Linden Lab will only bill your account under very specific circumstances.  All charges are deducted from your U.S. Dollars (USD) balance first, and then from your credit card or PayPal account if your USD balance is insufficient.  Here is an exhaustive list of the different types of charges you may incur:

Premium Membership: Premium account holders are charged according to the payment plan they have selected.  Depending on the plan, charges may occur monthly, quarterly, or yearly.  You can check your Account Summary to find out your current billing rate.  If you wish to change your billing rate, you may do so on the Upgrade/Downgrade Membership page.

Land Use Fee: The Land Use Fee (also known as Tier) is a variable monthly charge that increases incrementally with the amount of land you own in Second Life.  For more information about Land Use Fees, check out the Land Pricing & Use Fees page.  Land Use Fees are separate from Private Region Fees.

Private Region Fee: In addition to the initial charge to buy a Private Region, owners of Private Regions pay a monthly fee to Linden Lab.  Private Region Fees are charged directly to your credit card or PayPal account, and are separate from other Land Use Fees.

  • Initial Setup: $1675
  • Monthly Fee: $295
  • Void/Openspace Region: L$1675 for a set of four
  • Void/Openspace Monthly Fee: $295 for a set of four
  • Region Reservation: $30

For more information about Private Regions and their related costs, check out the Land: Islands page.

Auctions: Some land auctions are denominated in U.S. Dollars.  Winning an auction incurs a one-time payment, but can cause an increase in your monthly Land Use Fees if the additional land moves you to the next Land Tier.  For more information about land auctions in Second Life, see the Auction FAQ.

Region Rental: It is possible to rent an entire Region for a short period of time.  The cost of renting a Region is L$4000 per day, paid in full on the first day of the rental.  Note that this price is listed in Linden dollars (L$) instead of U.S. dollars.  For more information on Region rental, see Land: Rental.

Linden Dollar Exchange: All Residents have the option of trading U.S. Dollars for Linden Dollars (L$) on the Linden Dollar Exchange (LindeX).  LindeX charges are generated on a per-transaction basis; you will only be charged if and when you decide to make an exchange.  You may also purchase Linden Dollars inworld by clicking the blue L$ button next to your inworld Linden Dollar balance.  For additional information on LindeX transaction fees, see the LindeX: Fees page.

Warning: If you find any suspicious or unexpected charges on your credit card or PayPal statement that appear to be from Linden Lab, gather all available information and submit a Support ticket to Billing for investigation.

 
Trivia: Some credit cards will incur an additional charge because our billing is routed through the United Kingdom.  If you find your credit card statement does not match your invoice from Linden Lab, check your credit card company's policy regarding charges from foreign countries.