Amazon FBA fees and surcharges in 2026: dates, triggers and margin math

This guide covers US Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees for brands selling through Seller Central, and how to size each one per stock keeping unit (SKU). Amazon’s rate cards sit behind the Seller Central login, and trade sites quote conflicting amounts for several fees. Where the numbers disagree, we explain how the fee works and where in your account to read your own rate. Last verified October 7, 2026.

What changed in Amazon FBA fees in 2026?

Three changes added cost in 2026. Amazon raised US FBA fulfillment fees by an average of $0.08 per unit sold on January 15, 2026. Amazon’s 2026 aged-inventory surcharge schedule started January 16, 2026, charging from 181 days in storage. On April 17, 2026, Amazon added a temporary 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge to FBA fulfillment fees, and the fees introduced in 2024 still apply on top.

How much did the January 15, 2026 fee update add?

Amazon’s 2026 US fee update raised FBA fees by an average of $0.08 per unit sold, which Amazon put at less than 0.5% of an average item’s selling price. Amazon announced it on October 15, 2025, and it took effect January 15, 2026 (Amazon, October 2025). Amazon said there would be no new FBA fee types in 2026, and the update followed a year, 2025, in which it held US referral and FBA fees flat.

The average is a planning number, not your number. Amazon prices fulfillment on each product’s price, weight and dimensions (Amazon), so two SKUs in one catalog can move by very different amounts. Your change is:

Fee change per month = (2026 fulfillment fee − 2025 fulfillment fee) × units shipped per month

Pull the current fee per ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) from the FBA Fee Preview report, which holds estimated selling and fulfillment fees for FBA inventory with active offers and refreshes every 72 hours (Amazon SP-API docs). If a SKU’s fee rose far more than $0.08, check the dimensions and weight Amazon holds for it before you accept the higher tier.

How does the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge work?

Since April 17, 2026, Amazon has added a temporary 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge to US FBA fulfillment fees, about $0.17 per unit on average (Amazon Seller Forums, April 2026). The surcharge reached Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) and Buy with Prime fulfillment fees on May 2, 2026. It is 3.5% of the fulfillment fee, not of the selling price. Amazon has given no end date.

The arithmetic is short:

Surcharge per unit       = FBA fulfillment fee × 0.035
Surcharge per month      = units shipped × FBA fulfillment fee × 0.035
Margin points of price   = surcharge per unit ÷ selling price
Price rise to absorb it  = added cost per unit ÷ (1 − referral fee rate)

A $5.00 fulfillment fee carries $0.175 of surcharge. Heavier and bulkier products pay more in dollars because the surcharge follows the fee. The last line matters when you reprice: Amazon takes its referral fee on the higher price too, so covering $0.175 at a 15% referral rate takes about $0.21 of price.

Amazon calls the surcharge temporary and says it will keep evaluating it. Annual figures that assume 12 months overstate the cost if it ends early. The announcement also covers Canada and Remote Fulfillment with FBA.

When does the low-inventory-level fee apply?

The low-inventory-level fee, charged since April 1, 2024, applies to FBA products that carry consistently low stock relative to sales. Amazon charges it only when historical days of supply is under 28 days on both the short-term (last 30 days) and long-term (last 90 days) measures (Amazon Seller Forums). Amazon says holding more than four weeks of inventory relative to sales avoids it (Amazon Seller Forums).

Amazon staff listed these exemptions when the fee launched:

• new Professional sellers, for 365 days after their first inventory is received
• new-to-FBA parent products, for 180 days after their first inventory is received
• products auto-replenished by Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD)
• since May 15, 2024, products that sold fewer than 20 units in the past 7 days (Amazon Seller Forums, 2024)

At launch the fee covered standard-size products and was measured per parent product. Industry reports say that Amazon now calculates it per FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit, the ID for each variation) instead of per parent ASIN, and applies it to bulky items too. We could not confirm that on a public Amazon page, and published fee amounts conflict, so read your status and rate on the FBA Inventory page in Seller Central. If the reported change holds, a well-stocked parent no longer covers a variation that runs short.

