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Requirements for the Subtotal

 

A subtotal is the total amount for the products before taxes and shipping and handling charges are added. The subtotal for a transaction must be greater than zero. If the subtotal is less than or equal to zero, PayPal declines the transaction.

To calculate the subtotal, PayPal does the following:

1Identifies the items for which the product code is not handling_only, shipping_and_handling, or shipping_only.

2Multiplies quantity * unit price for each item identified in step 1.

3Adds the values that were calculated in step 2.

Example 1Items That Cause PayPal to Decline a Transaction (NVP)

item_0_unitPrice=10.00

item_0_quantity=1

item_0_productCode=Beverages

item_0_productName=Fancy Cola

item_0_productSKU=B4859

item_0_taxAmount=10

item_0_productDescription=Description for Fancy Cola!

item_1_unitPrice=5.00

item_1_productCode=shipping_only

item_2_unitPrice=10.00

item_2_quantity=1

item_2_productCode=coupon

item_2_productName=Discount

item_2_productSKU=D1000

item_2_productDescription=1000th customer discount
Example 2Items That Cause PayPal to Decline a Transaction (XML)

<item id="0">

   <unitPrice>10.00</unitPrice>

   <quantity>1</quantity>

   <productCode>Beverages</productCode>

   <productName>Fancy Cola</productName>

   <productSKU>B4859</productSKU>

   <taxAmount>10</taxAmount>

   <productDescription>Description for Fancy Cola!</productDescription>

</item>

<item id="1">

   <unitPrice>5.00</unitPrice>

   <productCode>shipping_only</productCode>

</item>

<item id="2">

   <unitPrice>10.00</unitPrice>

   <quantity>1</quantity>

   <productCode>coupon</productCode>

   <productName>Discount</productName>

   <productSKU>D1000</productSKU>

   <productDescription>1000th customer discount!</productDescription>

</item>