# Refunds and disputes

> Refund a payment from the submission in Maxforms or from your provider's dashboard, and handle disputes with your provider.

Refund a form payment straight from the submission in Maxforms, or from your provider's own dashboard — both work, and either way the submission's payment status updates to **Refunded**. Because [you are the merchant of record](/payments/you-are-the-merchant-of-record), the refund comes out of your account with the provider, and disputes are answered there too.

## Refund from Maxforms

1. Open your form and select the **Submissions** tab.
2. Open the paid submission.
3. Select **Refund**.
4. Enter the **Amount to refund** — the full amount is pre-filled, or enter less for a partial refund. The panel shows how much is still refundable.
5. Enter a **Reason** and select **Submit**.

![The Refund panel with the amount and reason fields](/docs-assets/payments/refunds-and-disputes-1.png)

Only the workspace owner can issue refunds. You can refund a payment in several steps — each partial refund updates the remaining refundable balance, and the submission shows **Partially refunded** until the full amount is returned, then **Refunded**.

One provider quirk handled for you: card gateways can only refund a transaction after it settles (typically overnight). If you refund an Authorize.net or CardPointe payment before settlement, Maxforms voids the transaction instead — the respondent sees the charge disappear rather than a refund line.

## Refund from your provider's dashboard

Refunding at the source works just as well: find the payment in your Stripe Dashboard, Authorize.net Merchant Interface, or CardPointe portal and refund it there. The submission's payment status updates automatically — instantly for Stripe and Authorize.net, and within a short while for CardPointe, which Maxforms reconciles on a schedule.

Either way, your provider's processing fee from the original payment is generally not returned when you refund — that's the provider's policy, not a Maxforms rule.

## Disputes and chargebacks

A dispute (chargeback) starts when a cardholder challenges the payment with their bank. The dispute is legally between you and the cardholder: you respond in your provider's dashboard — submitting evidence, accepting the dispute, and any outcome all happen there. Maxforms can't respond for you.

For Stripe payments, Maxforms emails you and adds an in-app notification when a dispute is filed, and the submission's payment shows a dispute marker. For Authorize.net and CardPointe, watch for dispute notices from the provider itself — they arrive in your merchant portal and by email from the provider.