Confused about Apple's high tax percentage on my music subscription - is 13.6% tax rate normal?
So I'm freaking out a bit over my Apple Music subscription. I contacted their customer support about a billing question, and they told me I paid $1.49 in taxes for my subscription. When I did the math, that works out to a 13.6% tax rate which seems crazy high to me. I've lived in the US my whole life and I've never seen a sales tax that high anywhere. The highest I've ever paid is like 9% in some cities. I'm wondering if maybe the customer service rep gave me wrong information? Or maybe this isn't actually "tax" but some other fee they're calling tax? I checked my statement again and the charge does show up as tax, but I'm super confused why it would be that high. Has anyone else noticed this with their Apple subscriptions? Is there something I'm missing about how digital services get taxed differently?
20 comments
Join the conversation
Alicia Stern
What you're probably seeing is a combination of state sales tax, local/city tax, and possibly digital service taxes that some jurisdictions have implemented. Digital subscription services can have different tax treatments than physical goods. The rep likely gave you accurate information about the amount, but didn't break down the components. In some areas, when you combine state, county, city, and special district taxes, you can definitely exceed 10%. Then add any specific digital service taxes, and 13.6% becomes possible in certain locations. Also, Apple might be calculating tax on the pre-discount price if you're on any promotional rate. Check your subscription details to see if that explains the discrepancy.
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•Thanks for explaining that! I didn't realize digital services could be taxed differently. I'm in Chicago, and I know we have some extra city taxes, but I never thought it would add up to that much. Is there any way to see a breakdown of these taxes? The Apple statement just shows one lump sum for "tax.
0 coins
Alicia Stern
•You're welcome! Chicago actually has one of the highest combined tax rates for digital services in the country. The city implemented a 9% "amusement tax" on streaming services a few years ago, which applies on top of regular Illinois sales tax. Unfortunately Apple doesn't typically provide a detailed tax breakdown on their statements. You could request an itemized receipt by contacting support again, but they might not have that level of detail available to share with customers. The tax calculation happens on their end based on your billing address and the applicable rates for all jurisdictions that apply to you.
0 coins
Gabriel Graham
I had the exact same issue with my Apple subscriptions last year! Turns out I was getting absolutely hammered with taxes because of how digital services are taxed differently. What really helped me was using https://taxr.ai to analyze my subscription statements. I uploaded my Apple receipt and it actually broke down all the different tax components that were being applied. Apparently my state had added a special digital media tax on top of regular sales tax, plus there were county surcharges I wasn't aware of. The tool showed me exactly what was happening with all my subscription services, not just Apple.
0 coins
Drake
•Does this actually work for subscription services too? I thought tax analysis tools were just for income tax returns. Can it really break down sales taxes that Apple doesn't even itemize on their own statements?
0 coins
Sarah Jones
•I'm skeptical - how would a third party service have better information about tax breakdowns than Apple themselves? Sounds like they're just making educated guesses based on known tax rates in your zip code.
0 coins
Gabriel Graham
•Yes, it absolutely works for subscription services! The tool doesn't just analyze income tax documents - it can process receipts, subscription statements, and other payment documents. It uses the location data and service type to apply the correct tax jurisdictions and rates. They're not making guesses - they're applying the actual tax codes for your specific location. What Apple doesn't show you on your statement, taxr.ai calculates based on the relevant tax laws. It helped me understand exactly why my total was so high and even identified a billing error where I was being charged tax based on an incorrect location.
0 coins
Drake
Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. I was shocked to discover that I was being charged taxes based on my old address! I moved from Chicago to Indiana 6 months ago but apparently the billing address for my Apple account never updated properly. The service showed me I was still paying Chicago's crazy high digital services tax even though I don't live there anymore. Fixed my address with Apple and my subscription tax immediately dropped by like 7%. Would never have figured that out without the detailed breakdown!
0 coins
Sebastian Scott
If you're still confused after all this, you might want to just call the IRS directly. I had a similar issue last year with taxes on digital services. I tried calling Apple multiple times but kept getting different answers. I eventually used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent. There's a video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Instead of waiting on hold for hours, they got me connected to an IRS rep in like 20 minutes who explained exactly how digital services should be taxed in my state.
