In the United States, TikTok Shop’s standard referral fee is 6% on most categories (5% for selected jewelry). Payment processing is generally included in referral. Refunds can add a refund admin fee of ~20% of referral (cap $5 per SKU). Creator commission, FBT or self-ship, and returns sit on top of that platform cut.
Defaults below match our dated fee model. Official rates live in TikTok Shop Seller Center / Seller Academy (US) — always re-check before you set price or open collabs.
US fee table (2026 model)
| Fee | Typical amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Referral — most categories | 6% | Core platform commission on qualified orders |
| Referral — jewelry (selected) | 5% | Diamond, gold, jade, platinum/carat gold, ruby/sapphire/emerald-type sub-categories (confirm list) |
| New seller promo (optional) | ~3% for ~30 days* | Conditional / time-limited; not a permanent base rate |
| Payment processing | Generally included | Usually wrapped into referral in the US |
| Refund administration | 20% of referral, cap $5 / SKU | Applies on refunds; model as expected value with your return rate |
| FBT single unit (placeholder) | ~$3.58 | Planning only — paste live fee from official FBT rate card |
| FBT multi-unit (placeholder) | ~$2.86 / unit | Weight/tier tables update frequently |
| Creator / affiliate commission | Seller-set (often 8–25%) | Not a fixed TikTok “tax”; commonly larger than referral |
*Promos depend on eligibility and Seller Center missions. FBT figures are approximate placeholders, not official tier prices. See Sources & methodology and the fees-by-country overview.
What US sellers often miss
“TikTok only takes 6%” is incomplete. On many winning US SKUs, creator commission is 12–20% of sell price — two to three times the referral fee. Add self-ship postage or FBT, ads, and an 8–12% return rate, and contribution margin can compress quickly even when the product “looks cheap to list.”
The US refund admin fee is small per refunded order when referral is only 6% (20% × $1.80 referral on a $30 sale ≈ $0.36, well under the $5 cap), but it stacks with reverse logistics and lost product value. Price and offer design should absorb expected returns, not only the headline referral percentage.
Worked profit examples (US)
Numbers below are planning illustrations using the same structure as our calculator: sell price minus COGS, referral, creator commission, and fulfillment. Return impact is noted qualitatively; run the live tool for full expected-value returns.
General category 6% · 12% creator · $5.00 COGS · $3.80 self-ship · no ads
- Referral 6% → $1.20
- Creator 12% → $2.40
- COGS + ship → $8.80
- Platform + creator + fulfill + COGS → $12.40
- Net before returns ≈ $7.59 (~38% of price)
Thin COGS helps; a 20% creator open collab would cut another ~$1.60 and still leave room on this SKU.
General 6% · 15% creator · $8.50 COGS · $4.00 self-ship (matches calculator prefill)
- Referral 6% → $1.80
- Creator 15% → $4.50
- COGS + ship → $12.50
- Subtotal costs → $18.80
- Net before returns ≈ $11.19 (~37% of price)
Swap self-ship for FBT at ~$3.58 and net can improve if your true postage + pack labor exceeds the FBT unit fee — model both.
Jewelry 5% · 10% creator · $18.00 COGS · $4.50 self-ship · no ads
- Referral 5% → $3.00
- Creator 10% → $6.00
- COGS + ship → $22.50
- Subtotal costs → $31.50
- Net before returns ≈ $28.49 (~47% of price)
Higher AOV absorbs fixed-ish shipping better. Confirm your SKU maps to the 5% jewelry list — wrong category assumptions break the model.
Open US calculator with this $29.99 scenario
Prefills region US, price $29.99, COGS $8.50, creator 15%. Adjust shipping, returns, FBT, and new-seller promo on the full tool.
US referral base vs promo vs jewelry
Use 6% as your ongoing planning rate for most US categories. Switch to 5% only when Seller Center shows a jewelry (or other documented) exception for that listing. Toggle a new-seller promo only while you are clearly eligible — building a P&L that assumes permanent 3% referral is a common first-year mistake.
Compared with the UK and EU 9% all-in structure, US 6% looks cheaper on paper. Landed COGS, creator norms, and return culture still dominate. Compare like-for-like in the 2026 multi-country fee overview.
FBT vs self-ship (US)
Official FBT pricing is a weight/size rate card that TikTok updates over time. Our calculator ships with ~$3.58 single and ~$2.86 multi-unit as editable placeholders so you can scenario-plan before you open the rate card. For go-live decisions, copy the unit fee from the linked FBT Academy article (or your latest billing) into the FBT field.
Self-ship should include postage, mailer, label, pick/pack time, and failed-delivery risk — not just the carrier sticker price. If that all-in cost is above FBT for your weight band, FBT may win even after storage considerations.