Before you buy a BEP-20 token from your own wallet, check how much arrives after its transfer tax. A chart can show a price per token, but your wallet may receive fewer tokens than that price suggests.
What is a transfer tax, and when does it apply?
A transfer tax is a charge the token’s code takes when tokens move between addresses. BEP-20 is a common token standard on BNB Smart Chain; each token’s smart contract, or on-chain code, sets its own rules.
The tax may apply when you buy, sell, or send tokens to another wallet. The contract may send the tax to a project wallet, burn it by removing tokens from supply, or use another rule. Some contracts set different rates for buys and sells, and some let an owner change the rate.
This differs from a centralised exchange, where the exchange handles trades within its own system and shows you a balance after its fees. From your wallet, a swap moves tokens through a pool on-chain. The pool’s price and the token contract’s transfer rules both affect what you receive.
Why can the charted amount differ from what you receive?
A chart price is a guide to the token’s trading price; it does not promise a specific net amount for your wallet. The actual swap also depends on the pool’s available tokens and the size of your trade. A trade that shifts the pool price is said to have price impact.
For example, suppose a pool quote suggests that $100 buys 100 tokens before tax. If the token takes a 5% buy tax from that transfer, your wallet might receive 95 tokens. That 5% is illustrative: the real rate and the amount used to calculate it depend on the contract and transaction.
Work out your effective price by dividing what you spend, including any swap fee, by the tokens you expect to receive. Also allow for gas, the BNB fee for processing a transaction. Slippage tolerance, the amount of price movement you accept while a swap processes, can help with changing pool prices; it does not cancel a token tax.
What should you check before signing?
Compare the wallet’s quoted output with the likely net amount after tax, then check the token’s current buy and sell rules. A displayed tax estimate may be out of date or may not cover your wallet’s specific conditions. If the rate can change, or the rules are unclear, a chart alone cannot confirm your final amount.
PooCoin can help you inspect BNB Chain token prices and wallet activity, while the contract’s rules determine how many tokens arrive. For guidance on picking the relevant view, read how to choose a PooCoin token view. The key check is the net amount after tax, not the chart price alone.