Amazon Introduces a Separate Digital Services Fee

In brief: the Amazon digital services fee became a separate charge in 2024. Digital services taxes (DST) are taxes some governments charge big tech companies. The UK rate is typically 2%; France, Italy, Spain and Canada typically charge 3%. From 2021 Amazon had covered this by quietly raising its selling fees (and FBA fees in the UK and France). From 1 October 2024 it cut those fees back and instead charged a separate digital services fee, set by where your business is established and which store you sell in. For a UK-established seller selling in the UK, that's 2% on top of selling fees and FBA fees.

How the 2024 digital services fee is set

Your business is in	Selling in the UK store	Applied to
UK	2%	Selling fees and FBA fees
France	3%	Selling fees and FBA fees
Italy, Spain or Canada	3%	Selling fees only

Amazon chose a fixed rate by seller location and store, rather than one that changes with each customer's location, to keep the fee predictable. It appears in the Revenue Calculator and, from 1 October 2024, as its own line in the Transaction view.

Worked example

A UK-based seller makes a £15 sale on Amazon.co.uk. With a £2.25 selling fee and £3.30 FBA fee, the digital services fee is 2% of each: about 5p and 7p — 12p on the sale. Across 5,000 such sales a month, that's roughly £600.

What happened next

In March 2026 Amazon changed the fee again, basing it on the tax rate where the sale happens; UK sellers now pay 3% on sales in France, Italy and Spain — see the 2026 digital services fee changes.

What it means for your bookkeeping

• A new line to account for. From October 2024 the fee appears separately in settlements. Give it its own account (or sub-account of Amazon fees) so you can see what DST costs you.
• Selling fees drop at the same time. Because Amazon removed DST from its base fees, your referral and FBA fee lines fall slightly from 1 October 2024 while the new fee appears. Compare them together, not separately.
• UK VAT applies. For UK sellers the digital services fee is billed with 20% UK VAT, reclaimable if you're VAT-registered — see reclaiming VAT on Amazon seller fees.

How TrueBooks helps

TrueBooks posts the digital services fee as its own line in every settlement, with UK VAT, so the cost of DST is visible in Xero separately from your other Amazon fees. See the Amazon Xero integration.