If you need to issue one of your backers with a refund, you can do so through your backer report. Your backer report can be accessed through the creator tools menu to the left of your project page, you can then issue a refund by following the below steps:
- Search for the backer in the backer report and click on their name.
- In the modal* that opens up, click the "Issue a refund" button.
- On the next page you will have the option to issue a full or partial refund.
- A full refund will result in the backer receiving 100% of their original pledge amount, including any fees.
- When issuing a partial refund you can choose to enter a specific refund amount for each item within the pledge, or simply enter a general refund amount. You can also choose to fully remove an item from a pledge.
- Select a reason for the refund and, if you’d like to, you can include a message to be sent to the backer within their refund email.
- Next, choose a refund source from the cards saved to your account, or enter a new personal credit card (this will be the card that the refund is issued from).
- Lastly, check all information is correct and click the issue refund button to confirm.
*If the backer has left a comment on your successfully funded project page, you will also be able to navigate to the modal by clicking on their name in the comment, followed by the “View pledge” button.
For refunds issued before your project's payout occurs, Kickstarter directly refunds the backer our 5% fee + payment processing fees. You are responsible for covering the cost of fees for any refunds issued after the payout.
If a backer has been issued a full refund (100% of their pledge amount), it'll be reflected in your backer report. Their status will be changed to “Dropped” and they’ll no longer be able to post comments, but you can continue to communicate with them through direct messages.
If a partial refund has been issued, the backer will remain on your backer report and will still be able to post comments on your project page. If you do not wish for the backer to gain access to your third-party pledge manager post-campaign, you will need to manually remove them from your downloaded backer report. We recommend creating a file with the names of all partially refunded backers so that you can easily find and remove them later as needed.
In instances where the backer’s original payment method has expired, or is no longer active, please refer to this article. If you receive an error message when trying to issue a refund, you may need to issue it outside of Kickstarter.
Please note: If a backer has an active dispute filed with their card issuer you will be unable to issue a refund through Kickstarter. We also recommend waiting until an outcome of the dispute has been reached before issuing a refund outside of the Kickstarter platform.
For help understanding disputed charges you can find more information here.
Can I issue multiple refunds at once?
Unfortunately not, at this time it is only possible to refund one backer at a time.
I need an invoice for a refund I issued
We are unable to provide invoices or receipts for refunds. If you need a detailed breakdown for your records, we recommend reaching out to your card issuer to get this for each transaction.
How do I refund a Late Pledge?
For a Late Pledge refund issued before that particular pledge’s payout occurs, Kickstarter directly refunds the backer our 5% fee + payment processing fees. After the payout, you will be responsible for covering the cost of fees for any refunds issued.
More information about Kickstarter refunds in general can be found here.
Can I remove a reward item from a backer’s pledge?
Yes! If a backer has changed their mind about an item in their pledge, or you are no longer able to ship a specific reward to a backer, you can remove it from their pledge with a partial refund. To fully remove it, make sure you also toggle the “Remove” button to the check mark.
If you need a list of all the refunds that have been issued for your project, please contact our Support team. They will be able to provide a report of all refunds processed by you to date.