Stripe Tax works out and collects sales tax, VAT and GST on your Stripe transactions, and its higher plan, Tax Complete, also handles registrations and filings. On Stripe's US pricing page, as of October 2026, Tax Basic costs 0.5% per transaction where you're registered, and Tax Complete starts at $90 a month on a 1-year contract.
What it won't do is make the final call for you. Stripe flags where you might owe tax, but its own documentation says it's up to you to confirm whether registration is required in each jurisdiction. That one sentence is the most useful thing to know before you sign up.
What Stripe Tax handles
Stripe's docs list five jobs. You configure your tax settings in the Dashboard, see where you might need to register based on past transactions, register to collect tax, then report and file. There's also a Stripe Tax API for custom payment flows, including payments processed outside Stripe.
Tax Basic versus Tax Complete
Here are the two plans side by side, from Stripe's US page in US dollars, as of October 2026:
| Tax Basic | Tax Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Calculation and collection | Monitoring, registration, calculation, collection and filing |
| Cost | 0.5% per transaction (no-code) or 50 cents (API), where registered | From $90 a month, 1-year contract |
| Registrations | You register yourself | 2 to 10+ a year depending on tier |
| Filings | You file | 4 to 32+ a year depending on tier |
| Countries | Collection in 100+ | Registrations and filings in 90+ |
Tax Basic is pay as you go with no recurring fee, aimed at businesses operating in limited regions. The 0.5% applies to the no-code route, where tax is worked out and collected on Billing, Checkout, Invoicing and Payment Links. If you build with the API instead, it's 50 cents per transaction, which includes 10 calculation API calls, then 5 cents per call above 10.
The four Tax Complete tiers
Tax Complete adds monitoring and alerts, calculation on 700+ product and service types, collection in 100+ countries and registrations and filings in 90+. Stripe lists four tiers:
| Monthly fee | Registrations a year | Transactions a month | Calculation API calls | Filings a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $90 | 2 | 200 | 2,000 | 4 |
| $430 | 4 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 12 |
| $1,000 | 6 | 2,500 | 25,000 | 20 |
| $1,500 | 10 | 5,000 | 50,000 | 32 |
Read the footnote too. Stripe says additional fees may apply for registrations and filings outside the US, or if you go over your plan's limits. If you sell internationally, ask for the full figure before you commit to a year.
Where threshold monitoring has blind spots
Monitoring is the feature most people buy Stripe Tax for, so it's worth knowing exactly what it watches. Stripe compares your sales, minus refunds, by customer location against local registration thresholds, then highlights where you might have an obligation. It's built mainly around payments Stripe processes. Outside Stripe, it only includes invoices processed off Stripe and transactions created with the Stripe Tax APIs.
Stripe also spells out the assumptions behind it:
- It assumes every sale uses your preset tax code.
- It assumes every sale is taxable at the destination, not where goods ship from or where an event happens.
- It doesn't monitor obligations in your home US state or home country.
- On a platform, transactions from connected accounts don't count toward the platform's thresholds by default.
Timing matters as well. New transactions are added within 7 days, while refunds and credit notes adjust your thresholds, typically within 24 hours. So if you sell through a second checkout, another sales app or in person for cash, the monitoring dashboard is only seeing part of the picture.
The thresholds Stripe flags
Stripe's marketing page gives these examples of registration thresholds. They're Stripe's summary, so check the current rules for any place you sell into:
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- In the US, remote-seller thresholds are $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in most states, and $500,000 in California, New York and Texas.
- In Europe, thresholds range from €0 in Spain to £90,000 in the UK.
- Foreign businesses have to appoint a tax representative for VAT in Mexico and Switzerland.
- Remote sellers marketing to Canadian customers may need up to five registrations in Canada.
Stripe adds two warnings of its own: that interest and penalties on uncollected US sales tax can easily exceed 30% of the tax due, and that about 17% of VAT registration requests to HMRC in 2024 were rejected. Those are Stripe's figures, used to sell the product, but they explain why people don't leave this to chance.
Getting Stripe Tax running
- Set your business address and tax settings in the Dashboard.
- Add product tax codes to your products.
- Check the monitoring dashboard for any thresholds you may have crossed.
- Register where you're required to, yourself or through Tax Complete.
- Turn on collection for Checkout, Invoicing, Billing or Payment Links.
- If you're on Basic, put your filing deadlines in your calendar, because nobody else will.
Stripe's supported-locations table covers both business location and customer location for each country, including Canada with GST and provincial taxes, Australia and the United Kingdom. Some places support all product tax codes, while others support digital products only. If your country or tax type isn't listed, Stripe tells you to email its Tax support team.
Collecting more payments also means more fraud attempts, which is what Stripe Radar is built for.
Should you use Stripe Tax?
If you sell online through Stripe and you're starting to cross thresholds in several states or countries, it's handy, because it watches the numbers so you don't have to build a spreadsheet. Just be clear about what you're buying. Basic doesn't register or file anything, and neither plan takes the responsibility off you. I'd always run your setup past an accountant who knows the places you sell into. To compare it with other options, see my guide to the best sales tax software, and if you sell into Canada, read up on GST and HST registration first.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Stripe Tax cost?
On Stripe's US pricing page, as of October 2026, Tax Basic is 0.5% per transaction for the no-code integration or 50 cents per transaction through the API, where you're registered. Tax Complete starts at $90 a month on a 1-year contract.
Does Stripe Tax file my sales tax returns?
Only on Tax Complete, which includes filings in 90+ countries up to your tier's limit. On Tax Basic you register and file yourself.
Does Stripe Tax tell me where I need to register?
It highlights potential obligations by comparing your sales with local thresholds, but Stripe says it's up to you to confirm whether registration is required in each jurisdiction.
Does Stripe Tax monitor sales made outside Stripe?
Only partly. Monitoring covers payments Stripe processes plus invoices processed off Stripe and transactions created with the Stripe Tax APIs.
Does Stripe Tax cover the UK, Canada and Australia?
Stripe's supported-locations table includes the United Kingdom, Canada with GST and provincial taxes, and Australia, with support depending on the location and product type.
