Reading Room Calculations and Restrictions

Your school earns cash with every qualifying purchase you make through the Box Tops Reading Room. Learn more about how your school receives donations from Barnes & Noble.
Donation Calculations
How does Box Tops determine the donation amount your school will receive?

  • Only purchases made through the Box Tops for Education Reading Room and the Box Tops for Education Marketplace will earn a donation for your school. See Official Rules for details.
  • School donations are calculated from net sales.
  • Donations will be subtracted for merchandise returns.
  • Sales tax, shipping costs, packaging or handling fees, gift-wrapping services, governmental fees, credit card processing fees and certain other charges may not be included in the calculation of the school donation amount.

Here's an example of how a donation would be calculated for a purchase at Barnes & Noble assuming 6% of your purchase is donated to your designated school:

Merchandise total: $90.00
Tax: $5.00
Shipping/handling: $5.00
Total: $100.00

In the above example, the 6% donation is calculated from the $90.00 merchandise total because tax, shipping and handling are excluded. Therefore, your school would receive $5.40 from your purchase - at no additional cost to you. Some stores have additional restrictions on certain types of merchandise or other special restrictions. Below you will find explanations of these additional restrictions.


Donation Restrictions for Barnes & Noble.com:

Donations/Commissions are based on net sales. Earn 6% on new books, magazines and textbooks. Earn 3% on all other purchases, including Gift Cards and Gift Certificates