# PayPal Fee Calculator

> Computes the PayPal fee and net amount for a US sale using the published US merchant rates (as of 2026-09: PayPal Checkout 3.49 % + $0.49, standard card 2.99 % + $0.49, goods & services 2.99 %, QR code 2.29 % + $0.09, +1.50 % international), or the gross amount to charge to net a target; rates can be overridden.

- Calculator id: `paypal-fee` · Category: Business & Marketing (`business`) · Tool name: `calculate_paypal_fee`
- Canonical page: https://tttkmbb.com/business/paypal-fee · This document: https://tttkmbb.com/business/paypal-fee.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/business/paypal-fee.json

## Purpose

Computes the PayPal fee and net amount for a US sale using the published US merchant rates (as of 2026-09: PayPal Checkout 3.49 % + $0.49, standard card 2.99 % + $0.49, goods & services 2.99 %, QR code 2.29 % + $0.09, +1.50 % international), or the gross amount to charge to net a target; rates can be overridden.

**Use when:** You sell or invoice through PayPal in the US and need the fee, what you will receive, or what to charge so that you receive a specific amount.

**Do not use when:** The account is outside the US or uses micropayment, non-profit or custom negotiated rates (enter those with rate_percent and fixed_fee), or you need Stripe (stripe-fee), eBay (ebay-fee) or Etsy (etsy-fee) fees.

## Input

| Parameter | Type | Unit | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `amount` | number | USD | required | Gross sale amount (or, with solve_for = amount_to_charge, the net amount you want to receive). (> 0, max 1000000000) |
| `transaction_type` | enum: checkout \| standard_card \| goods_and_services \| qr_code |  | optional, default "checkout" | Which published US commercial rate to apply. |
| `international` | boolean |  | optional, default false | Buyer outside the US: adds 1.50 % to the rate (currency conversion fees are not included). |
| `rate_percent` | number | % | optional | Optional percentage rate to use instead of the preset (e.g. a negotiated or non-US rate). (min 0, max 50) |
| `fixed_fee` | number | USD | optional | Optional fixed fee per transaction to use instead of the preset. (min 0, max 100) |
| `solve_for` | enum: fee_on_amount \| amount_to_charge |  | optional, default "fee_on_amount" | fee_on_amount treats amount as the gross charge and returns the fee and net; amount_to_charge treats amount as the net you want to receive and returns the gross price to charge. |

## Output

| Field | Type | Unit | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rate_percent_applied` | number | % | Percentage fee rate used (preset plus surcharges, or the override). |
| `fixed_fee_applied` | number |  | Fixed fee per transaction used. |
| `gross_amount` | number |  | Amount the buyer pays. |
| `fee` | number |  | gross_amount × rate + fixed fee. |
| `net_amount` | number |  | gross_amount − fee. |
| `effective_fee_percent` | number | % | fee / gross_amount × 100 (the fixed fee makes small sales relatively more expensive). |

## Formula

`fee = gross × rate/100 + fixed; net = gross − fee; amount to charge for a target net: gross = (net + fixed) / (1 − rate/100)`

Rates are PayPal's published US domestic commercial rates as of 2026-09 (international +1.50 %); PayPal changes fees periodically, so verify against the source page and override with rate_percent / fixed_fee when needed.

## Data Sources

- PayPal – Merchant fees (United States), as of 2026-09 — https://www.paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- PayPal – PayPal merchant fees — https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)

Data freshness: `static`. Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output.

## API

- `GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/paypal-fee?amount=…`
- `POST https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/paypal-fee` with JSON body `{"inputs": {…}}`
- Response: unified envelope (`success`, `request`, `result.values`, `result.units`, `sources`, `freshness`, `timestamp`, `next_actions`, `links`); see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/response-format.md
- Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/paypal-fee · OpenAPI operationId `calculate_paypal_fee` in https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json
- Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use, see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/rate-limits.md.

## MCP

- Server: `https://tttkmbb.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0, no auth)
- Tool:  `run_calculator` with `{"calculator_id": "paypal-fee", "inputs": {…}}`

## Example

- $100 via PayPal Checkout: inputs `{"amount":100}` → `{"rate_percent_applied":3.49,"fixed_fee_applied":0.49,"gross_amount":100,"fee":3.98,"net_amount":96.02,"effective_fee_percent":3.98}`
- Charge so that $500 is received (Checkout): inputs `{"amount":500,"solve_for":"amount_to_charge"}` → `{"gross_amount":518.59,"fee":18.59,"net_amount":500}`

```
GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/paypal-fee?amount=100
```

## Limitations

The account is outside the US or uses micropayment, non-profit or custom negotiated rates (enter those with rate_percent and fixed_fee), or you need Stripe (stripe-fee), eBay (ebay-fee) or Etsy (etsy-fee) fees. Rates are PayPal's published US domestic commercial rates as of 2026-09 (international +1.50 %); PayPal changes fees periodically, so verify against the source page and override with rate_percent / fixed_fee when needed. All values are computed from the formula above; no measurement or live data is involved.

## FAQ

**Which rate applies to a friends-and-family payment?**

None: personal payments funded by PayPal balance or bank are free in the US. Goods-and-services payments to a business are charged 2.99 %.

**Does the calculator include currency conversion?**

No. PayPal adds a currency conversion spread (typically 3–4 %) on top of the 1.50 % international fee when the buyer pays in another currency.

## Related

- [Stripe Fee Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/business/stripe-fee.md) — Same calculation with Stripe's card-processing rates.
- [eBay Fee Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/business/ebay-fee.md) — eBay final value fees (eBay handles payments separately).
- [Etsy Fee Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/business/etsy-fee.md) — Etsy transaction and payment processing fees.