Presets
Calculator Inputs
Batch scenarios (import CSV of amounts)
Example data table
| Scenario | Subtotal | Rule | Surcharge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card fee (2.9% + 0.30) | USD 120.00 | Blended | USD 3.78 | USD 123.78 |
| Service fee with cap | USD 2,000.00 | Percent 3.0%, max 25 | USD 25.00 | USD 2,025.00 |
| Tiered processing | USD 7,500.00 | 1000@2.5%, 5000@2.0%, rest@1.5% | USD 140.00 | USD 7,640.00 |
These examples are illustrative. Confirm policy terms with your provider.
Calculation history
Recent results are stored locally in your session (last 75).
| Timestamp | Cur | Qty | Subtotal | Discount | Shipping | Type | Core | Intl | Risk | AH | Tax | Total | Eff% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No records yet. Run a calculation to populate history. | |||||||||||||
Formula used
- Subtotal = amount × quantity
- Surcharge base depends on base selection
- Core percent: base × (rate ÷ 100)
- Core fixed: per transaction or per item
- Core blended: fixed + percent
- Core tiered: progressive sum across brackets
- Core caps: clamp(core, min, max)
- Add-ons: intl% + risk% + after-hours flat
- Surcharge total = core + add-ons
- Tax: surcharge tax = surcharge total × (tax rate ÷ 100)
- Total = (subtotal − discount) + shipping + surcharge total + tax
- Effective rate = surcharge total ÷ surcharge base
Tiered example: base 7,500 with 1000@2.5%, 5000@2.0%, rest@1.5% → 25 + 80 + 35 = 140.
How to use this calculator
- Enter base amount, quantity, and optional discount/shipping.
- Select the surcharge base rule (items, with shipping, or after discount).
- Choose a core surcharge type and configure rate, fixed fees, or tiers.
- Add optional caps, rounding, and tax on total surcharge.
- Enable add-ons like international, risk buffer, or after-hours fee.
- Estimate, review charts, and export history as CSV or PDF.
Fee drivers and practical baselines
Surcharges typically combine a percentage charge with fixed components. For card-style pricing, a blended pattern like 2.9% plus 0.30 is common for small baskets, while caps are often used to protect large-ticket transactions. This calculator keeps subtotal, discount, and shipping separate so you can test policy wording precisely.
Choosing the correct surcharge base
Many fee schedules apply the rate to items only, while others include shipping or apply after discounts. Changing the base can move fees materially. For example, adding a 15 shipping charge to a 3% fee increases the surcharge by 0.45, before rounding and tax. Use the base selector to mirror your contract language.
Tiered pricing and effective rate behavior
Tiered structures reduce marginal cost as volume rises. With 1000 at 2.5%, 5000 at 2.0%, and the remainder at 1.5%, a 7,500 base produces 140 in core fees. The effective rate becomes 1.8667%, which is lower than the first tier, and is reported automatically for auditing.
Rounding, minimums, and caps in real settlements
Payment rails and billing systems often round to the nearest cent, nickel, or whole unit. A minimum fee ensures small transactions remain viable, while a maximum cap limits customer impact on high values. This calculator applies caps first, then rounds, helping you replicate typical settlement logic and spot threshold effects.
Add-ons, tax, and installment planning
International, risk, and after-hours adjustments are modeled as explicit add-ons. Add-on rates apply to the same base for transparency, then a single tax can be applied to the total surcharge. Installments divide the final payable amount to support budgeting; the charts summarize composition and show how totals move across scenarios.
FAQs
1) What is the difference between core surcharge and add-ons?
Core is the main rule (percent, fixed, tiered, or blended). Add-ons are optional extras like international or risk buffers, kept separate so you can see their impact clearly.
2) Does the calculator apply caps before or after rounding?
Caps and minimums are applied to the core surcharge first, then rounding is applied. This mirrors many billing systems and avoids rounding pushing values above a cap.
3) How is the tiered surcharge calculated?
Each tier rate applies only to the portion of the base within its bracket. The calculator sums bracket charges progressively, using “inf” for the final open-ended tier.
4) What does “effective rate” mean?
Effective rate is total surcharge divided by the surcharge base, expressed as a percent. It helps compare different rule styles on the same transaction amount.
5) Can I compare multiple amounts with the same surcharge rules?
Yes. Paste CSV rows in the batch scenarios section to compute totals for multiple amounts using the same current rule settings, then review the scenario chart.
6) Is the PDF export server-generated?
No. The PDF is generated in your browser from the history table, which avoids server-side dependencies and keeps the file self-contained for simple hosting environments.