Shopify Return Rules: Window, Fees and Final Sale Items
Shopify return rules decide when a customer can ask to return fulfilled items and what the return costs them: the return window, who pays return shipping, whether there is a restocking fee, and which products are final sale. You set them under Settings > Policies > Return and cancellation rules, and they apply to orders placed after you save.
This page follows Shopify’s Help Center page on return rules, read on October 23, 2026, and lists the options in that page’s words.
What return rules control
| Rule | Options | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Return window | 14, 30, 90 days, unlimited or custom days | Starts from each item’s delivery or from delivery of the last item in the order; can extend to the next business day when the last day falls on a weekend or holiday |
| Return window overrides | A different window for collections, products or variants | If an item is in several overrides, the shortest applies; a final sale item stays final sale |
| Return shipping cost | Free, a flat rate charged once per return, or the customer buys the label | The fee shows when you create a return and can be edited per return |
| Restocking fee | A percentage of the return | Shown to customers when they request a return; editable per return or per item |
| Final sale items | Specific products or specific collections, not both together | Customers can’t request returns or cancellations for them; bundles can’t be final sale |
Overrides let one store run several return windows at once. Shopify’s example: the default window is 30 days, a clearance collection gets 14 days and a furniture collection 90. A product in both collections gets 14 days, because the shortest override that applies wins. If you give a collection a longer window as a perk, check that none of its products also sits in a shorter one.
Final sale is for products you won’t take back at all. Shopify’s examples are perishable, custom and personal care items, and items with large discounts.
Customers see the result of these rules. When self-serve returns are on, their account shows which items are eligible, the return fees, and an estimated refund calculated from your rules. Shopify is also testing, as early access, showing your configured return window on Shop app product pages (for example, “30-day returns” next to shipping details); a policy written only as free text, with no window set, doesn’t appear there.
Two edge cases on timing: an item with no delivery date starts its window at the fulfillment date plus a buffer for transit, and items exchanged or added later get their own window from their own delivery date.
Set them up
- Go to Settings > Policies.
- In Return and cancellation rules, click the rule to edit.
- In Return window, pick the length and Starting from.
- In Return shipping cost, choose how return shipping is handled and enter a flat rate if you charge one.
- Optional: select Charge restocking fee and add a percentage.
- Optional: under Final sale items, choose Specific collections or Specific products and add them.
- Optional: click + Return window override, enter the days, choose what it applies to and add the items.
- Click Save.
A worked example of what the fees mean at refund time, with our own numbers: a customer returns a $120 jacket under a rule with a $7 flat return shipping fee and a 10% restocking fee. The fee lines show $7 and $12, but Shopify doesn’t deduct them for you. When you create the refund, you subtract them yourself, which leaves $101 to refund for the item.
Cancellation rules
Cancellation rules cover unfulfilled items and sit in the same section. Turn on cancellation requests and choose the window: No cancellations, Until item is fulfilled, 15 minutes, 1 hour or 24 hours after the order is placed. Customers can request cancellations from their account only when self-serve returns and cancellations are on, which self-serve returns explains. In our view, a short window such as 1 hour suits a store that packs orders the same day; Until item is fulfilled suits one that ships in batches, and it is the setting the EU guidance below asks for.
Different rules per market
Shopify lists this as an early access feature available only to certain merchants. If you have it, click Add rule in Return and cancellation rules, pick the markets in Eligibility, adjust the return, cancellation and final sale settings, and save. A market-specific rule replaces the default for customers in that market, while self-serve returns stay a store-level switch for all markets. Shopify’s example is the EU: Until item is fulfilled for cancellations and a return window of at least 14 days, with a shorter standard window elsewhere.
What the rules leave to you
- Fees aren’t deducted from refunds automatically, as in the example above.
- Changes apply to future orders only; orders already placed keep the rules they had.
- Every order type follows the same rules, B2B included, so you can’t give one order type its own set.
- Shopify POS needs POS Pro to use return rules.
- Tax on fees depends on your setup. From October 23, 2026, orders shipped to a US address get tax calculated on return shipping fees if you use Shopify Tax or Tax Platform, and only where the fee is taxable in that jurisdiction. Shopify doesn’t calculate tax on restocking fees. If you calculated tax on return shipping by hand before that date, review the process so tax isn’t collected twice.
Selling to the EU
Shopify says EU Directive 2023/2673 requires an electronic way for consumers to use their 14-day right of withdrawal, in effect since June 19, 2026, with the period measured from delivery of the last item. Its guidance has five settings:
- Turn on self-serve returns and cancellations with Return and cancel requests.
- Set the cancellation window to Until item is fulfilled.
- Set a return window of at least 14 days, Starting from the delivery of the last item in the order, with Extend to account for weekends or holidays selected.
- Add a visible link to customer accounts in your store, for example a menu item under Content > Menus that opens the orders page.
- Use a market-specific rule if the EU should differ from your other markets.
Shopify adds that EU refunds have to be issued within 14 days of the cancellation request, and that these settings alone don’t make a store compliant. This is not legal advice; check your setup with a legal advisor.
The written policy is the last piece. With Use automated policy on, your refund policy follows your rules and updates when they change; with it off, you update the text yourself. The policy also appears in the footer of your checkout pages. Shopify refund policy shows how to write one, and refund an order in Shopify covers paying it out. Other guides are in the shipping and returns hub.
FAQ
Where do I set a return window in Shopify? The return window is set in Settings > Policies, under Return and cancellation rules, in the Return window section.
Does Shopify deduct the restocking fee when I refund? Return fees aren’t deducted from refunds automatically, so you subtract them yourself when you create the refund.
Can I make a product non-returnable? You can add the product, or a collection it belongs to, to Final sale items, though bundles can’t be set as final sale.
Do changes to my return rules affect old orders? Changes to return rules apply only to orders placed after you save them.