--- title: "Wrong Amount Left for Free Shipping: Shipping, Tax or Coupons Counted" description: Fix a wrong amount left for free shipping by matching the cart total method, discounts and shipping options to your free shipping rule. url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/incorrect-shipping-tax-calculation/" updated: "2026-09-27" category: Troubleshooting tags: - Free Shipping Bar --- # Wrong Amount Left for Free Shipping: Shipping, Tax or Coupons Counted If [Free Shipping Bar: Amount Left for Free Shipping for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/amount-left-free-shipping-woocommerce/) shows the wrong amount left, the cart total it measures does not match the total your free shipping rule uses. Open **WPFactory > Left for Free Shipping > General > Calculation** and align **Cart total method**, **Discounts** and **Shipping** with your free shipping method. ## Symptoms - The amount left is higher or lower than the difference between the cart subtotal and your free shipping minimum. - The amount changes when a coupon is applied, or when a shipping method is selected, even though your free shipping rule ignores these. - The "You have free delivery!" message appears before WooCommerce actually offers free shipping, or never appears. - The amount left is based on the wrong minimum, for example another zone's. ## How the amount is calculated Amount left = free shipping minimum minus cart total. Both sides come from settings you control: - **Free shipping minimum:** read automatically from the **Minimum order amount** of the WooCommerce **Free shipping** method in the customer's shipping zone, unless you set a manual amount on the **Manual min amount** tab. - **Cart total:** set by the options in **General > Calculation**, below. ## Fix 1: Choose the right cart total Go to **WPFactory > Left for Free Shipping** (also reachable at **WooCommerce > Settings > Amount Left for Free Shipping**), open **General** and scroll to **Calculation**. | Label | Option ID | Default | What it does | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cart total method | `alg_wc_left_to_free_shipping_cart_total_method` | Displayed subtotal | **Displayed subtotal** uses the cart subtotal as shown to customers (including or excluding tax, per your WooCommerce tax display setting). **Cart contents total** uses the item total after discounts. **Cart total** uses the grand total, which includes shipping, fees and taxes. | | Discounts: Exclude discounts from cart total calculation | `alg_wc_left_to_free_shipping_include_discounts` | Yes | Subtracts coupon discounts from the total. Usually needed with **Displayed subtotal**. | | Shipping: Exclude shipping from cart total calculation | `alg_wc_left_to_free_shipping_exclude_shipping` | No | Subtracts the shipping cost from the total. Usually needed with **Cart total**. | | Also exclude shipping taxes | `alg_wc_left_to_free_shipping_exclude_shipping_taxes` | Yes | Also subtracts shipping tax. Works only when the shipping exclusion above is on. | Common matches: - **Free shipping minimum applies after coupons** (the WooCommerce default): keep **Displayed subtotal** with **Discounts** ticked. - **Free shipping minimum applies before coupons** (you ticked **Apply minimum order rule before coupon discount** in the Free shipping method): keep **Displayed subtotal** and untick **Discounts**. - **Shipping cost is being counted toward free shipping:** you are probably on **Cart total**. Switch to **Displayed subtotal**, or tick **Exclude shipping from cart total calculation**. - **Coupons subtracted twice:** **Cart contents total** and **Cart total** already have coupon discounts removed, and **Discounts** is ticked by default. Untick **Discounts** when you use either of them. - **Tax difference:** **Displayed subtotal** follows the **Display prices during cart and checkout** setting in **WooCommerce > Settings > Tax**. If prices show including tax there, the amount left includes tax too. ## Fix 2: Check which minimum is used 1. In **WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping**, open the customer's zone and check the **Free shipping** method's **Free shipping requires** and **Minimum order amount**. The amount is read only when the method requires a minimum order amount. 2. On the **Manual min amount** tab, check **Amount**. A value other than 0 replaces the automatic minimum. Leave it at 0 to use the WooCommerce value. 3. If a guest has not entered an address yet, WooCommerce may not know the zone. In **General**, tick **Shipping country** to set the country from your first shipping zone automatically. For different minimums per zone, role or currency, see [Set Different Free Shipping Amounts by Zone or Method](https://wpfactory.com/docs/free-shipping-by-zone-method/). ## Fix 3: Virtual products and other free shipping methods - On the **Advanced** tab, **Virtual products** hides the text when the cart holds only virtual products. **Ignore virtual products in cart to reach the min amount** (Pro) leaves them out of the total. - **Check for alternative free shipping** hides the text when a free shipping method that needs no minimum is already available. **Check shipping cost** shows the free shipping message when the cart's shipping total is zero. ## Confirm the fix Empty the cart, add one product with a known price and compare: amount left should equal your minimum minus that price (adjusted for coupons, shipping and tax as configured). If the number is still off and you use a custom shipping or pricing plugin, it may change cart totals through its own filters; test with it deactivated. Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the [Amount Left for Free Shipping support forum](https://wpfactory.com/support/item/amount-left-free-shipping-woocommerce/). Related articles - [Add the Amount Left for Free Shipping Widget](https://wpfactory.com/docs/woocommerce-amount-left-free-shipping-widget/) - [Troubleshooting the Free Shipping Amount Label & Progress Bar](https://wpfactory.com/docs/fix-free-shipping-display/) - [Free Shipping Bar Troubleshooting Checklist](https://wpfactory.com/docs/troubleshooting-checklist/) - [Free Shipping Bar Breaks After a WordPress or WooCommerce Update](https://wpfactory.com/docs/plugin-breaks-after-update/) - [Shortcode Doesn’t Update Amount on Shop/Product Pages](https://wpfactory.com/docs/shortcode-amount-not-updating/)   [![Free Shipping Bar: Amount Left for Free Shipping for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/Free-Shipping-Over-Amount-Bar-for-WooCommerce.webp)](https://wpfactory.com/item/amount-left-free-shipping-woocommerce/)