Amazon Deferred Payment Explained: Released vs Deferred Amounts
Why part of your Amazon money shows as Deferred, when it becomes Released, and the double-counting mistake most spreadsheets make.
If your Amazon payment report shows some amounts as Deferred, you have not lost that money — but you have not received it yet either. Here is what the two statuses mean and how to handle them in your accounts.
Released
A released amount is part of a settlement that Amazon is paying to your bank. Treat it as received.
Deferred
A deferred amount is held back for a period before it is released. Amazon defers payments for various reasons, for example until an order is delivered or a policy period has passed. The deferred row has no release date yet.
What happens next
In a later payment report the same row shows up again, now as Released, with a release date — and often with a new settlement ID. This is where spreadsheets go wrong: if you paste every report under the previous one, the order appears twice, once deferred and once released, and your income looks higher than it is.
The right way to handle it
Identify each payment row by what it is — order ID, type, description and amount — not by its settlement ID or status. When a known deferred row comes back as released, update that row instead of adding a new one.
Our Amazon reconciliation tool works exactly this way. Upload overlapping reports as often as you like; a deferred row that becomes released is updated in place and never counted twice. Profit uses the release date, so money lands in the month you actually received it.
How long is too long?
Most deferred amounts are released within a few weeks. Our tool lists every amount that has been deferred for more than 21 days so you can follow up with seller support. Normally that list is empty — when it is not, it is worth a look.
Related: Amazon payment reconciliation guide.