Surcharging Recurring & Subscription Payments (2026)
Subscriptions, memberships, and payment plans are repeated card charges — each is a separate transaction that must meet the same rules, with one extra wrinkle: prior disclosure.
Last verified: 2026-09 · Educational reference, not legal advice
A monthly subscription surcharge is lawful where the state permits, capped, debit-excluded, and disclosed. Because the customer is billed automatically, the disclosure should appear at sign-up, not just on the first receipt.
Every installment is a transaction
Each recurring charge is a card transaction subject to the cap, debit exclusion, and disclosure. The recurring nature adds one duty: tell the customer about the fee before the first charge hits their card.
- Confirm your state’s surcharge status.
- Disclose the surcharge at sign-up and on each invoice.
- Exclude debit on each charge.
- Print a separate receipt line each cycle.
- Honor refund/cancellation terms; monitor failed debit attempts.
Surcharging a recurring debit (for example an ACH-on-card) breaches the debit rule; ensure the recurring method is genuinely credit, not a debit run as credit.
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Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Where permitted, yes — each recurring charge is a card transaction subject to the cap, debit exclusion, and disclosure.
Disclose at sign-up and on each invoice; the key is that the customer expects the recurring fee before it hits their card.
Each installment follows the same rule; disclose the per-payment fee up front in the plan terms.
Educational content, not legal advice. Cashbizly is an independent educational resource. Nothing here is personalized legal advice and it does not replace a licensed attorney or your state’s Attorney General.
Our state-by-state status reflects the consensus of published 2025–2026 compliance guides (card-network rules, LawPay, Stax, NCSL) as of the “last verified” date on each page. Surcharge law changes frequently and is actively litigated — always confirm current figures with your state Attorney General or a professional. Read our full disclaimer.