Apple changes app prices in several markets on 14 September: what should teams do?

Event summary: Apple announced on 27 August 2026 that it will update certain app and In-App Purchase prices in Israel, Indonesia, Morocco and the Republic of the Congo from 14 September. Businesses using Apple's automatically equalised pricing, without one of those markets as the base storefront, should review the upcoming customer prices, proceeds, promotions, support language and forecasts. Auto-renewable subscriptions, manually managed storefront prices and the local price in a selected base storefront are not included in the same automatic change.

What is changing

Apple's notice identifies two related sets of updates:

• From 27 August, proceeds for eligible apps and In-App Purchases reflect the introduction of 20% VAT in Morocco, 18% VAT in the Republic of the Congo and an increase in Tanzania's digital sales tax from 2% to 3%.
• From 14 September, Apple will update app and In-App Purchase prices in Israel, Indonesia, Morocco and the Republic of the Congo when the developer uses automatically equalised pricing and has not selected that market as the product's base storefront.

Apple also states that this automatic price update does not change auto-renewable subscription prices or storefronts where the developer manually manages prices. If an affected market is the base storefront, its local price remains unchanged while other storefronts continue to be equalised from that base.

Who is affected and where

This update is relevant to product, commercial and finance owners selling paid apps or one-time and consumable purchases internationally through the App Store. It matters particularly to teams that use a global reference price, Apple's automatic equalisation or multi-currency revenue forecasts.

The named markets are Israel, Indonesia, Morocco and the Republic of the Congo, with a proceeds-related tax change also named for Tanzania. The effect must be checked by app, product, base storefront, pricing mode and tax position. A country-level notice is not a reliable universal percentage change for every order.

Actions before 14 September

1. Produce an affected-product register

List each app and product ID with product type, sale territories, base storefront and pricing mode in App Store Connect. Separate automatically equalised products, manually managed prices and auto-renewable subscriptions so that unlike items are not changed together.

2. Review customer price and company proceeds separately

The displayed price and net proceeds can move differently because of taxes, exchange rates, Apple commission, refunds and local pricing conventions. Finance should use the upcoming-price view and final App Store reports to record customer price including tax, estimated proceeds, currency and effective date before and after the update.

Do not use shortcuts such as “20% VAT means proceeds fall by 20%”. Whether tax is included in the price, who collects and remits it, and how equalisation responds must be confirmed against Apple's agreement and the company's tax position.

3. Check every place where prices are communicated

Websites, advertising, sales material, email, customer-service scripts and product screens may contain fixed amounts. Compare them with the live storefront price after 14 September. Where possible, use storefront product information for local display and give region and validity dates to offline offers.

Discount claims, bundle value, price comparisons and refund explanations belong in the same review. Updating only the purchase screen can leave advertising and support promising an old price.

4. Decide whether intervention is justified

Businesses may change app, In-App Purchase and subscription prices in App Store Connect. The decision should follow target margin, local purchasing conditions, competitive position, refunds and price sensitivity—not an automatic attempt to offset every currency or tax movement.

Manual storefront pricing transfers continuing monitoring of taxes, exchange rates and price points to the business. Assign an owner, review cadence and conditions for returning to automatic equalisation before selecting it.

5. Update forecasts and sample live results

Apply the new assumptions separately to the remainder of September and the fourth-quarter forecast, while retaining historical price versions for prior orders. After 14 September, sample at least one representative product in each relevant storefront and compare the store display, purchase evidence, Sales and Trends data, finance report and support lookup.

Acceptance checklist

• The affected register covers every app, product type, region and pricing mode.
• A commercial owner has confirmed each base storefront and manual-price setting.
• Auto-renewable subscriptions were not mistakenly included in a bulk response to this notice.
• Customer price, proceeds and tax basis remain traceable before and after the change.
• Websites, advertising, email, customer service and product screens do not promise expired prices.
• Forecasts are revised by market and product rather than through one global average.
• Live prices, orders, refunds and financial reports are sampled after the effective date.
• Each manual pricing action records its owner, rationale, start time and reconsideration criteria.

Common mistakes

“Apple is raising every product by the same amount.” The result depends on base storefront, equalisation, manual management and product type.

“A tax-rate change equals the same proportional change in proceeds.” Customer price, tax inclusion, commission, currency and settlement all affect the outcome.

“Subscriptions change automatically on 14 September as well.” Apple's notice excludes auto-renewable subscriptions from these automatic price changes. A developer-initiated subscription change follows separate management rules.

“The store changed the price, so the product team has no work.” Stale promises in advertising, support and forecasting can still create disputes and misleading performance data.

For the long-lived cost framework, read How is the App Store commission calculated?. This page addresses the specific September 2026 event.

Sources

• Apple Developer News: Tax and price updates for apps, In-App Purchases, and subscriptions (published 27 August 2026; accessed 7 September 2026)
• App Store Connect Help: Set a price (accessed 7 September 2026)

This update reflects public information available on 7 September 2026. The company's App Store Connect records, executed agreement and financial reports govern actual prices, proceeds and tax treatment.