the customer successfully places an order, TikTok Shop will refund the referral fee amount for the product(s), minus the appropriate "Refund Administration Fee," which is 20% of the referral fee.
Starting from May 15, 2025, TikTok Shop updated its Refund Administration Fee rules, as follows:- For each refund, the maximum "Refund Administration Fee" for each SKU type is capped at $5.
Below are hypothetical scenarios illustrating how the Refund Administration Fee would be calculated:
| Scenario | Order information | How much is the Refund Administration Fee (capped at $5) | How is it calculated | Note |
| A | One order that contains one SKU that costs $10 | $0.12 | $10*6%*20% | |
| B | One order that contains one SKU that costs $500 | $5 | $500*6%*20% = $6, reduced to $5 because of the fee cap | Refund Administration Fee is capped at $5. |
| C | One order contains one product, which has 2 SKUs, each priced at $10. | $0.24 | ($10*6%*20%)*2 | Since two SKUs are being returned and the Refund Administration Fee is calculated at the SKU level, we will multiply Scenario A fee by 2 |
| D | One order that contains one product that has 2 SKUs. SKU A costs $500. SKU B costs $10. | $5.12 | SKU A: ($500*6%*20%) = $6, reduced to $5 because of the fee capSKU B: ($10*6%*20%) = $0.12 | Because the Refund Administration Fee is calculated at the SKU level, we will apply the fee to each SKU individually in this case. For SKU A, the refund fee is $5 instead of $6 because the fee is capped at $5. |
- Refunds for Creator Sample Orders: For "Buy now refund later" creator sample orders, no Refund Administration Fee will be charged when processing refunds.
- If a refund is initiated by the buyer before the order is shipped and meets the Auto-canceling criteria, no "Refund Administration Fee" will be charged.
Referral Fees
| Fee type | Description | Calculation formula (Effective April 1, 2024) |
| Referral Fee | Referral Fee is a service fee charged on successfully paid and delivered orders in TikTok Shop. | Referral Fee =Referral Fee = Referral Fee Rate % *(Customer Payment + Platform Discount - Tax) |
Referral fee effective April 1, 2024 | |||
Successfully placed order | Partially refunded order | Fully refunded order | |
Customer Payment | $102 | $102 | $102 |
Customer Refund | / | -$51 | -$102 |
Platform Discounts | $5 | $5 | $5 |
Platform Discounts Refunds | / | -$2.5 | -$5 |
Sales tax payment + Retail delivery fee payment | $2 | $2 | $2 |
Sales tax refund + Retail delivery fee refund | / | -$1 | -$2 |
Referral fee rate | 5%-6% based on the category | ||
Referral fee calculation | Referral Fee Rate % *(Customer Payment + Platform Discount - Tax) | ||
Referral fee | 6%*($102+$5-$2)=$6.30 | 6%*($102-$51+$5-$2.5-$2+$1)=$3.15 | $0 |
Refund administration fee | / | $6.30*50%*20%=$0.63 | $6.30*20%=$1.26 |