Low-inventory exposure = fee per unit × units shipped while the SKU sits under 28 days of supply

The FBA Manage Inventory Health report carries historical-days-of-supply and minimum-inventory-level metrics that Amazon added to help sellers avoid this fee (Amazon SP-API changelog, December 2023). The fee gives you a band to manage: enough stock to stay above 28 days of supply, but not so much that units age past 181 days.

What is the inbound placement service fee, and can you avoid it?

The inbound placement service fee, charged since March 1, 2024, covers Amazon’s cost of distributing inventory to fulfillment centers close to customers. It applies to standard-size and large bulky products. Amazon says you can reduce it or avoid it entirely depending on whether you send a shipment to a single location or to multiple locations (Amazon Seller Forums).

At launch Amazon put the average at $0.27 per unit for standard-size and $1.58 for large bulky products. From January 15, 2025, it cut the large bulky fee for minimal shipment splits by an average of $0.58 per unit (Amazon Seller Forums, 2025 fee update). Take today’s amounts from your rate card. The lowest placement fee is not always the cheapest shipment, because more destinations can mean more freight and slower receiving:

Inbound cost per option = placement fee × units + freight to every destination + cost of slower receiving

What do storage and the aged-inventory surcharge cost in 2026?

Amazon charges monthly storage on the daily average volume your inventory occupies, in cubic feet (Amazon), with a higher peak rate from October through December (Amazon Seller Forums). On top of storage, a 2026 aged-inventory surcharge schedule took effect January 16, 2026. It charges monthly for units stored 181 days or more, and the rate rises with age (Amazon Seller Forums, 2026).

Trade sites disagree on 2026 base storage rates, so take yours from your rate card or the FBA Storage Fees report. The aged-inventory schedule comes from an Amazon staff post:

Amazon assesses the surcharge on the 15th of each month and charges it between the 18th and the 22nd, in addition to regular storage fees. Items listed under clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry and watches are excluded. The step to watch is day 271, where the rate goes from $1.50 to $5.45 per cubic foot, more than 3.6 times.

Cubic feet per unit      = length × width × height (inches) ÷ 1,728
Aged surcharge per month = units in tier × cubic feet per unit × tier rate
366 days and over        = the greater of that figure or units × per-unit minimum

Amazon introduced a separate storage utilization surcharge in 2023 for sellers who store a high volume of inventory relative to recent weekly sales (Amazon Seller Forums). Check whether your storage charges include it.

How does the returns processing fee hit high-return products?

Since June 1, 2024, Amazon has charged a returns processing fee on products, other than apparel and shoes, whose return rate exceeds a threshold for their category. The fee applies only to each returned unit above the threshold, not to every return. In months when a product ships fewer than 25 units, the fee is not applied (Amazon Seller Forums, 2024).

The mechanics decide when the cost lands:

• Amazon measures returns over three months, starting with the month the product shipped and ending two calendar months later.
• It charges after that window closes. Returns of units shipped in June are charged in September.
• For products in the New Selection Program, Amazon waives the fee on the first 20 returned units above the threshold.
• An Amazon staff reply in the same thread says returns caused by Amazon’s error are left out of the calculation.

The Return Insights dashboard shows your return rate against the threshold. Thresholds differ by category and can change, so don’t plan on figures copied from blogs. Separately, Amazon charges returns processing on orders where it gives the customer free return shipping (Amazon).

Fee-bearing units        = returned units − (category threshold × units shipped)
Returns processing cost  = fee-bearing units × per-unit fee shown in your account

The lag is the trap: a bad batch shipped in June shows up in September, often after you have reordered from the same supplier.

What changed when Amazon stopped prepping and labeling FBA inventory?

Since January 1, 2026, Amazon no longer offers FBA prep and item-labeling services in the US marketplace (Amazon SP-API changelog). Any prep or item labels your products need must now be handled by your supplier, your own team or a third-party prep provider before the shipment reaches Amazon. That cost belongs in landed cost per unit.

A related change removed some labeling for brand owners. For inventory shipped on or after March 31, 2026, Amazon ended commingling. Brand owners with the Brand Representative role in Brand Registry no longer need Amazon barcode stickers on products that already carry a manufacturer barcode, while resellers must sticker even when one exists (Amazon Seller Forums, December 2025). After your first shipments without Amazon prep, check the FBA Inbound Performance report, which lists the shipment problems Amazon records by product and shipment.

