How do I add tax and shipping info to avoid Merchant Center feed disapprovals?
Quick Answer
Configure tax and shipping settings in Merchant Center or include them in your product feed attributes.
Why Tax and Shipping Info Is Required
Google requires accurate tax and shipping information because users need to know the total cost before clicking your ad. Misleading pricing - even unintentionally - damages user trust and violates Google's policies.
Price Accuracy Matters
If a user sees $50 in your Shopping ad but discovers $65 at checkout due to tax and shipping, they feel deceived. Google prevents this by requiring complete pricing information upfront.
What Happens Without Proper Setup
- Products disapproved for missing shipping information
- Products disapproved for missing tax information (US only)
- Potential account-level warnings if issues are widespread
- Lost visibility in Shopping results
Two Ways to Configure Tax and Shipping
You can provide tax and shipping information through two methods:
Account-Level Settings
Configure in Merchant Center. Applies to all products unless overridden in feed.
Best for: Most merchants with consistent shipping and standard tax rules
Product Feed Attributes
Include shipping and tax in your product data feed.
Best for: Variable shipping by product, complex tax situations
Most merchants use account-level settings for simplicity, with feed attributes only for exceptions.
Setting Up Tax (US Merchants)
Tax configuration is required for US merchants. International merchants typically do not need to configure tax separately as it is included in the product price.
Account-Level Tax Setup
Using Google-Determined Rates
For most merchants, selecting "Use Google-determined tax rates" is the easiest option. Google calculates rates based on delivery location using their tax database.
Feed-Level Tax Attribute
For product-specific tax rates, use the tax attribute in your feed:
tax:US:NY:8.875:y
Setting Up Shipping
Shipping configuration is required for all merchants. You must define shipping costs for every country you sell to.
Account-Level Shipping Setup
Shipping Rate Options
- Free shipping - Set cost to $0
- Flat rate - Same cost for all orders
- By order price - Rate tables based on cart value
- By weight - Rates based on product weight
- Carrier-calculated - Real-time rates from carriers
Using Feed Attributes for Shipping
For product-specific shipping costs, use the shipping attribute in your feed.
Shipping Attribute Format
shipping:US:CA:Express:9.95 USD
Required Sub-Attributes
- country - ISO 3166-1 country code (e.g., US, GB, DE)
- region - State/region (optional)
- service - Shipping service name
- price - Cost with currency
When to Use Feed Attributes
- Products with different shipping costs (heavy items, oversized)
- Free shipping on specific products only
- Products that ship from different locations
- Complex shipping rules by product type
Feed Overrides Account Settings
Shipping specified in your feed takes precedence over account-level settings for that product. Use this strategically for exceptions.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
These mistakes commonly cause tax and shipping disapprovals:
Missing shipping for all regions
If you ship to an entire country, you need shipping rates for all regions, not just some.
Website and Merchant Center mismatch
Your actual checkout shipping must match what you configure in Merchant Center.
Forgetting currency
Shipping prices must include currency code matching your target country.
Not setting up all target countries
Each country you target needs its own shipping configuration.
Verifying Your Setup
After configuration, verify everything is working:
Check in Merchant Center
- Go to Products > Diagnostics
- Look for shipping or tax-related errors
- Check individual products for attribute issues
Test Your Products
- Use the product preview to see calculated shipping
- Verify tax shows correctly for test locations
- Compare with your actual website checkout
Full Compliance Check
Our scanner checks your website for issues that commonly cause Merchant Center disapprovals, including pricing and checkout problems.
Run Compliance Check