The cost comprises a gift to the U.S. government and a processing fee, in amounts stated on the official programme site. Whether any portion is returned in any circumstance is a question to answer from the official source before paying.
The refund question is the one to settle first
Because the payment is structured as a gift rather than as an investment, an applicant should not assume that ordinary commercial expectations apply to it. A gift is not a deposit, and it is not capital placed at risk in a business with the possibility of a return. That makes the treatment of funds where an application is refused, withdrawn or abandoned the single most important commercial question, and it should be answered from the government's own published material rather than from an intermediary. Amounts themselves should be read at the time of acting from the official page, since figures quoted anywhere else can be out of date. Applicants should also expect ordinary ancillary costs — legal fees, document preparation, translations — which sit outside the programme's own charges and are payable regardless of outcome.
Hypothetical example: A Canadian language-school owner is comparing a Gold Card payment with selling a portion of her business. Her budget must distinguish the applicant's gift to the U.S. government from legal advice, identity documents, translations, travel, and any independent tax planning. The gift is not a recoverable business investment, produces no ownership interest, and does not turn the programme into a conventional visa. She should obtain the current official statement of payment terms before transferring funds and ask, in writing where possible, what happens if an application is refused, withdrawn, or left incomplete. A broker's estimate cannot settle that issue. The central commercial choice is whether she can accept the stated treatment of the money without relying on an expected return or resale value.