Card Surcharge Calculator Australia
Free Australian card surcharge calculator. Enter your sale amount and your provider's processing fee (percentage plus any fixed per-transaction fee, with presets for Square, Stripe, PayPal, EFTPOS and Amex) to see the exact surcharge that recovers your cost of acceptance. It grosses up the surcharge so the provider's cut of the surcharge itself is covered, shows the total the customer pays, and compares what you keep if you absorb the fee instead. Includes the RBA rule that a surcharge must not exceed your actual cost of acceptance.
Card surcharging ends on 1 October 2026
From that date eftpos, Mastercard and Visa no longer allow a surcharge on debit, prepaid or credit cards, so these figures apply until 30 September 2026. If a card payment is made on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may not be available even where the invoice was issued earlier. After that the usual answer is to build the cost into your prices, which the “net if you absorb” figure below shows. RBA guidance
Transaction & fees
AUDThe price of the sale, GST-inclusive.
Presets are indicative headline rates, override with your own.
- Surcharge
- $0.00
- Total if passed on
- $0.00
- What the customer pays
- Net if absorbed
- $0.00
- What you keep, no surcharge
A surcharge must not exceed your actual cost of acceptance for that card type (RBA surcharging standard, enforced by the ACCC). These figures are a guide, confirm your real merchant-service cost and the current surcharging rules before passing fees on.
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How card surcharges work in Australia
When a customer pays by card, your payment provider keeps a cut of the transaction, its merchant service fee. A surcharge lets you pass that cost on to the customer so you still receive your full price. Under the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surcharging standard, the surcharge must not be more than your actual cost of acceptance for that payment method, and the total price including the surcharge must be disclosed before the customer pays.
The card surcharge formula
Your provider charges its percentage rate on the total amount the customer pays, including the surcharge itself. So to genuinely break even you have to “gross up”:
- Surcharge (to fully recover the fee): surcharge = (rate × sale + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − rate)
- Total the customer pays: total = sale + surcharge
- If you absorb the fee instead: you receive sale − (rate × sale + fixed fee)
Worked example: $100 sale at 1.6%
Say you make a $100 sale and your provider (e.g. Square in-person) charges 1.6% with no fixed fee. The surcharge that fully recovers the cost is $100 × 1.6% ÷ (1 − 0.016) = $1.63. The customer pays $101.63; the provider takes 1.6% of $101.63 = $1.63; and you keep the full $100. If you instead absorbed the fee, you'd receive $100 − $1.60 = $98.40.
The maximum surcharge: cost of acceptance
You can't profit from a surcharge. The RBA standard caps it at your average cost of accepting that card type, typically your merchant service fees, plus per-transaction gateway, terminal and fraud costs that are genuinely part of accepting the payment. EFTPOS/debit is usually the cheapest (often well under 1%), while premium credit and international cards cost more. The ACCC enforces the ban on excessive surcharges. Importantly, from 1 October 2026 the RBA bans surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards (debit and credit) altogether, after that date you can only surcharge networks like American Express and PayPal where your cost justifies it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a card surcharge in Australia?
Take your cost of acceptance, the percentage your payment provider charges (e.g. 1.6%) plus any fixed per-transaction fee (e.g. 30c). To fully recover the cost when you pass it on, the surcharge is calculated on the total amount the customer pays, not just the sale: surcharge = (rate × sale + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − rate). For a $100 sale at 1.6% the surcharge is about $1.63, so the customer pays $101.63 and you net $100 after the provider takes its cut.
What is the maximum card surcharge I can charge?
Under the RBA surcharging standard and ACCC enforcement, a surcharge must not exceed your actual cost of acceptance for that payment method, the average percentage cost you pay to accept that card type (merchant service fees, gateway fees, terminal rental and fraud-related costs that are part of the per-transaction cost). You cannot profit from a surcharge. If your cost of accepting Visa debit is 0.5%, you cannot surcharge it 2%.
Is it legal to surcharge card payments in Australia?
Until 1 October 2026, yes, you can pass on the cost of card acceptance, capped at your actual cost of acceptance, with the total price (including the surcharge) disclosed before the customer pays; the ACCC enforces the ban on 'excessive' surcharging. From 1 October 2026 the RBA bans surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards (debit and credit) entirely, after that you can only surcharge networks like American Express and PayPal where your cost justifies it.
Are card surcharges being banned in Australia?
Yes. On 31 March 2026 the RBA confirmed that from 1 October 2026 businesses can no longer surcharge eftpos, Mastercard or Visa payments (debit, prepaid or credit). Until then the cost-of-acceptance cap still applies. After the ban you will either absorb those fees (this calculator's 'net if you absorb' figure) or build them into your prices; you can still surcharge cards like American Express and PayPal where the cost justifies it.
Should I surcharge or absorb the card fee?
If you surcharge, the customer covers the fee and you receive the full sale amount. If you absorb it, you keep your price simple but the provider's fee comes out of your revenue, on a $100 sale at 1.6% you'd receive about $98.40. Many businesses build the average fee into their prices instead of surcharging. This calculator shows both outcomes side by side so you can compare.
Do I charge the surcharge on the GST-inclusive price?
Yes. The surcharge is calculated on the total amount the customer pays at the terminal, which is the GST-inclusive price. The surcharge itself also forms part of the consideration for the sale, so if your sale is taxable the surcharge is generally subject to GST as well. Check the ATO guidance or your accountant for how to treat surcharges on your activity statement.
Why is the surcharge slightly more than the fee percentage?
Because the payment provider charges its percentage on the total the customer pays, including the surcharge itself. To recover the full fee you have to 'gross up': you divide by (1 − rate). At 1.6% the difference is tiny ($1.60 vs $1.63 on $100), but at higher rates with a fixed fee it matters. This calculator does the gross-up for you so you genuinely break even rather than being slightly short.
Sources & methodology
How we calculate this
This calculator works out the card surcharge that recovers your cost of acceptance, the provider's percentage rate plus any fixed per-transaction fee. By default it 'grosses up' the surcharge (surcharge = (rate × sale + fixed) ÷ (1 − rate)) because payment providers charge their percentage on the total the customer pays, including the surcharge itself, so a plain rate × sale would leave you a few cents short. It also shows what you net if you absorb the fee instead. Everything is computed in your browser, nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. The maximum surcharge you may legally charge is set by the RBA surcharging standard; note that from 1 October 2026 the RBA bans surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards (debit and credit).
Authoritative sources
Reviewed by Bishal Shrestha, Founder of OneBookPlus, 10+ years building tools with Australian tax-agent and BAS-agent practices. Page last reviewed and updated: .
Disclaimer: This tool provides estimates only and is not professional advice. For decisions that affect your tax, finances, or compliance position, consult a registered professional.
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