# How tax amounts work

Understand the tax amounts Stripe Tax reports and how they relate to tax collection, filing, and remittance.

Stripe Tax displays several amounts to help you understand your tax activity. These amounts include your tax liability and tax amounts based on payment status. If you use [automatic filing](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/filing.md#filing-with-stripe), Stripe Tax also displays your estimated tax due. In the Dashboard and [tax reports](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/reports/choosing-a-report.md), you can filter these amounts by location and date range.

## Tax filing and tax payments

These amounts relate to filing tax returns and remitting tax owed to tax authorities. They apply regardless of whether a customer has paid you the amount charged, including tax. Stripe Tax reports them on an [accrual basis](https://stripe.com/guides/introduction-to-revenue-recognition#the-difference-between-cash-and-accrual-accounting).

| Amount | Description | Calculation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Estimated tax due | The estimated amount of tax due when you file a return with a tax authority. It includes any applicable adjustments, such as discounts or refunds from prior periods. | Tax liability, after adjustments |
| Remitted tax | The amount of tax paid to a tax authority, as part of filing a return. | Estimated tax due, after rounding and currency conversion |
| Tax liability | The total tax charged that you owe on transactions recorded in Stripe Tax, including imported transactions. | Collected tax plus uncollected tax plus unconfirmed tax |

## Payment collection status

These amounts depend on whether a customer has paid you the amount charged, including tax. Stripe Tax reports them on a [cash basis](https://stripe.com/guides/introduction-to-revenue-recognition#the-difference-between-cash-and-accrual-accounting).

| Amount | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Collected tax | Tax on transactions where you’ve received full payment. For example, a customer has completed a Checkout Session or paid an invoice. |
| Uncollected tax | Tax on transactions where you’re waiting to receive payment. For example, an invoice you sent that a customer hasn’t paid. This might be negative if credit notes, refunds, or voids exceed unpaid sales. |
| Unconfirmed tax | Tax on transactions where Stripe can’t confirm the payment collection status. For example, transactions imported from third parties or reported using the standalone Tax APIs. |

## How these amounts differ

### Tax liability versus estimated tax due

Estimated tax due can differ from tax liability because a filed return can include adjustments that aren’t reflected in Stripe transaction data. These adjustments vary by location and can include:

- Credits or prepayments
- Early filing discounts
- Location-specific rounding
- Currency conversion

### Collected tax versus tax liability

Collected tax uses a [cash basis](https://stripe.com/guides/introduction-to-revenue-recognition#the-difference-between-cash-and-accrual-accounting) and tax liability uses an [accrual basis](https://stripe.com/guides/introduction-to-revenue-recognition#the-difference-between-cash-and-accrual-accounting). Stripe Tax uses tax liability to determine tax owed when filing a return, whether or not the tax is collected.

| Scenario | Collected tax | Tax liability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Invoice 1: A paid invoice with a 100 USD subtotal and a 10% tax rate. | 10 USD | 10 USD |
| Invoice 2: A finalized and sent invoice with a 100 USD subtotal and 10% tax rate. | 0 USD | 10 USD |
| **Total** | **10 USD** | **20 USD** |

- Collected tax includes only tax on completed payments processed through Stripe, such as completed Checkout Sessions or fully paid invoices.
- Tax liability includes tax on all completed payments and [finalized invoices](https://docs.stripe.com/invoicing/integration/workflow-transitions.md#post-finalized) processed through Stripe or imported into Stripe Tax. This amount includes tax regardless of whether it has been collected.

## See also

- [File tax](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/filing.md)
- [Remit tax](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/remittance.md)
- [Reconcile numbers across tax reports](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/reports/reconcile.md)