The job was not started because recent account payments have failed or your spending limit needs to be increased.

[Splicho]

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Hi,

I am trying to run a workflow but any time I try it fails with the given error message:

The job was not started because recent account payments have failed or your spending limit needs to be increased. Please check the 'Billing & plans' section in your settings.

I have filled out my payment details + added a payment method which was succesful, but it still failed.

My usage is basically on 0, i've never run any workflows or actions in the past as well, so I should still have the default free minutes left, no? And no, I also have no outstanding or failed payment/balance or what so ever.

For some reason it says 10.3 mins used but none of the workflows ever run, they just instantly failed, so I am lost at this point.

Any guidance here is appreciated.

[dbuzatto]

Hi,

This error is usually related to a temporary GitHub Actions billing restriction at the account or organization level, even when no real usage has occurred yet.

Some possible causes and things to check:

• Even though GitHub provides free minutes, GitHub Actions still requires a valid billing setup to be enabled. If billing was previously incomplete, failed, or recently updated, workflows may be blocked until the billing status is fully validated.
• The “10.3 minutes used” can appear because jobs are created and immediately canceled. Even failed or instantly canceled jobs can count a small amount of usage.
• If this repository belongs to an organization, check the organization settings:
  Organization Settings → Billing → Actions, and confirm that Actions are enabled and not restricted.
• There can sometimes be a delay after adding or updating a payment method before Actions are unblocked.

If everything looks correct and the issue persists, the best next step is usually to contact GitHub Support, as they can verify whether there is any billing lock or validation issue on the account.

Hope this helps!

[Splicho]

Hey thank you for the prompt reply!

The billing method was succesfully validated I am assuming since it deducted $1 from my bank account upon linking the card.

It is a private repo, not tied to any organization.

[dbuzatto]

Thanks for the clarification!

The $1 charge you’re seeing is just a temporary card verification charge and doesn’t always mean that Actions billing has been fully unlocked yet. In some cases, GitHub places a temporary billing hold on new or recently updated accounts, even when the payment method is valid.

Since this is:

• a personal account
• a private repository
• with near-zero actual usage
• and workflows fail immediately before starting

this strongly points to a backend billing restriction rather than a workflow or repository configuration issue.

Here are the recommended next steps:

1. Go to Settings → Billing & plans → Actions and make sure:

   • GitHub Actions is enabled
   • There is no spending limit set to $0
   • No warning banners are shown

2. If everything looks correct, contact GitHub Support and mention:

   • Actions jobs fail instantly with a billing error
   • Payment method is verified and no balance is due
   • The repository is not part of an organization

GitHub Support can remove the billing lock or confirm if there’s a short validation delay on their side. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that can be fixed from the repository or workflow itself.

Hope this helps

[Splicho]

Hi there,

Setting a spending limit above $0 indeed fixed it!

Thank you so much.