How to give a refund on Upwork: the short answer
To give a refund on Upwork, open the contract from All contracts, choose Give a refund from the (...) options menu, add the invoice or invoices you want to refund, adjust the amount, write a note to the client and choose Give refund. The client gets a credit on their account right away, you get a matching debit, and Upwork hands back the service fee it took on that money. You have 180 days from when the client paid to do this yourself, on an active or closed contract. After that, you need Upwork support.
Everything in this post comes from Upwork's own help center articles on giving refunds, clients requesting refunds, and released payments, checked on the day this was written. Upwork updates these flows often, so confirm in the help center if you are reading this much later.
Step by step: giving a refund to your client
- Go to All contracts and find the contract you want to refund.
- Select the contract title to open the contract workroom.
- Choose Give a refund from the (...) options menu.
- Select Add invoices, choose the invoice or invoices you want to refund, then choose Add Invoices.
- Adjust the refund amount. A partial refund is fine. You can remove an invoice with the delete icon.
- Add a note to the client, plus an optional private note for yourself.
- Choose Give refund.
You do not need the client to request a refund first. Upwork lets you start one proactively on any contract, active or ended, as long as you are inside the 180-day window and you are not refunding more than you earned on that contract. If the client did send a formal request, it is still your call: Upwork is clear that approval is at the freelancer's discretion, and you can give a full refund, a partial one, or none.
Refund limits: how much and how long
Upwork refund rules for freelancers, per Upwork's help center
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Maximum refund | The lower of your net total transactions on that contract in the last 180 days, or your available Upwork balance (including pending transactions and submitted milestones). |
| Time limit to refund yourself | 180 days after you received the client's payment, including on closed contracts and previous billing periods. |
| Payments 180 to 365 days old | Contact Upwork support. You cannot do it from the contract menu. |
| Not enough balance to cover it | Contact Upwork support. Do not send the money off-platform. |
| Your service fee | Returned to you on the refunded amount, so you do not pay fees on money you did not keep. |
| Lifetime earnings | The refunded amount, including refunded fees, is deducted. |
| Where you can see it | Transaction history, filtered to the contract, shows the credits and debits. |
The fee point is worth understanding before you decide on an amount. Upwork's own example: if $100 you were paid goes back to the client and your service fee was 10%, the $10 fee comes back to you too. So a refund costs you what you actually took home on that money, not more. The fee structure itself is in [how much Upwork takes from freelancers](/blog/how-much-does-upwork-take-freelancer-fees-explained).
Money still in project funds is a different process
Everything above is for money that has already been paid to you. If the money is still sitting in project funds (escrow on a fixed-price milestone that was never released), you are not giving a refund. You have two cleaner options:
- You are done working with the client: end the contract. Upwork says any money still in project funds automatically goes back to the client, with no extra steps.
- The contract continues but the client wants the escrow back: they request it, and you approve from All contracts by selecting See Request, then choosing I approve returning the remaining project funds to the client, then Next.
If you are not sure where the money sits, the funding flow is laid out in [Upwork milestones explained](/blog/upwork-milestones-explained). Ending the contract properly is covered in [how to end an Upwork contract professionally](/blog/how-to-end-an-upwork-contract-professionally).
Does a refund protect your feedback or Job Success Score?
This is the part most freelancers get wrong. Upwork answers it directly: a full refund removes the client's written public feedback from your profile, but the client's other feedback, like the 1 to 5 ratings in specific areas, still counts in your Job Success Score. Upwork's client-side article adds that if a refund brings your earnings on the contract to $1 or less, the contract stops showing on both work histories and the feedback is removed from ratings, which can take up to 12 hours to update.
My take: refunding to make a bad review disappear is a bad trade. You give up the money and the score impact can still land. Upwork itself says the smarter move is open communication and trying to resolve the concern. If a review has already gone sideways, the playbook is in [how to handle a bad review on Upwork](/blog/how-to-handle-a-bad-review-on-upwork), and the mechanics of the score are in [how to improve your Upwork Job Success Score](/blog/how-to-improve-upwork-job-success-score).
When I would give a refund, and when I would not
A refund is a business decision, not an apology. This is the filter I recommend:
- Refund, partially or fully: you missed the brief, missed a deadline that mattered, or billed hours that did not move the work forward. Fixing it fast with a fair partial refund usually costs less than a long argument, and you keep the relationship.
- Refund the part that went wrong, not the whole contract: you delivered most of the scope and one piece fell short. Refund that piece, say so in the note, and keep payment for the work that landed.
- Do not refund: the client wants extra work they never paid for, or is unhappy with something outside the agreed scope. That is a scope conversation, not a refund. See [how to handle scope creep on Upwork](/blog/how-to-handle-scope-creep-on-upwork).
- Do not refund under pressure off-platform: a client who asks for money back outside Upwork, or threatens a review unless you pay, is a red flag. Keep everything inside the contract and read [how to avoid Upwork scams and bad clients](/blog/how-to-avoid-upwork-scams-and-bad-clients).
Refunds vs disputes: know which one you are in
A refund you give is voluntary. A dispute is the client going through Upwork's formal process, and the rules there are different:
- Hourly: per Upwork, clients can dispute billed hours only during the five-day review period after the work week ends, and disputes are judged on hours billed and Work Diary records, not general satisfaction. If logged hours do not qualify for Hourly Payment Protection and the client files a dispute, Upwork says a refund may be issued to the client. Keep your time clean with [the work diary and Hourly Protection rules](/blog/upwork-work-diary-and-hourly-protection).
- Fixed price: if a client asks for a refund on a released payment and you decline or do not respond, Upwork says mediation may be available when the last payment was within the previous 30 days, or when funds are still held on the contract.
If a client has already opened a dispute rather than asking you nicely, the next steps are in [what to do when an Upwork client opens a dispute](/blog/upwork-client-opened-a-dispute).
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Frequently asked questions
How do I give a refund on Upwork?
Go to All contracts, open the contract, choose Give a refund from the (...) options menu, select Add invoices, pick the invoices, adjust the amount, add a note to the client and choose Give refund.
Can I give a partial refund on Upwork?
Yes. When you give a refund you can adjust the amount on each invoice. Upwork also says a freelancer can choose a full refund, a partial refund or no refund when a client requests one.
How long do I have to refund a client on Upwork?
You can issue a refund yourself for 180 days after you received the client's payment, including on closed contracts. For payments made between 180 and 365 days ago, Upwork says to contact support.
Do I get the Upwork fee back when I refund a client?
Yes. Upwork returns the freelancer service fee on the refunded amount. The refunded amount, including refunded fees, is deducted from your lifetime earnings.
Will a full refund remove bad feedback on Upwork?
A full refund removes the client's written public feedback, but Upwork says the client's other ratings still count toward your Job Success Score. A refund is not a reliable way to avoid a bad review.
Can I refund an Upwork client through PayPal or bank transfer?
No. Upwork says all refunds must be issued within the platform. Refunding off Upwork is against its Terms of Service and may result in suspension.
What if I do not have enough balance to give a refund?
Contact Upwork support. Your refund is capped at the lower of your net transactions on the contract in the last 180 days or your available balance.
How do I return money that is still in escrow?
If you are not continuing the contract, end it and Upwork automatically returns any project funds to the client. If the contract continues, the client requests the refund and you approve it from All contracts under See Request.
Last reviewed by David Iya on October 13, 2026
