Amazon FBA reimbursements are payments Amazon owes sellers when inventory is lost, damaged, or mishandled while under Amazon’s responsibility, covering situations like lost or damaged stock in a fulfilment centre, missing inbound shipments, incorrectly processed customer returns, and inventory lost during removal orders. Some reimbursements are automated and appear without a manual claim, but many require sellers to actively file within strict deadlines, and missing those windows means genuinely owed money simply goes unclaimed. For a seller running high order volume, even a small per-unit reimbursement gap can add up to a meaningful amount over the course of a year. Whether or not you’re actively filing claims, every reimbursement that does land needs to be correctly categorised in your books, since it isn’t ordinary sales revenue and treating it as such distorts your real numbers.

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What Are Amazon FBA Reimbursements, and Is Your Business Missing Money?

Amazon FBA reimbursements are payments Amazon owes sellers when inventory is lost, damaged, or mishandled while under Amazon’s responsibility, covering situations like lost or damaged stock in a fulfilment centre, missing inbound shipments, incorrectly processed customer returns, and inventory lost during removal orders. Some reimbursements are automated and appear without a manual claim, but many require sellers to actively file within strict deadlines, and missing those windows means genuinely owed money simply goes unclaimed. For a seller running high order volume, even a small per-unit reimbursement gap can add up to a meaningful amount over the course of a year. Whether or not you’re actively filing claims, every reimbursement that does land needs to be correctly categorised in your books, since it isn’t ordinary sales revenue and treating it as such distorts your real numbers.

What Actually Triggers an Amazon FBA Reimbursement?

Reimbursements cover a specific set of scenarios where the loss happened while Amazon had responsibility for the inventory. Understanding these triggers is essential for managing your Amazon seller reimbursement claims effectively.

This includes:

• Fulfilment Centre Discrepancies: Stock lost or damaged inside a fulfilment centre or during warehouse transfers.
• Inbound Shipment Discrepancies: Shipments that went missing between being sent and being received into inventory at the warehouse.
• Cancelled FBA Shipments: Cancelled inbound shipments that incurred unexpected charges or discrepancies.
• Customer Returns Issues: Customer returns that were mishandled, lost by the carrier, or misclassified as unsellable when they should have been restocked.
• Removal Order Losses: Removal orders, where a seller asks Amazon to send inventory back or dispose of it, which can result in lost stock eligible for reimbursement if it does not arrive or get processed correctly.

Each of these categories has its own evidence requirements too, which is part of why claims are easy to miss without a systematic approach to tracking them.

Claim Deadlines Are Tighter Than Most Sellers Realise

The filing windows for Amazon FBA reimbursements have shortened significantly and vary by claim type. In the US, fulfilment centre operations claims generally need to be filed within 60 days, customer return claims have a window of 60 to 120 days, and removal claims must be filed within 15 to 75 days depending on the specific circumstances. In the UK, most claim types carry a 60-day maximum window, with customer return claims allowed 45 to 105 days.

These deadlines mean a seller who isn’t actively monitoring for reimbursement-eligible events can simply run out the clock on genuinely owed money without ever realising a claim was possible. Regularly reviewing inventory discrepancies matters as much as understanding the rules themselves. To stay ahead, sellers should perform a regular FBA audit to catch missing units before the eligibility window slams shut.

How Reimbursement Amounts Are Actually Calculated

Amazon shifted to a sourcing-based reimbursement model, meaning lost or damaged inventory is now reimbursed based on a seller’s manufacturing or sourcing cost rather than the item’s selling price. Sellers can submit their actual cost data through Amazon’s Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal to make sure reimbursement amounts reflect accurate figures rather than a default estimate that may undervalue the loss.

This change makes it more important, not less, to actively track and verify what’s being reimbursed against what should be owed. When dealing with complex platform setups, many growing brands look at tools like Link My Books for Xero to streamline how financial data flows, though tracking physical inventory recovery inside Seller Central remains an active operational task for your team.

Automated vs Manual Reimbursements

Some reimbursements for lost and damaged inventory are processed automatically without a seller needing to file a manual claim, but many other categories, including certain customer return and removal scenarios, require an active claim submitted within the relevant deadline.

To understand how to check lost inventory on Amazon, you must know where to look. All reimbursements, whether automatic or manually claimed, appear in the Reimbursements Report within Seller Central, which is the starting point for verifying that what you’re owed is actually being paid, and for catching gaps where an eligible loss wasn’t reimbursed at all.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to File Amazon FBA Reimbursement Claims

Knowing how to file Amazon FBA reimbursement claims correctly maximises your chances of a successful payout. Follow these core steps:

1. Run Regular Reports: Regularly pull your daily inventory reports, adjustment reports, and safe-T claim data from Seller Central to spot missing units or FBA lost inventory reimbursement opportunities.
2. Identify Discrepancies: Match your shipped quantities against received quantities at the fulfillment centre, paying close attention to any FBA damaged stock or lost items.
3. Gather Documentation: Collect proof of purchase, commercial invoices, bills of lading, and proof of delivery for inbound shipments.
4. Submit via Seller Central: Open a case with Seller Central support, providing all required documentation within the mandatory timeframe.
5. Verify the Outcome: Once approved, check that the funds appear in your settlement reports and ensure they are accounted for correctly in your bookkeeping software.

Making Sure Reimbursements Land Correctly in Your Books

Once a reimbursement is paid, it needs to be categorised correctly in your accounting rather than folded into general sales revenue, since it represents a recovery of a prior loss, not new income from a customer transaction.

Link My Books’ rules-based tax mapping checks every transaction type in a settlement, including reimbursements, against your Setup Wizard configuration, so these amounts post into Xero or QuickBooks Online correctly categorised rather than distorting your sales figures. Link My Books does not file FBA reimbursement claims on your behalf, but it does make sure that whatever Amazon does reimburse shows up accurately in your books rather than getting lost in a miscategorised settlement line. Link My Books holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Capterra from 117 reviews as of August 2026, trusted by sellers who need every part of a complex Amazon settlement, reimbursements included, handled accurately.

FAQ

Does Amazon automatically reimburse me for all lost or damaged inventory?

Some lost and damaged inventory reimbursements are processed automatically, but many other reimbursement-eligible scenarios, including certain customer returns and removal order issues, require you to file a manual claim within the applicable deadline.

How long do I have to file an FBA reimbursement claim?

It depends on the claim type and country. In the US, fulfilment centre operations claims generally need filing within 60 days, customer returns within 60 to 120 days, and removal claims within 15 to 75 days. UK deadlines are generally tighter, with most claims capped at 60 days.

How does Amazon calculate how much I’m reimbursed?

Amazon uses a sourcing-based model, reimbursing based on your manufacturing or sourcing cost rather than the item’s selling price. You can submit your actual cost data through Amazon’s Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal to ensure accuracy.

Where can I see what Amazon has already reimbursed me?

The Reimbursements Report inside Seller Central shows both automatic and manually claimed reimbursements, and is the starting point for checking whether an eligible loss has actually been paid out.

Does Link My Books file FBA reimbursement claims for me?

No. Link My Books does not submit reimbursement claims on your behalf, but it does correctly categorise reimbursement amounts once they’re paid, so they post accurately into your books rather than being folded into general sales revenue.

Reimbursements only help your bottom line if they’re both claimed and recorded accurately. Start a 14-day free trial with no card required and see your Amazon settlements broken down correctly, reimbursements included.

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