How do I do a partial refund on Shopify?

Open the order and click Refund. Set the quantity on the line items you're refunding, choose whether to include shipping, or type in a custom amount. Shopify sends its own refund notification, so follow it up with your own email if the customer needs to see how you got to the number.

Can I deduct return postage from a refund?

If your policy says the customer pays for returns and they could see that before buying, generally yes, including in the UK and EU. What you can't do there is keep the original delivery charge when someone cancels a whole order within 14 days. That goes back too, up to the cost of your cheapest standard delivery. This isn't legal advice.

Should I offer a partial refund on a damaged item?

Offer it, don't impose it. Some customers would much rather keep a slightly scuffed item with 20% back than wait a week for a replacement. Others want the replacement, and if the item is faulty, that's largely their call.

Is a partial refund better than a full refund for keeping the customer?

Only when it's clearly fair. A deduction the customer understands (they wore the shoes, they chose express and it was late) rarely costs you the customer. One they don't understand often does, whatever the amount.

Refunds templates

Partial refund email templates that show the maths before the customer asks

Updated October 19, 2026

Partial refund email templates shown as a round pie in a tin with one slice lifted out

Partial refund email templates live or die on a single line: the sum. Show the order total, what you're keeping back and why, then the amount you've refunded, and most customers accept it without a fuss. Leave the sum out and they'll assume you've short-changed them, even when you haven't.

The templates

1. One item returned from a bigger order

NeutralEmail

Subject: Refund for the [item] from order [#1234]

Hi [first name], The [blue linen shirt] arrived back with us on [date], so I've refunded it. The rest of your order isn't affected. Order total: [€112.00] Refunded for [1 x blue linen shirt, size M]: [€48.00] The [€48.00] goes back to your [Visa ending 4417] and usually shows up within [5-10 working days]. [Your name] [Store name]

2. Return postage deducted

NeutralEmail

Only if your policy says the customer pays for returns and they could see that before buying.

Subject: Your refund for order [#1234]

Hi [first name], Your return arrived on [date] and I've processed the refund. As our returns policy says, return postage is paid by the customer, so the cost of the label we sent has come off the total. Item: [€65.00] Original delivery: [€4.95] Return label: [-€5.50] Refunded: [€64.45] It's on its way to your [Mastercard ending 2210] and should appear within [5-10 working days]. The policy is here if you want to check it: [link to returns policy]. [Your name] [Store name]

3. Item came back used

FirmEmail

In the UK and EU you can deduct for handling beyond what a shop would allow, but you generally can't refuse the return outright inside the 14 days. Keep photos.

Subject: Your return for order [#1234]

Hi [first name], Your return for the [trainers] arrived on [date]. They've been worn outdoors (there's [wear on the soles and a mark on the left toe], photos attached), so we can't resell them as new. Because of that, I've deducted [€30.00], which is [the difference between the full price and what we can sell them for as used stock], and refunded the rest: Paid: [€95.00] Deduction for wear: [-€30.00] Refunded: [€65.00] If you think I've got this wrong, reply with any photos you took before sending them back and I'll look again. [Your name] [Store name]

4. Keep it, with money back for the flaw

WarmEmail

An offer, not a decision. If they'd rather have a replacement or a full refund for a faulty item, give them that.

Subject: A small refund for your [item]

Hi [first name], Thanks for the photo, and sorry about the [scratch on the lid]. If you're happy to keep the [jewellery box] as it is, I've refunded [20%] of the price, [€9.00], to your [card ending 4417]. If you'd rather have a replacement or a full refund instead, just say. I'll undo the [€9.00] and sort that out. [Your name] [Store name]

5. Delivery refunded for a late order

WarmEmail

Subject: Sorry your order was late: delivery refunded

Hi [first name], Your order [#1234] arrived on [date], [four days] after we promised. That's not good enough when you'd paid for [express delivery], so I've refunded the [€7.95] delivery charge to your [card ending 4417]. You don't need to do anything. It'll show up in [5-10 working days]. [Your name] [Store name]

6. Short version for chat or WhatsApp

NeutralChat / WhatsApp

Done. Of your [€112.00] order I've refunded [€48.00] for the [shirt] you sent back. The rest stays as it is. It goes to your [Visa ending 4417] and takes [5-10 working days] to show.

Show the sum, every time#

Most disputes over partial refunds start with a number that's smaller than the customer expected and arrives with no explanation. Lay it out the way a receipt would: what they paid, each thing you're keeping back with its reason, and the refund. Three or four lines is plenty, and it'll save you the reply that starts "I think there's been a mistake".

If you're on Shopify or WooCommerce, both let you refund individual line items and decide whether shipping goes back, so the number in your email can match the number in the admin exactly. Hay.chat reads those same order lines once it's connected to Shopify or WooCommerce. The sums in its drafts come straight from the order.

Deductions the law cares about#

In the UK and EU, when a customer cancels within 14 days, you can deduct for wear beyond what a shop would allow, and you can pass on return postage if you said so before they bought. You generally can't keep the original delivery charge on a full cancellation, and you can't invent a restocking fee. Our guide on how to write a no refund policy goes into the exceptions. None of this is legal advice.

When the whole amount's going back, the refund approved templates are shorter, and the reply templates hub has the cancellation and shipping ones.

What to include

The order total, each deduction with its reason, and the amount refunded, laid out as a sum.
The line in your policy that allows each deduction, linked.
Where the money's going and roughly when it'll arrive.
If they're keeping the item, say so in as many words.
What to do if they disagree, and what evidence would change your mind.

Don't say this

"A partial refund has been issued."

Of what? Partial is the one word guaranteed to make someone open their banking app and start an argument.
"Minus applicable fees."

Which fees? Name each one and give its amount, or don't deduct it.
"A restocking fee has been applied."

Not unless your policy says so up front. In the UK and EU you generally can't charge one on a 14-day cancellation at all.
"We've been more than fair here."

Let the numbers make that case. Saying it out loud invites the customer to disagree.

Shopify — The sums come from the order. Big deductions still get a person's sign-off.

When a person should take over

If the customer disputes a deduction and sends their own photos, a person should look at both sets before replying.

Deductions that come to more than half the order value deserve a person's sign-off. At that point it starts to look like a refusal.

If the same product keeps coming back with the same flaw, that's a stock problem, and someone needs to hear about it.