Credit Card Surcharging FAQ

Find answers to common questions about how credit card surcharging behaves in Maxio Payments, who it applies to, and what compliance responsibilities fall on you as the merchant.

Frequently asked questions

The following questions and answers cover how surcharging behaves, who it applies to, and which compliance duties are yours.

Do I need to notify my buyers about surcharging?

Yes. As the merchant, it is your responsibility to communicate updates to your buyers related to surcharging before you begin surcharging them. Maxio recommends a 30-day or 1-billing period notification ahead of the planned surcharging activation date.

To identify which buyers will be affected, see Identify Buyers Impacted by Your Surcharge Settings.

Does surcharging apply to all payment types?

No. Surcharging applies to credit cards, including Apple Pay or Google Pay transactions funded by a credit card. Debit and prepaid cards are not eligible.

Where can surcharging be used?

Surcharging is supported for buyers with a billing address in the United States, including the supported U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Are taxes applied to the surcharge?

It depends on your tax setup. If your site has a surcharge tax code configured, either automatically set when you connect a supported tax integration or entered manually in your surcharge settings, the surcharge fee is taxed using that code. If no surcharge tax code is configured, the surcharge fee is not taxed.

On a site connected to Avalara AvaTax, the surcharge is not simply taxed in full whenever a code is configured. AvaTax taxes the fee based on the taxability of the other charges on the same invoice: a surcharge next to only non-taxable products gets $0 tax, a surcharge next to a mix of taxable and non-taxable products is taxed on the taxable share only, and a surcharge next to only taxable products is taxed on its full amount. This matches the tax shown in AvaTax's own record of the invoice. Other tax integrations apply the surcharge tax code to the full surcharge amount without this proration.

Can I use surcharging without Advanced Billing?

No. Surcharging is only available for customers using Advanced Billing (and optionally Billing Portal). Core-only implementations are not supported.

Are there compliance requirements?

Yes. While Maxio provides the tooling, you are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and card network rules. Maxio recommends consulting legal counsel to confirm compliance for your specific business.

Does this support multi-currency scenarios?

Surcharging is designed for USD-based invoicing and settlement. Other currency scenarios are not fully supported or tested.

Are partial payments supported?

Partial payments via the admin panel or API are not fully supported with surcharging at this time.

Related information

For an overview of how surcharging works, see Understand Credit Card Surcharging.