Understand unexpected billing charges from YouTube

If you are seeing an unexpected charge from YouTube on your credit card or bank account (shown as 'GOOGLE*YouTube'), read below for reasons why you may have been charged.

How to deal with unexpected charges from YouTube

Subscribe to the YouTube viewers channel for the latest news, updates and tips.

I was charged too much

• Adjustment to the tax rate: You may see minor fluctuations in your monthly billing charge due to changes in tax rates related to your paid membership. Tax on YouTube purchases is determined based on tax laws where you're located, and can change over time due to local tax requirements. You can learn more here and find receipts for your transactions, including any tax applied, in Google Pay.

• You have upgraded to a family plan: If you recently upgraded to a family plan, your monthly billing charge will be higher than it was for an individual plan. Visit http://youtube.com/purchases to see your plan status and charges.

• Fees: Your bank or card company may charge fees for international transactions, depending on your location. Additionally, there could be changes in the total amount due to the conversion between your local currency and USD.

• Authorisation holds: You may see an authorisation hold for an amount similar to your monthly billing charge. These authorisations happen so that YouTube can make sure that the card is valid, and to check that you have enough funds in your account to make the purchase, but they are not an actual charge. Learn more about authorisation holds here.

You can see the billing charges for your YouTube paid memberships by visiting http://youtube.com/purchases.

YouTube Premium pricing error on student plans: Due to a technical issue, some YouTube Premium members who signed up for a recurring student plan were overcharged. We've initiated refunds to all affected members. If you're a student and wish to continue your Premium subscription at a discounted rate, make sure that you confirm your current enrolment before your current billing cycle ends. To do so, click the 'Confirm now' button within the email that we sent to your account.

I was charged for a trial

You may see a charge after signing up for a trial if you weren't eligible. Only first-time YouTube Premium, Music Premium and Google Play Music subscribers are eligible for trials.

If this is your first time signing up for a trial, you may be seeing an authorisation hold, not a charge. These authorisations happen so that YouTube can make sure that the card is valid, and to check that you have enough funds in your account to make the purchase when your trial ends. Learn more about authorisation holds here.

I was charged multiple times

Here are the most common reasons why you're seeing multiple charges from YouTube:

• You have more than one membership on your account: Take a look at these common duplicate subscription scenarios to see if you may have mistakenly signed up for overlapping paid memberships.

• You may be seeing a charge for a different Google subscription or service: Check the 'Activity' in your Google Pay account to confirm the details of the charge and verify if it is from a YouTube paid membership.

• You have more than one account with a YouTube paid membership. You or someone with access to your account may have signed up using another email address, device or billing platform. To check for other Google Accounts:
  1. Click your profile picture .
  2. Click Switch account.
  3. You should see a tick mark next to the account that you're currently signed in as. If you see another account listed that also belongs to you, tap on it to switch to that account.
  4. Check if your other account is signed up for a paid membership by visiting http://youtube.com/purchases. If there are no other accounts listed, you can always try signing in using other Google Accounts that belong to you and check for active memberships.

• You may be seeing an authorisation hold or 'pending' charge: These authorisations happen so that YouTube can make sure that the card is valid, and to check that you have enough funds in your account to make the purchase, but they are not an actual charge. Learn more about authorisation holds here.

I see a charge that I didn't make

If there is a charge on your account that you don't recognise, take a look at these suggested next steps and instructions for filing an unauthorised charge claim.