Tax and deposits
Holdback records the hire, deposit and payments. Shopify applies the store's tax settings. Check the final Shopify order and refund records for your bookkeeping; Holdback does not decide how a payment should be treated for tax.
At checkout
The hire fee and the separate deposit line appear on the order. The notice says the deposit is saved on the card for later and is not taken at checkout. Do not assume that the whole order total is paid today: check Shopify's payment schedule and the actual payments.
When money is kept or paid
Keep a late fee uses the agreed rate and remaining deposit. A damage claim on a saved-card hire is a separate request that the customer approves and pays. An extension fee goes by payment link, never from the saved card. Holdback's fee and claim lines are added without tax; this describes the application's line settings, not whether the payment is taxable in your jurisdiction.
The Shopify order is your record of the amounts, payments and tax shown. If you're VAT-registered, ask your accountant how to treat amounts kept for a late return (extra hire days). Ask them, too, how to account for damage and cancellation fees.
Refunds
A refund by amount does not recompute tax. Check your bookkeeping for the refund. A cancellation, lower final claim cost or return of a deposit can refund money through Shopify; use the refund record and original payment together. Do not assume that a money-only refund has recalculated line tax.
Check before using live orders
- Confirm the hire and deposit lines, what is due today and what is due later.
- Check the tax settings on each product and the resulting checkout figures.
- Compare a kept amount or payment-link payment with the order's received amount.
- Compare a release or refund with the remaining balance and refund record.
Live tax figures still need checking on the review store with its actual tax settings. The automated tests do not establish a merchant's tax treatment.