Hi,<BR><BR>I will be visiting Vancouver BC next week. I am a US citizen and I know that when I make purchases, I have to pay a GST tax and that this tax is reimbursed upon my return to the US. I have a few questions:<BR><BR>(1) Can I get reimbursed for ALL of my purchases? Or must I meet a certain dollar amount first?<BR><BR>(2) Where can I get more info. on where I need to go to get my reimbursement?<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR><BR>Fred

all details are on the website for Canada customs<BR>http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/visitors/<BR>

I don't know all the answers, so definitely check the website that the previous poster gave. I can tell you that dollar amount is irrelevant. However, I'm pretty sure the rebate only applied to items you are bringing back to the US with you. You therefore wouldn't get a refund for food and hotel costs. (At least I *think* that's how it works.)<BR><BR>As for how to process your refund, the simplest way is to go to the refund centre at the Duty Free on the *Canadian* side of the border if you're driving, or at the airport if you're flying.

Dollar amount is NOT irrelevant. You must purchase at least $50 at one time in order to be eligile for the rebate

also, hotel taxes ARE eligible for efund. You cannot get refunds on food or entertainment taxes

Save your receipts for lodging and any retail purchases that total more than $50. You can get a refund on some or all the General Sales Tax (GST), Provincial Sales Tax (PST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The amount of the tax and the portion to be refunded varies by province (and rules tend to change, too). You can claim the refund by filling out a form that you can find online at: <BR>http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/visitors/<BR><BR>Fill out the form and mail it in with ORIGINAL receipts and your boarding pass showing your flight leaving Canada (proof of export is required to claim the refund). If you are leaving by car, you can take care of your refund at the duty-free store at the border. Do NOT use commercial services, which often display brochures or run ads in visitor guides. The fees are outrageous and the claim form is very easy to complete and submit. Again, BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR RECEIPTS VALIDATED BEFORE LEAVING CANADA.<BR>

Wow! Thanks a lot for your input everyone! And in record time! What a fast response rate. You guys are a great resource! You guys are great.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>Fred

What do you mean by "have your receipts Validated"?

Check the site mentioned earlier to learn about validation. You can have that taken care of at a duty free shop on the border or there are official offices to handle it at large international airports, but you MUST do that before leaving Canada. (If you cut it too close to make your return flight, you won't have time). This was a change made last year.

We just returned from Quebec and the following applied: You must have a minimum TOTAL of $200 to apply for the tax, your hotel accomodations are eligible as are goods purchased (ie, clothes, paintings, etc.) as long as each receipt is at least $50 before taxes (we purchased a jacket for my daughter that was $49.99 - and was NOT eligible because of one cent - had I known at the time I would have put a post card in with my purchase and the total bill would have been over $50.) Food, gas, car rentals are not eligible. Also - very important - you must have itemized receipts - not just a credit card receipt - we had a credit card receipt from one hotel and a credit card receipt from a vendor where we bought some handmade jewelry and customs would not include them - they said it must be "itemized" as to what the receipt relates to. We drove home and stopped at the duty free store at the Maine border to process our receipts - upstairs was all the duty free goodies and downstairs was the custom's agent - they process your paperwork and issue your refund on the spot (in hopes that you will go upstairs and spend it on duty free goods which of course we did ! ). The forms to fill out are readily available at many stores and in hotel lobbies.