0 coins
Emily Sanjay
•Why would the IRS know anything about sales tax? Isn't that a state/local issue? The IRS only handles federal income tax, right? I don't see how they would help with Apple subscription taxes.
0 coins
Jordan Walker
•This sounds like a scam. There's no way some random service can get you to the front of the IRS phone queue. Everyone knows those wait times are ridiculous by design.
0 coins
Sebastian Scott
•You're right that the IRS primarily handles federal income tax, but they can still provide guidance on how digital goods are taxed. They won't know your specific local rates, but they can explain the general framework for how these services should be taxed. The service isn't a scam at all - it doesn't put you at the "front of the line." What it does is place the call for you and wait on hold, then calls you when an agent picks up. You're still in the same queue as everyone else, but you don't have to personally sit there listening to hold music for hours. It saved me a ton of time and frustration.
0 coins
Jordan Walker
I owe everyone an apology. After calling Claimyr a scam, I was still desperate to figure out my own digital service tax issues so I tried it anyway. IT ACTUALLY WORKS. Got a call back in about 45 minutes with an IRS agent already on the line. They couldn't help directly with my Apple tax issue since it's state-based, but they transferred me to someone who pointed me to my state's department of revenue. Finally got a clear explanation of why my streaming services have such high tax rates. Not Apple's fault at all - turns out my city added a 5% "luxury digital service" tax last year on top of regular sales tax.
0 coins
Natalie Adams
Former Apple support here. This is a common question we got. Apple has to collect taxes based on your billing address and the applicable tax rates. Different jurisdictions classify digital services differently - some places consider it a luxury, others an entertainment service, and others just regular taxable goods. You should check your Apple ID address. If it's incorrect, you might be charged based on the wrong location. Also check if you have any other Apple subscriptions that might be bundled together for tax purposes.
0 coins
Elijah O'Reilly
•Is there any way to get a detailed breakdown of the taxes from Apple? When I look at my statement it just shows one amount labeled "tax" without specifying state vs local vs whatever else.
0 coins
Natalie Adams
•Unfortunately Apple's systems don't provide customers with detailed tax breakdowns. The billing system calculates the total tax amount based on multiple factors, but the customer-facing statements only show the final amount. If you really need a detailed breakdown, you could try contacting Apple support and requesting a special tax detail report, but not all support agents have access to generate these, and they're typically only provided for business accounts or for tax exemption verification purposes.
0 coins
Amara Torres
The same thing happened to me but with Spotify! Tax was like 14.2% and I was so confused. Turns out I had moved counties but my billing address was still using my old address which had higher local taxes. Check your billing address in your Apple account. Even if you updated your Apple ID info, sometimes the billing address for subscriptions updates separately.
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•That's a good point about the billing address potentially being different. I'll definitely check that. Did you just go into your Apple ID settings to update it, or is there somewhere else I need to look?
0 coins
Amara Nwosu
I work in tax compliance for a digital services company, and what you're experiencing is actually quite common. The 13.6% rate you're seeing is likely a combination of multiple tax layers that Apple has to collect based on your billing address. Here's what's probably happening: your base state sales tax, plus any county tax, city tax, and potentially a specific digital services tax. Many jurisdictions have added special taxes on streaming and digital subscriptions in recent years - some call them "amusement taxes" or "digital goods taxes." Chicago is notorious for this - they have a 9% amusement tax on top of regular Illinois sales tax. If you're in a high-tax area, 13.6% is unfortunately not unusual for digital subscriptions. The key thing to check is your billing address in your Apple account settings. Make sure it's current and accurate, because Apple calculates tax based on that address, not where you physically are when you use the service.
0 coins
Jamal Wilson
•This is really helpful context! As someone new to understanding digital service taxes, I had no idea there were so many different layers that could stack up. The Chicago amusement tax example is eye-opening - 9% on top of regular sales tax would definitely explain why people are seeing such high rates. I'm curious though - do you know if there's any movement to standardize how digital services are taxed across different jurisdictions? It seems like the current patchwork system creates a lot of confusion for consumers who don't realize they might be paying vastly different rates depending on where they live. Also, is there typically any recourse if someone discovers they've been charged tax based on an incorrect address for months or years? Would companies like Apple provide refunds for the difference, or is the customer just out of luck?
0 coins