# Missing tax information (US, retired in 2025)

The "Missing value [tax]" issue disapproved US offers that had no sales tax settings in Merchant Center. Since 1 July 2025 Google no longer requires US merchants to provide sales tax, so the requirement is gone. On Shopify, seeing it now usually points to an old report or tax in the price.

- **Canonical URL:** https://www.feedlab.io/knowledge/errors/missing-tax-information
- **Last reviewed:** 3 November 2026
- **Source:** feedlab knowledge base
- **Licence:** free to quote and cite with attribution to feedlab


## How this appears in your account

- `Missing value [tax]`
- `Missing tax information`


## Why it happens on Shopify

### The issue predates the July 2025 change

Until 1 July 2025 Google required tax information for every product sold in the US, through account tax settings or the tax attribute. US accounts without either had all their offers disapproved, and guides written for that period still describe it as mandatory.

### An exported report or third-party tool still shows it

Downloaded diagnostics, agency audits and feed tools can carry the old issue forward after Merchant Center itself stopped enforcing it. Check the live product status before acting on an exported list.

### Tax has been included in the US price instead

A merchant trying to resolve a tax issue sometimes adds sales tax into price. For the US, Google's specification says price must exclude sales tax, so this creates a price mismatch with the storefront rather than fixing anything.




## How to fix it

1. **Check the current status in Merchant Center** — Open an affected product and look at its live issues rather than an older export. Google said offers disapproved for missing tax information may begin receiving traffic after the change, with no action needed.
2. **Do not create tax settings just to clear the issue** — Since July 2025 US sales tax is no longer a requirement, through the tax and tax_category attributes or the account tax settings. Setting them up to satisfy an outdated guide adds data to maintain without changing eligibility.
3. **Keep US prices tax-exclusive** — Submit price as the pre-tax amount for the US, matching how a US Shopify storefront normally displays it. Adding sales tax to price is a common side effect of chasing this issue and leads to mismatches.
4. **Review campaign spend on previously blocked items** — Google noted that offers which return to serving after the change may affect associated campaign spend. If a large part of the catalogue was disapproved for this reason, check budgets and product groups before those items start receiving traffic.



## How feedlab handles this

feedlab does not need to emit a tax attribute for US feeds, and a price rule can keep the submitted price tax-exclusive for US targets while including tax for markets that expect it. Validation before publish and the rule preview show the exact price each market's feed will carry.






## Frequently asked questions

### Do I still need to set up US sales tax in Google Merchant Center?

No. Since 1 July 2025 Google no longer requires merchants to provide US sales tax, whether through the tax and tax_category attributes or the tax settings in Merchant Center.

### Should my US feed prices include sales tax?

No. Google's product data specification says US and Canadian prices must exclude sales tax, unlike most other countries where VAT or GST is included in the price.

### Why do older guides say tax settings are mandatory?

Because they were, for US offers, until July 2025. Advice written before then is outdated on this point, and following it is no longer necessary.




## Primary sources

- [Google: Merchant Center product data specification update 2025](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264)
- [Google: Product data specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112)