- Short answer
- Billing credits come off your next Shopify bill within their category; unused ones expire 60 days after deactivation, Rewards credits on cancellation.
- Which charges
- Only its own category: subscription, app, shipping or transaction. It can't cover another.
- Current or outstanding charges
- Future cycles only; exceptions: a credit note on an unpaid bill, a developer's credit on a pending app charge
- Exact day the 60 days start
- Tied to deactivation; no exact start date named on the Shopify billing pages we read on October 13, 2026
Where do credits on your Shopify bill come from?
They're not the Shopify Credit card, and not the store credit you give customers.
Where credits come from
| Event | You get | It reduces |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify issues a credit note | Unpaid bill: the amount due drops. Paid bill: it can trigger a refund | That bill |
| You upgrade your plan mid-cycle | Prorated credit for unused days | The new plan's invoice |
| You downgrade a paid app mid-cycle | Application credit, automatically | Future app charges |
| An app developer awards one | App credit, shown in Billing | Future app charges |
| You take an approved refund as account credit | Account credit | Your next bill |
| You qualify for the domain offer or Shopify Rewards Promotion | Subscription credits | Future subscription bills |
For your books: Settings > Billing > Past bills, open the bill, click Download credit note (PDF).
Proration math: how Shopify prorates a plan change.
Which charges can a credit pay for?
Credits fall into four categories: subscription, app, shipping and transaction. A credit can't move to another category; it goes to your next invoice in its own.
They cover future billing cycles only, not current or outstanding charges. A credit note differs: on an unpaid bill, it cuts that bill's amount due. An app developer can also issue a credit that removes a pending app charge before payment.
- Settings
- Billing
- View remaining credits
What happens to unused credits if you close your store?
If you deactivate, credits remain available for 60 days, then unused ones expire. Shopify's offers page says differently for Shopify Rewards Promotion credits: if you cancel your subscription at any time, you lose your earned credits. More in what happens after you cancel.
None of the Shopify billing pages we read on October 13, 2026 names the exact date the 60 days count from, or an expiry for credits on an active store.
Apart from a credit note, which can trigger a refund on a bill you've already paid, don't count on cash: Shopify decides credits and refunds at its discretion, with no guarantee.
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