[BUG] Double taxation on gifted Claude Max subscription – $45.05 overcharge, Fin confirmed but cannot resolve

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Gifted Claude Max subscriptions are being double-taxed. The gifting party pays Turkish VAT at purchase ($60 on a $300 gift), and the recipient is charged VAT again when redeeming and upgrading — resulting in a $45.05 overcharge.

This appears to be a systemic billing bug, not an isolated incident. Related issues: #51168 (Gift Max 20X proration bug), #47290 (Gift subscription silently cancelled), #41499 (Gift Max 20X proration destroying credit), #48780 (Double billing).

Timeline:

• Gifting party purchases Claude Max gift → pays $360 ($300 + $60 TR VAT)
• I redeem gift, $100/mo plan activates → charged $120 ($20 extra VAT)
• I upgrade to $200/mo Max 20x → charged additional $25.05 tax on gifted balance
• April 24: Fin confirms the $45.05 double taxation error in writing
• April 24 – May 4: No human follow-up, no resolution

Evidence (available upon request — contains PII, not suitable for public disclosure):

• $200 subscription invoice showing VAT applied to gifted balance
• $100 subscription invoice showing $20 VAT overcharge
• Gifting party's payment receipt confirming VAT was already collected at purchase
• Fin's written confirmation (April 24, 2026) acknowledging the $45.05 double taxation error and admitting inability to escalate

I can provide all four documents via email to the billing team upon request.

Expected behavior: Gift redemption should recognize that VAT was already collected at purchase and not apply it again on the recipient's side.

Actual behavior: VAT is charged twice — once from the buyer and once from the recipient.

Request:

1. $45.05 refund to original payment method
2. Fix the gift billing pipeline to prevent double taxation
3. Human review of this case

What Should Happen?

Gift redemption should recognize that VAT was already collected at purchase and not apply it again on the recipient's side. The $45.05 overcharge should be refunded and the gift billing pipeline should be fixed to prevent double taxation.

Error Messages/Logs

No error messages — this is a billing system bug, not a code error.
Fin support chat transcript confirming the issue is available upon request.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Purchase a Claude Max gift subscription from a country with VAT (e.g. Turkey, 20%)
2. Recipient redeems the gift
3. Observe: recipient is charged VAT again on the subscription invoice
4. Upgrade the plan (e.g. Max 5x → Max 20x)
5. Observe: additional VAT charged on the upgrade invoice despite balance being from an already-taxed gift

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

latest

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Other Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_