How did FBA reimbursement rules change?

Since October 23, 2024, most manual FBA reimbursement claims must be filed within set windows, often 60 days (Amazon Seller Forums, 2024). Since March 31, 2025, Amazon values inventory lost or damaged before a customer purchase at your manufacturing cost, not your selling price (Amazon Seller Forums, 2025). Both changes reduce what flows back to you, which raises the effective cost of FBA.

Since November 1, 2024, Amazon reimburses items lost in fulfillment centers automatically once they are reported lost. All removal claims still have to be filed manually. For shipments sent to Amazon, check the current window on the Seller Central help page.

Manufacturing cost means your cost to source the product or to produce it, excluding shipping, handling, customs duties and other costs (Amazon Seller Forums, December 2024). If you don’t submit it, Amazon applies its own estimate, which you can change on the Manage Your Manufacturing Cost page in the Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal. Items lost or damaged after a customer order are still reimbursed at the sales price minus applicable fees. If Amazon’s estimate sits below your real cost, every reimbursed unit pays you short.

Worked example: one SKU through the 2026 changes

Line, per unit	Before the 2026 changes	After April 17, 2026
Selling price	$29.99	$29.99
Referral fee (assumed 15%)	$4.50	$4.50
FBA fulfillment fee	$5.31	$5.50
Fuel and logistics surcharge (3.5% of the fee)	$0.00	$0.19
Landed cost of goods	$8.00	$8.00
Contribution before storage, returns and ads	$12.18	$11.80

This hypothetical SKU sells 1,200 units a month. Its fulfillment fee rose $0.19, more than twice Amazon’s $0.08 average, and the surcharge adds $0.1925 per unit. Together:

• added cost per unit: $0.3825, or 1.3 points of the $29.99 price and about 3% of unit contribution
• added cost per month: 1,200 × $0.3825 = $459
• added cost per year: about $5,508, if the surcharge stays in place for 12 months
• price rise to absorb it at a 15% referral rate: $0.3825 ÷ 0.85 = $0.45

Now storage. The unit measures 10 × 8 × 4 inches, or 0.185 cubic feet, and 300 units from a launch over-order reach day 271 next month.

At 241–270 days they cost 300 × 0.185 × $1.50 = $83 a month in aged surcharge. From day 271 the same units cost 300 × 0.185 × $5.45 = $302 a month, about $1.01 per unit per month. Per unit affected, that is more than twice the fee update and surcharge combined, every month the units stay.

Returns follow the same logic. Suppose 1,200 units ship in June and 132 come back by the end of August, an 11% return rate. With a category threshold of 8% (a hypothetical figure; read yours in Return Insights), 96 returns fall inside it and 36 units carry the fee. That charge arrives in September.

What should you do first?

Start with the costs already on your statements and the deadlines closest to you: 2026 fees per SKU, the 3.5% surcharge in your pricing, units nearing day 181 and day 271 in storage, return thresholds, and reimbursements still inside their 60-day windows.

1. Export the FBA Fee Preview report and flag every top SKU whose fee rose more than Amazon’s $0.08 average.
2. Add the 3.5% surcharge to every unit-economics sheet, pricing model and ad break-even target. The FBA fee impact estimator does the monthly and annual math.
3. In the FBA Manage Inventory Health report, list units within 60 days of day 181 and day 271, and SKUs under 28 days of supply.
4. Open Return Insights and list products above their category threshold. Allow for the three-month lag.
5. Reconcile the Inventory Ledger against the FBA Reimbursements report every month, well inside the 60-day windows, and submit your manufacturing cost so reimbursements use your number.

How LIVELE helps

The FBA fee impact estimator is free. It models the two Amazon-confirmed 2026 changes, the January 15 fee update and the 3.5% surcharge, and shows every formula it uses.

Fees are one part of what The Missing Piece™, LIVELE’s fixed-fee profit-leak diagnostic, measures. We work from your Seller Central reports and cost data, size fee, storage and returns costs per SKU alongside the other leak types, and deliver a prioritized recovery roadmap.

Your team can run the roadmap, or LIVELE Consulting can help implement it. We don’t run pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, and we never ask for your password. Read how The Missing Piece works or the guide to the seven profit leaks in Amazon brands.