Some Amazon settlement lines post to an account named Reserved Balance. This article explains what they are and why Taxomate does not treat them as income or expenses.
What is Reserved Balance?
Reserved Balance is a balance-sheet account. It holds money that Amazon keeps for you. Examples are the lines named Previous Reserve Amount and Current Reserve Amount.
Reserved Balance should be a balance-sheet (current asset) account. It should not be an income, expense, or bank account.
Why is there no tax?
These lines are not a sale or a purchase. They move your own money. So no VAT, GST, or sales tax applies.
Transfer of funds unsuccessful
Sometimes Amazon cannot send your payout to your bank. For example, the bank details are not valid, or the payout is below the minimum transfer amount.
When this occurs, the money stays in your Amazon balance. Nothing was earned or spent. Taxomate posts the line to Reserved Balance with no tax.
A failed transfer usually shows twice. First, you see a deduction when the payout fails. Then the amount comes back in a later settlement. The two lines cancel out in Reserved Balance. Do not roll back or delete the earlier settlement.
Cross-Account Debt Adjustment
You can see lines with names such as "Cross-Account Debt Adjustment against DE" or "for FR".
This happens when one Amazon marketplace has a negative balance. Amazon covers it with funds from another marketplace in your unified account.
One settlement shows a deduction.
The other settlement shows an equal credit.
This is a transfer of your own money between marketplaces. It is not a fee. No VAT applies.
Taxomate posts both sides to Reserved Balance. The two amounts cancel each other out when all marketplaces of the unified account post to the same books.
If one marketplace is not connected to Taxomate, or it is in other books, a balance stays in Reserved Balance. Your accountant can move it.
If the two sides are in different currencies, a small exchange difference can stay. The normal currency revaluation clears it.
How Taxomate groups these lines
Amazon sends these lines with different descriptions. Taxomate now groups each kind of line into one mapping line. In October 2026, we merged older separate mapping rows for these lines, so you may see fewer rows on the Accounts & Taxes page.
Settlements posted before the change
Earlier settlements keep their original accounts. Taxomate does not change them.
If an earlier settlement posted one of these lines to an expense account, your accountant can move it to Reserved Balance with a journal entry. Contact support before you delete or resend a settlement that is already posted. Do not resend a settlement that is reconciled.
How to check or change the account
In Taxomate, select Accounts & Taxes in the left menu. The page is named Accounts & Taxes Mapping.
Find the transaction type for the line. Look at the account that is selected for it. It should be your Reserved Balance account.
To use a different account, select the account for that line and choose a new one.
Select Save Mappings.
Open each settlement that you want to update and select Reprocess. New settings do not apply to a settlement until you reprocess it. Reprocess changes the Taxomate settlement. It does not change an entry that Taxomate already sent to your accounting software.
If you reviewed this with your accountant and you want a different account, you can change it on the Accounts & Taxes page.
Related article
For reserve examples, see the article "What do I do with Amazon Reserve Balances?" in the Configuration section of the help center.