When you're running a campaign, transparency is key, especially when it comes to how and when your backers will be charged. One area that can sometimes catch backers by surprise is sales tax or VAT. To build trust and avoid confusion down the line, we recommend proactively communicating how taxes will be handled before your campaign ends.
Kickstarter’s Pledge Manager makes it simple for you to collect any required taxes after your campaign ends, based on where your backers live and what they’ve chosen to receive. Below are a few places you can include this information to help set clear expectations:
In your campaign FAQ
- "Will I be charged sales tax?"
- Yes, applicable sales tax or VAT will be collected when you complete your backer survey in Kickstarter's Pledge Manager after the campaign ends. This ensures you pay only what's legally required based on your shipping location and reward selection.
In your campaign updates
- Consider adding something like: "A quick note about taxes: We're using Kickstarter's Pledge Manager. If you are a backer in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, or European Union, any required sales tax or VAT will be collected when you fill out your post-campaign survey. This ensures you're only charged the exact tax amount required for your location and keeps us compliant with tax laws worldwide."
In your reward descriptions
- You can put a brief mention of the tax and shipping expectations in the bottom of your rewards description, for example:
- SHIPPING & TAXES: Shipping and taxes are NOT included. You’ll pay those when your reward is ready to ship. (more info in the Shipping & Taxes section)
Dedicated section in the campaign story
You can make a dedicated section with "Shipping, Taxes, Tariffs and Duties" (or any collection of variable cost information) on your campaign page (usually near the bottom). Here is an example of shipping guidance creators provide in a section like this: