Tax-inclusive display looks like tax was added twice

Separate what was entered from what was displayed

WooCommerce's documented tax options include separate fields for whether prices are entered with tax, how shop prices are displayed, how cart and checkout prices are displayed, and how tax totals are displayed. The calculation address basis is another setting. Read the actual values in the affected store. A price typed into the product editor and a number displayed to a buyer are different comparison points, even when their numerals happen to match.

Copy the saved product price and its configured entry basis beside the shop and checkout display bases. Include the exact visible wording about tax. If the person who entered the product price intended an inclusive amount but the entry setting describes an exclusive amount, record that disagreement for the configuration owner. Do not merely toggle a display setting to make the page look correct; first establish what the entered amount was intended to mean.

Use records from the incident time where available. Today's settings can show how the store is configured now, but cannot establish what an earlier order used after a change. Preserve any dated configuration record and identify historical settings that remain unknown.

Reconcile one order without counting an included component again

Start with the same product option, quantity and currency throughout. Retain the actual product subtotal, applied discounts, shipping or other charges, tax lines and final order total. Label each amount according to the record that supplies it: tax included, tax excluded or basis not established. An amount described as inclusive already contains its stated tax component. Adding that component again in your own worksheet would create an apparent difference that the payment record may not contain.

Compare the order total with the amount actually charged in the provider record for that order, keeping any separate payment events identifiable. Do not compare a fee-reduced payout with the buyer's charge. If the tax line is disclosed within an inclusive total and the charged amount agrees with that total, the visible line alone supplies no evidence of a second addition. Agreement with the order total still does not prove the tax calculation itself was correct.

If you cannot establish whether a subtotal includes tax, leave the arithmetic unresolved instead of forcing it to balance. If the provider amount differs from the order total, preserve that separate discrepancy. If both agree but differ from the price basis intended by the merchant's tax owner, investigate that configuration conflict. These are different findings and can require different changes.

Keep discounts, location and currency in the comparison

An advertised product price may precede the actual order's discount. Record the coupon that was applied and the discounted amounts the order actually retained. WooCommerce documents different core coupon types and restrictions, and extensions can change behavior. Do not rebuild the incident using an undiscounted catalog amount or an assumed coupon result. This page does not supply a tax-after-discount formula.

Record the configured calculation address basis and whether the comparison uses the same location context, without copying a private address into the worksheet. WooCommerce's general settings also control currency display. A different currency or location context makes two screenshots an incomplete comparison; it does not by itself explain the amount. The official tax excerpts establish that the settings exist, not the liability, rate, rounding result or correct setup for this merchant.

Choose the change from the documented finding

Use three outcomes. If the figures reconcile and the tax line is already included, identify the wording that confused the buyer and ask the responsible owner to clarify it. If the saved price basis conflicts with the intended basis, obtain the tax owner's confirmed requirement and have the store maintainer assess the affected prices and configuration. If the amount still cannot be reconciled, preserve the exact unresolved component rather than claiming duplicate taxation or issuing a correction from a screenshot alone.

For a Prism checkout-review consultation, provide the platform, the visible wording, the compared settings and a non-sensitive summary of the difference. Confirm any configuration review or implementation scope, responsibilities, fees and terms before work starts. Tax applicability and the intended treatment require the merchant's tax owner; the consultation does not supply a tax ruling or authorize changes to existing orders.

Price-basis comparison

Use one real order and the settings that applied to it where known. Record amounts with currency and inclusive or exclusive basis. Do not add a tax component twice when reproducing a total. An unknown basis prevents a reliable reconciliation; it is not evidence of a second charge.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.