On May 11, 2026, Apple updated its Tax and Price Updates page on Apple Developer News with two separate changes: a South Korea price adjustment effective May 28, and a new VAT rate in Latvia for Russian-language content, already in effect as of May 11. Neither change affects the full 175-storefront App Store network — both are geographically limited.
South Korea: App Store price update May 28, 2026
Beginning May 28, 2026, Apple will update prices for apps and In-App Purchases on the South Korea storefront for developers who have not set South Korea as their base storefront. Prices on other affected storefronts will be recalculated to maintain alignment with the chosen base price.
Three categories are excluded from this automatic adjustment:
- Auto-renewable subscriptions, which remain unchanged;
- apps and In-App Purchases where South Korea is already set as the base storefront;
- any storefront where prices are managed manually, rather than through Apple’s automated price equalization.
To review upcoming changes or adjust prices before May 28, check Pricing and Availability in App Store Connect.
Latvia: VAT on Russian-language content rises from 5% to 21%
As of May 11, 2026, Latvia applies a 21% VAT rate to Russian-language content, replacing the previous reduced rate of 5%. A new tax category has appeared in App Store Connect: “Content is in Russian”, which applies to qualifying books and publications sold on the Latvian storefront.
The increase directly reduces developer proceeds for content that falls into this category. Publishers of e-books, magazines, or apps that distribute Russian-language content on the Latvian storefront should review consumer-facing prices, since the higher VAT affects either final prices or net revenue depending on how pricing is structured.
The “Content is in Russian” category is already active — this is not a scheduled change but an adjustment already applied to proceeds from May 11 onward.
What to check
For developers distributing monthly subscriptions with an annual commitment (configurable through App Store Connect as described in the April 2026 announcement), the South Korea recalculation does not apply to auto-renewable subscriptions.
Both changes are visible in the Pricing and Availability section of App Store Connect, where scheduled adjustments appear before they take effect. Apple’s documentation on availability start times by country and region is accessible through App Store Connect Help.
