More accurate net profit: actual collected tax + shipping fix
Net profit now subtracts the sales tax or VAT you actually collected (net of refunds) and no longer double-counts shipping. Learn about the new setting and what tax profiles are for now.
We've made two changes to how your net profit is calculated. For most stores, your profit number will now be a bit lower — because it was counting money that was never really yours. Here's what changed, why, and what you can do about it.
What changed
Net profit now subtracts the sales tax or VAT you actually collected
Your net profit is now calculated from the real sales tax and VAT on your Shopify orders, net of refunds — pulled straight from the orders themselves, not estimated from a percentage.
Fixed a shipping double-count in revenue
Customer-paid shipping was being added into revenue on top of the order total, which already includes it — overstating what you were actually bringing in. Shipping is now counted exactly once.
Why your profit may look lower
The sales tax or VAT your customers paid at checkout was never your profit. It's pass-through money — you collect it from your customers and remit it to the tax authority. But until now, it was being counted as part of your revenue, which made your profit look larger than it really was.
Removing it — along with the shipping correction — means your profit now reflects the money you actually keep. If your number went down, that's accuracy, not a loss. The money was owed to the tax authority all along.
A new setting: "Subtract collected tax from profit"
This behavior is controlled by the Subtract collected tax from profit setting in your environment's settings. It is on by default — the right choice if you remit the sales tax or VAT you collect.
If you don't remit sales tax or VAT — for example, you sell tax-free products, or you're below your region's registration threshold — you can turn it off in your environment settings, and collected tax won't be subtracted from your profit.
When to turn it off
Because the setting is on by default, your profit already reflects collected tax from day one. If you're not registered to remit sales tax or VAT, flip the setting off in your environment.
What tax profiles are for now
Your configured tax rates are no longer a stand-in for your actual collected tax inside net profit. They now serve two clearly labeled roles:
- Planning and forecasting — for example, estimating income-tax prepayments, shown as a labeled "Planned taxes" forecast that stays separate from your net profit.
- Reconciliation — comparing the rates you configured against what Shopify actually collected, so you can see where your estimates match reality and where they drift.
Where each number lives
Your actual collected tax is the primary number in profit, and it's available on every plan. Anything derived from your tax profiles — forecasts and reconciliations — is clearly labeled as an estimate or plan, and remains a Growth-plan feature.
That's the whole update: more accurate profit, no more pass-through tax masquerading as revenue, and a clearer picture of what you actually keep.
See your more accurate profit
Open your Profitone dashboard to review the new numbers and adjust the setting to match your business.
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