How is a booking's profit worked out?
Each service in the booking has two amounts: what the agency pays the operator and what it charges the passenger. The booking's profit is the total charged minus the total paid, in each currency: services in pesos and services in dollars are counted separately, with no conversion.
How is VAT separated at a VAT-registered agency?
At a VAT-registered agency, the profit (the positive margin) is taken as VAT-inclusive. This is how Tripwise calculates it:
- Taxed net = profit ÷ 1.21
- VAT = profit − taxed net
- Non-taxed = total charged − profit
The non-taxed part is the share of what was collected that belongs to third-party services. At a Monotributo agency the profit is the whole margin, with no VAT separated.
What does it look like with an example?
A booking in dollars with a total charged of USD 3,770 and a total payable to operators of USD 3,012.98, at a VAT-registered agency:
| Item | Calculation | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Total charged | 3,770.00 | |
| Total payable | 3,012.98 | |
| Profit (margin) | 3,770.00 − 3,012.98 | 757.02 |
| Taxed net | 757.02 ÷ 1.21 | 625.64 |
| VAT 21% | 757.02 − 625.64 | 131.38 |
| Non-taxed | 3,770.00 − 757.02 | 3,012.98 |
| Profit net of VAT | 625.64 |
The agency's invoice splits the USD 3,770 into non-taxed (3,012.98), taxed net (625.64) and VAT (131.38), which add up to the total collected.
How is the seller's commission worked out?
Each agency sets its own rule. The most common ones:
- A percentage of the profit: in the example, 10% of the USD 625.64 net profit is USD 62.56.
- A percentage of the total charged: simpler, but it pays the same for a high-margin and a low-margin booking.
- A fixed amount, per booking or per passenger.
- Volume tiers: the rate goes up as the seller sells more in the period.
When two people sell a booking, the commission is split in percentages that add up to 100%. And the commission is best fixed when the booking is closed, so that a later rule change leaves what was already paid untouched.
How does Tripwise handle it?
In Tripwise, each service in the booking carries what is paid to the operator and what is charged to the passenger, and the profit is calculated automatically, in each currency. If the agency is VAT-registered, the booking separates VAT from the profit with this guide's arithmetic (Finance and commissions).
Each seller's commission comes from one rule per seller or one for the whole agency: a percentage, a fixed amount or a fixed amount per passenger, on the profit or on the total charged, with graduated volume tiers, splits among several sellers and a supervisor override. It is frozen when the booking is saved.
Sources
- Ley de Impuesto al Valor Agregado, texto ordenado 1997 · Información Legislativa (InfoLEG), checked on October 29, 2026
- Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) · ARCA, checked on October 29, 2026
This guide is for information. For your specific case, ask your accountant.