Billing & Tax

There are two ways to buy a paid plan, and they have different sellers. If you subscribed on our website, Polar is our merchant of record: prices are listed before tax, and Polar adds any VAT, GST, or sales tax at checkout based on where you are. If you subscribed in the iOS app, Apple is the seller, sets the price in your local currency, and handles the tax and receipt.

Who you pay

The merchant of record is the legal seller of your subscription and appears as the merchant on your card statement. Your card details go straight to them and never touch our servers. Payment, tax, and receipts are all handled on our behalf by the seller. For the full legal detail, see section 7 of our Terms.

Your free month

The free month is an introductory offer for new customers, so it is offered once and not to anyone who has subscribed or trialled before. It starts an annual subscription with a payment method on file, set up by Polar on the web or by Apple in the iOS app. You are not charged during the month. Unless you cancel first, it becomes a paid subscription on the first payment date shown on your Subscription page, at the price you were shown at checkout. Cancel before that date and nothing is charged.

Why prices are shown before tax

Our listed prices are in US dollars and shown before tax. Sales tax, VAT, and GST work differently in every country, so the final amount depends on where you are. Rather than guess, we show the base price and let the seller calculate the exact tax for your location at checkout.

ℹ️ Note: Any applicable tax appears as a separate line and is added to your total on the checkout page, so you can review the full, tax-inclusive amount before you confirm. Nothing is charged until you do.

How tax is calculated

Polar determines the correct tax from your billing location: VAT in the UK and EU, GST in countries that charge it, and sales tax in US states that apply it. Where no tax applies to digital subscriptions, none is added. Polar collects and remits that tax to the relevant authority on our behalf and issues your receipt.

Business and VAT IDs

If you're buying as a business in the UK or EU, you can enter a valid VAT ID at checkout. Where you're eligible, the reverse charge is applied and VAT is not added to your total. Your receipt reflects this and can be used for your records.

Receipts and invoices

Your receipt is issued by whoever sold you the subscription, and they manage the payment side of it. For an invoice or a copy of a receipt, use the customer portal link on your receipt, or open your account menu, choose Subscription, and select Manage Subscription to open the same portal.

Changing your plan

Plan changes happen in that same portal. Upgrading charges the difference for the rest of your current period straight away, so you get the new plan immediately.

Downgrading works the other way: the difference is held as credit on your account rather than going back to your card. That credit is applied automatically to your next renewal, so the next invoice is reduced by the amount you are holding. If you would rather have the money back instead, email [email protected]. Credit is money you already paid rather than time you have not used yet, so it can be paid out, and any credit you still hold when you delete your account is returned to your payment method automatically. That applies on monthly and annual plans alike.

Cancelling and refunds

Cancelling, refunds, and your rights under consumer law are covered in full in our Refund and Cancellation Policy. The short version: subscription payments are not refunded outside the rights consumer law gives you, which for most people means a 14-day window after a new purchase, including the payment a free trial turns into. Cancelling keeps your access until the end of the period you already paid for. Deleting your account ends your access immediately and does not refund the remaining paid time, so cancel first and delete after the period runs out if you want to use what you paid for. Any billing credit you hold when you delete is paid back automatically. If you believe consumer law entitles you to a refund, email [email protected] and we will issue it.

Refunds are issued by whoever sold you the subscription: Polar for subscriptions bought on our website, Apple for subscriptions bought in the iOS app. The VAT, GST, or sales tax you paid comes back with the rest, so the figure refunded matches what left your account.

If a billing question is not answered there, email [email protected] and we will help where we can.

Where to next

• Refund and Cancellation Policy: how to cancel and when we refund.
• Data security: how we protect your financial data.
• Account security: set up 2FA and manage sessions.