Fix Magento Tax Rate Import: "Invalid file upload attempt"

When you import tax rates in Magento and get the error "Invalid file upload attempt", the cause is almost always that the column headers in your CSV file do not match the store views of your Magento installation. Magento expects a per-store-view title column for every store view, and rejects the file if they are missing or different.

How to fix it

1. Open your prepared import file in a plain-text editor.
2. In the admin, go to Sales → Tax → Import / Export Tax Rates and click Export Tax Rates. Save the exported file and open it in a text editor.
3. Replace the first line (the header row) of your import file with the first line of the exported file. The exported header contains the exact store-view columns of your installation, which are required for a valid import.
4. Save the import file and upload it again under Import Tax Rates.

Tips

• Keep the CSV encoded as UTF-8 and use a comma as the field separator.
• Do not add or remove columns — only align the header row with your store views.
• Spreadsheet programs may silently change the separator or encoding; a plain-text editor avoids that.