# Overcapture a payment

You can overcapture a payment to collect a higher amount than what was originally authorized. This is common in industries such as ride hailing, food, and online grocery delivery and hospitality, where the final price may vary due to tipping, substitutions, and incidentals.

Overcapture enables you to adjust the final amount without requesting an incremental authorization from the scheme. After being processed, the adjusted higher amount clears and settles as a single transaction on the cardholder's statement.

> **Information**
>
> Overcapture and [incremental authorization](https://www.checkout.com/docs/payments/manage-payments/authorize-a-payment/adjust-an-estimated-authorization.md) are separate features. Although they can achieve similar outcomes, they work differently and are not interoperable. See [What is the difference between incremental authorizations and overcaptures?](https://support.checkout.com/hc/en-us/articles/39052317690514)

> **Information**
>
> You can only overcapture Visa and Mastercard payments.

To enable overcapture, contact your account manager or [request support](https://dashboard.checkout.com/support/new?topic=case_account_management_and_access&issue=issue_account_changes).

---

## Overcapture limits

Card schemes set limits on the amount you can overcapture. This limit is generally calculated as a percentage of the authorized amount, with additional restrictions based on country and [merchant category code (MCC)](https://www.checkout.com/docs/developer-resources/codes/merchant-category-codes.md).

Exceeding these limits or misusing the feature can lead to non-compliance fees from card schemes and may result in more chargebacks. When using overcapture, you assume full liability for compliance with all applicable laws and scheme rules.

The following overcapture limits apply for each card scheme:

| Scheme | Merchant country | MCC | Overcapture limit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Visa | Global, except the European Economic Area (EEA) | - 4121 – Taxicabs and Limousines<br>- 5812 – Eating Places and Restaurants<br>- 5813 – Drinking Places (alcoholic beverages) Bars, Taverns, Nightclubs, Cocktail Lounges, Nightclubs, and Discotheques<br>- 5814 – Fast Food Restaurants<br>- 7230 – Beauty and Barber Shops<br>- 7298 – Health and Beauty Spas | Up to 20% |
| Visa | Global, except the European Economic Area (EEA) | 4411 – Cruise Lines, Lodging | Up to 15% |
| Visa | Global, except the European Economic Area (EEA) | 3351–3500, 7512, 7513  – Vehicle Rentals | Up to 15% or 75 USD (or local currency equivalent) |
| Visa | Global, except the European Economic Area (EEA) | All other merchant categories<br><br>For cardholder-initiated transactions (CITs) only | Up to 15% |
| Mastercard | United States<br><br>For cards issued in the United States only | 5812 – Eating Places and Restaurants | Up to 20% |
| Mastercard | United States<br><br>For cards issued in the United States only | 5814 – Fast Food Restaurants | Up to 20% |

---

## Request an overcapture

You can overcapture a payment whose authorization type is either `Estimated` or `Final`.

For example, a payment was authorized for 100 USD, and you want to overcapture up to 120 USD. Call the [Capture a payment](https://api-reference.checkout.com/tag/Payments/#operation/captureAPayment) endpoint, and provide the payment ID of the authorized payment as the `{id}` path parameter.

> **Information**
>
> Your base URL's `{prefix}` value is unique to your account and environment. To learn how to retrieve your base URLs for the sandbox and production environments, see [API endpoints](https://www.checkout.com/docs/developer-resources/api/api-endpoints.md).

**Production**

`POST` `https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/{id}/captures`

**Sandbox**

`POST` `https://{prefix}.api.sandbox.checkout.com/payments/{id}/captures`

### Request example

```json
{
  "amount": 12000,
  "reference": "CAPT-A1B2",
  "metadata": {
    "partner_id": 123989
  },
  "description": "Afternoon food delivery",
  "capture_type": "Final"
}
```

### Response example

```json
{
  "action_id": "act_neiuuvrspq5erj3slar7bjb6we",
  "reference": "CAPT-A1B2",
  "_links": {
    "payment": {
      "href": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq"
    }
  }
}
```

When the payment is captured, you receive a [Payment captured](https://www.checkout.com/docs/developer-resources/event-notifications/event-types/payment_captured.md) webhook with the updated `balances` object, including the overcaptured amount:

```json

{
  "id": "evt_tqg46g2utizubco7vwpmqdnuhe",
  "source": "gateway",
  "type": "payment_captured",
  "timestamp": "2025-11-24T15:15:47.554+00:00",
  "version": "1.0.49",
  "data": {
      "id": "pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq",
      "action_id": "act_rhlxrowtbksuvhvaq77zmmoi5i",
      "reference": "CAPT-A1B2",
      "amount": 120,
      "processed_on": "2025-11-24T15:15:47.49Z",
      "response_code": "10000",
      "response_summary": "Approved",
      "balances": {
          "total_authorized": 100,
          "total_voided": 0,
          "available_to_void": 0,
          "total_captured": 120,
          "available_to_capture": 0,
          "total_refunded": 0,
          "available_to_refund": 120
      },
      "currency": "USD",
      "processing": {
          "acquirer_transaction_id": "15744982974",
          "acquirer_reference_number": "02703405328157449829746"
      },
      "event_links": {
          "payment": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq",
          "payment_actions": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq/actions",
          "refund": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq/refunds"
      }
  },
  "action_invocations": [],
  "_links": {
      "self": {
          "href": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/workflows/events/evt_tqg46g2utizubco7vwpmqdnuhe"
      },
      "payment_actions": {
          "href": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq/actions"
      },
      "payment": {
          "href": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq"
      },
      "refund": {
          "href": "https://{prefix}.api.checkout.com/payments/pay_levogdd6rvnujefqkel6daxlfq/refunds"
      }
  }
}
```

If the overcapture fails, you receive one of the following [hard decline response codes](https://www.checkout.com/docs/developer-resources/codes/api-response-codes.md#30xxx_Hard_declines):

- `30401` – Capture amount greater than allowed
- `30402` – Overcapture not allowed for partial capture
- `30403` – Overcapture not allowed for partial authorization

> **Information**
>
> To view error codes during overcapture, subscribe to the [Payment capture declined](https://www.checkout.com/docs/developer-resources/event-notifications/event-types/payment_capture_declined.md) webhook.