Country-specific fees

On November 1, 2020, Google Ads will begin charging new fees for ads serving in specific countries. To learn more about each specific fee, select the country where the fees apply (For example, select Austria for Austria DST Fees).

About country-specific fees

Regulatory Operating Costs or DST Fees may be charged in addition to your advertising costs every time an ad is served in specific countries. These new fees are associated with the cost of doing business in these countries.

As of November 1, 2020, a 5% Austria DST Fee will be added to your next invoice or statement for ads served in Austria. The fee is driven by the new digital services tax in that country.

As of November 1, 2020, a 2% UK DST Fee will be added to your next invoice or statement for ads served in the United Kingdom. The fee is driven by the new digital services tax in that country.

As of November 1, 2020, 5% Turkey Regulatory Operating Costs will be added to your next invoice or statement for ads served in Turkey. The Regulatory Operating Costs are being added due to significant increases in complexity and cost of complying with regulations in Turkey.

When fees are charged

Automatic payments & Monthly invoicing

We'll add the fees to your Google Ads costs once at the end of every month, to be paid the next time you are charged. These fees will also be added on top of your account budget if you’ve set up one. For example, if you have a budget of €100 and accrue €5 in Austria DST Fees for ads served in Austria, you’ll be billed €105 (plus any taxes, such as VAT, that may apply in your country). Learn more about adjusting your account budget

The new fees will be subject to any taxes, such as sales tax, VAT, GST, or QST that apply in your country. Any taxes, such as sales tax, VAT, GST, or QST that apply in your country will be charged in addition to the new fees.

Manual payments or prepayments

If you pay through manual payments or make a prepayment on your automatic payments account, these fees may be charged after your payment has been fully spent. You may be left with an open balance that will be automatically deducted from your next prepayment. For example, if you accumulate €5 of Regulatory Operating Costs for ads served in Turkey, and you make a new payment for €100, you would have €95 credit towards displaying ads (€100 - €5), and your available balance would show €95.

The new fees will be subject to any taxes, such as sales tax, VAT, GST, or QST that apply in your country. Any taxes, such as sales tax,VAT, GST, or QST that apply in your country will be charged in addition to the new fees.

Where to check for fees

You can see the fees in either of the following places in your Google Ads account:

In your monthly invoice or statement as a separate line item per country
In the "Transactions" section of your Google Ads account.
- You’ll be charged for advertisements served in specific countries. To view a DST or Operating Costs charge, click the tools icon and under “Billing” choose Summary, then click Transactions from the menu on the left.

How fees are calculated

Fees are charged based on the number of ad impressions or clicks that are served in a specific country. If you advertise in several countries, you’ll only be charged fees when ads have been served to people in the impacted countries. (For example, If you advertise in Germany, Austria and Poland, you will be charged only the fees that correspond to the countries where the fees are applicable).

To calculate the fees you’ve been charged, you can use the location report.