Can Someone Simplify When PayPal Charge Fees

[James]

I'm unsure as to when PayPal charge fees and when they don't.

I received a payment of $20 which had a $1.08 charge added to it, leaving me with £11.31 after conversion.

I then received a donation of £16.55 and ended up receiving £15.70 after PayPal took a £0.85 fee.

When are fees actually deducted, or are they deducted from all payments?

 

[Paul B]

As far as I am aware, unless it is a gift transaction, the recipient pays the fee.

 

[RobParker]

Their website does explain it in detail: https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/?cmd=_display-fees-outside

The receiver pays the fees.

They charge 3.4% + £0.20. A cross-border fee of 0.5% may apply

That adds up to about the right amount from your example.

If you send as a "paypal gift", no fees are charged.