How to Understand Cohart’s Fees and Payments Policy

Overview

Cohart’s Fees and Payments Policy, also called the Pricing Guidelines, explains every fee that can apply when you use Cohart: membership plans, payment processing, the Marketplace commission, shipping, duties and customs, sales tax, and income tax. The policy is part of Cohart’s Terms of Service.

Who it’s for — artists, galleries, and other sellers who want to know what they pay to sell on Cohart, and buyers who want to know which charges are theirs.
What it covers — which fees depend on your membership plan, which apply only to Marketplace sales (Cohart Discover and other Cohart-promoted sources), and which the buyer pays at checkout or on delivery.
Where the fees show up — plan and fee rates on the Pricing page, shipping and tax at checkout, sales tax in your profile settings, and tax forms and payouts in your financial account.
What you end up with — a clear picture of every fee that applies to a sale, and which guide to open for each one.

Before you start

The policy applies to every account. By creating a Cohart account, you agree to this policy and to Cohart’s Terms of Service.
Know how the sale happens. Some fees apply only to Marketplace sales — sales generated through Cohart Discover and other Cohart-promoted sources, such as your Cohart profile or Cohart’s marketing emails. They don’t apply to direct sales such as in-person sales, custom invoices, your website, your own marketing emails, or your private views.

Steps

1. Check the membership plans

Creating a Cohart account is free. You can upgrade to a paid membership plan to unlock more features, including the Website Builder, Email Campaigns, Tap to Pay, lower payment processing rates, and expanded business tools. Open the Pricing page to compare the Basic, Pro, Growth, and Premier plans — see How to Subscribe to a Pro, Growth, or Premier Plan and Raise Your Artwork Limit to upgrade.

The Pricing page listing the Basic, Pro, Growth, and Premier membership plans

2. Check your payment processing fee

Payment processing fees apply to transactions processed through Cohart and depend on your membership plan. They cover secure payment processing through Cohart Connect and Stripe. On the Pricing page, scroll to Compare plans to see the current Stripe card & payment processing fee and Cohart processing fee for each plan — see How to Check Your Selling Fees on Cohart for a walkthrough of each row.

The Compare plans table with the Stripe card and payment processing fee row highlighted

3. Know when the 20% Marketplace commission applies

A 20% Marketplace commission applies only to sales generated through Cohart Discover and other Cohart-promoted sources — for example, when a collector finds and buys your artwork from your profile on Cohart or from a Cohart marketing email. It is shown in Compare plans as the AI curator & discover commission fee. The commission does not apply to direct sales made through:

In-person sales, including Tap to Pay, QR code checkout, and a direct sale link
Custom invoices
Your website
Your marketing emails
Your private views

For these direct sales, only the payment processing fee for your plan is charged. See How to List Artworks in the Marketplace and Get Them on the Discover Page and How to Boost Artworks in CocoAI Curator for how Marketplace listings work.

The Compare plans table with the AI curator and discover commission fee row highlighted

4. Understand shipping fees, duties, and customs

For Ship by Cohart orders, shipping is calculated at checkout from real-time carrier rates (UPS, USPS, or FedEx) using the packaged dimensions, the package weight, the delivery destination, and the seller’s ship-from address saved under Edit Profile. The buyer pays the shipping cost during checkout. See How to Ship Sold Artwork on Cohart for details.

For international shipments, customs duties, import taxes, VAT, and other destination charges are not included at checkout unless otherwise stated. The destination country sets these charges after the package reaches its local customs center, and where they apply, they are the buyer’s responsibility.

An artwork's Shipping and Taxes notice showing the shipping fee is calculated at checkout and that VAT and taxes may apply

5. Understand how sales tax is handled

For eligible U.S. transactions processed through Cohart, Cohart can automatically calculate, collect, and file the applicable U.S. sales tax on the seller’s behalf. Sellers can also choose to manage sales tax themselves for supported sales processed through in-person sales tools or invoices. The SALES TAX section of your profile settings is where your sales tax is set — see How to Manage Sales Tax on Your Sales for the full setup.

The SALES TAX section of the profile settings with the sales tax rate highlighted

6. Know your income tax responsibilities

Artists and galleries remain responsible for their own income tax obligations. For Marketplace sales — through Cohart Discover and other Cohart-promoted sources — Cohart may request the appropriate IRS tax form before Marketplace payouts can be issued:

W-9 for U.S. sellers
W-8BEN (individuals) or W-8BEN-E (businesses) for international sellers

Your tax and identity details are collected when you verify your payout account: in Settings → Financial Accounts, click Verify next to any account marked Action Required to complete the secure Stripe verification.

These forms are only required for Marketplace sales. They are not required for direct sales: in-person sales (Tap to Pay, QR code checkout, or a direct sale link), custom invoices, your website, your marketing emails, or your private views. See How to Get Paid: Seller Payouts on Cohart for how payouts work.

The Financial Accounts list with an account flagged Action Required and its Verify button highlighted

Tips

Direct sales cost less. In-person sales (Tap to Pay, QR code checkout, direct sale link), custom invoices, your website, your marketing emails, and your private views only carry your plan’s payment processing fee — the 20% Marketplace commission applies only to sales from Cohart Discover and other Cohart-promoted sources.
Buyers pay shipping and destination charges. Shipping for Ship by Cohart orders is paid at checkout, and international duties, import taxes, and VAT are paid by the buyer where they apply.
Tax forms are only for Marketplace payouts. You won’t be asked for a W-9 or W-8BEN to be paid for a direct sale, such as an in-person sale, a custom invoice, or a sale from your website, marketing emails, or private views.

Troubleshooting

A sale paid out less than you expected → it may have come through Cohart Discover or another Cohart-promoted source, such as your Cohart profile or a Cohart marketing email, which adds the 20% Marketplace commission to the processing fee → check the sale’s source, and see How to Check Your Selling Fees on Cohart for your plan’s rates.
A buyer asks why they were charged customs or import fees on delivery → duties, import taxes, and VAT are set by the destination country and aren’t included at checkout unless stated → let the buyer know these charges are theirs to pay.
A Marketplace payout is on hold and Cohart asked for a tax form → a W-9 or W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E is required before Marketplace payouts can be issued → submit the form for your country and business type.