If you're planning to sell tickets (rather than just collecting donations), you'll need to ensure you're complying with your local tax laws. This article walks through:
What taxes apply
How Social Sync flags taxable vs. non-taxable sales
Whether to use Stripe Tax
How to configure your Stripe account
Regional responsibilities (see Tax Setup by Region)
🎟️ Are ticket sales taxable?
Yes. While donations are generally non-taxable, ticket sales for events, workshops, raffles, or other benefits are usually taxable.
Type of Payment | Taxable? | Examples |
Donations | ❌ No | Marathon sponsorship |
Tickets/Sales | ✅ Yes | Event ticket, dinner seats |
How Social Sync helps
Social Sync automatically sets the tax behaviour of transactions in Stripe:
Donations → flagged as non-taxable
Tickets → flagged as taxable (event admission)
This means Stripe Tax (if enabled) can apply the correct tax rates automatically without any manual input.
By default, ticket prices in Social Sync are VAT inclusive. That means if you set a ticket price at £10, this already includes VAT (currently 20% in the UK).
Breakdown:
Gross ticket price: £10
VAT portion (20% of £10): £1.67
Net revenue (before Stripe fees are deducted): £8.33
Your responsibilities
As the merchant of record, you are responsible for:
Registering for VAT or sales tax (if applicable)
Collecting tax from buyers (via Stripe or another method)
Filing and paying taxes to the relevant tax authorities
Stripe Tax overview
Stripe Tax is an optional add-on, which can be enabled independently by each customer through your Stripe account, that:
Automatically calculates VAT/sales tax based on buyer location
Adds the correct amount to checkout
Tracks thresholds for cross-border selling
Generates downloadable tax reports
There are no upfront fees — Stripe charges 0.5% per taxable transaction, automatically deducted as part of the transaction fee.
ℹ️ Stripe only charges this fee on taxable transactions. Donations and other non-taxable payments are not subject to the 0.5% Stripe Tax fee.
Pros:
Reduces manual work
Helps avoid tax mistakes
Supports multi-country sales
Cons:
⚠️ Adds 0.5% per taxable transaction (on top of Stripe's payment processing fees)
Does not file or remit your taxes
Already connected to Stripe?
If you are already connected to Stripe, simply review your settings:
Go to Stripe > Settings > Tax
Complete the guided setup
Add your tax registrations (VAT, sales tax, GST, etc.)
📍 Regional requirements
Tax laws differ depending on where you're based. Visit our Tax Setup by Region guide for detailed steps based on your country.