VAT Refund
 

Hi,

If my last stop is London and if i bought something in italy and paris, can i do the VAT refund in London?

where shld i claim the VAT refund?

Thanks.

You must claim your VAT refund in London, the last point of EU departure. The VAT office in paris will not stamp your receipt and without the stamp you cannot get your refund. When you make your purchase, you must choose whether you want your refund to be credited back to your CC or cash refund at the airport.

The last time I was in Florence I was able to stamp some receipts and receive some VAT refunds (I think there are two companies on is called Global) at their office on Ponte Vecchio. Either way, make sure you have your receipts stamped at the airport and mail the receipt in the stamped self addressed envelope. I think you have 45 days from the date of final departure to mail the receipts. The last time I was in London, I flew with american and the VAT office was a few minutes walk from the american check in counter. I think each gate has one or two VAT counters. You should either get your VAT receipt stamped before you check in your luggage or hand carry the items. Some VAT officer ask to see the item before they stamp your receipt.

Hi,

So i do my VAT refund at London?

Does I need to get my receipts stamp in Paris or Italy first as my items are bought there.

Does London office willing to stamp on those items bought outside the country?

where do i find the VAT office in London?

Is there any limit of items that we can buy?

If you buy anything in London, the back of the VAT refund envelope has little maps showing where to turn it in at each terminal in Heathrow.

If I leave from Paris, but connect to a flight in London, do I have to get my VAT refund in London? I am only in the terminal to change planes.

Hi,

As my flight landed in Rome and depart from london, can i do the VAT refund of those items that i bought in Italy in London airport?

How much time is required to do the VAT refund?

What time does the office open?
as my flight is ard 10am?

Thanks.

All receipt must be stamped in the EU country of final departure. Last year, I flew from Madrid to Los Angless via Paris. The VAT office in Madrid refused to stamp my receipts. Without the stamped receipt you cannot get your refund.

So if your last country of departure to the US is London you must stamp all your receipts at the airport in London.

A couple of years ago I was flying form rome to LA via Paris and the VAT officer in Rome did stamp my receipts, but told me that he is doing this to me as a favor since my flight from Paris to LA does not give me enough time to find the VAT office.

Last year when my sister was coming back from London to LA (august), she was not able to get her receipts stamped. She said the lines at the VAT office at London Airport were so long that it would have taken her at least two hours to get her receipts stamped. So if you are planning to get your receipts stamped in London, your will need one or two hours. This is usually the case in July and august when there are a lot of travelers from the middle east returing to their country after the summer vacations.

Getting VAT refund is a hassle. I have received it okay for 2 trips and then 2 other trips I never heard a thing. We have decided that if buying anything of value we will have it mailed to our home address and then you don't pay VAT tax.
Others do that and it seems to work out well.
But for less expensive items, I won't worry about getting VAT tax back anymore. It isn't worth the hassle.

My last VAT refund was really easy. I flew out of Frankfurt. I had to check in and get my boarding pass first, then customs stamp which was close by-no waiting, then about 2 feet over to get the cash refund. I usually just get credit on my card, but this was only 27€ so I took the cash. The easiest place that I have used for for VAT refunds is Nice. Never a line waiting and you don't check in first. Just give them your ticket and paperwork and the customs officer will stamp it and the mailbox is right there.

Can you get a VAT refund on the sum of all you buy in Europe or is it only on big dollar items?

How does it work?

I am going in a week.

Check out this web page.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/vat.htm
You do not receive a refund on tax for lodging or food. If you buy souvenirs, t-shirts, china or whatever you can ask for a receipt to get a VAT tax refund. They will tell you whether or not your purchases qualifies. You have to have that receipt.

You can get VAT back on purchases of 150€ (could be a little less). This total must be in the same store, then you can take all your receipts for that day to the store's office and they will fill out a VAT refund form. That is the procedure that I have done many times. Usually my big refunds are from Louis Vuitton. The clerk fills out the entire form there and they give you the addressed envelope to mail it. All you do is present it to the Customs office in your departing airport, they stamp it, you walk to a mail box and drop it in-no postage needed. I have never failed to get credit on my credit card.

Scatcat,

How long does it usually take for the credit to show up on your account?

It usually takes about 4-6 weeks to get credit. It's nice to get money back after all is done. The best refund I ever got was when my son went to Europe with the college and his American Express card (on my account) and bought two Rolex watches. Did I mention that I wasn't aware that he was buying these? But one was for me. The refund was extra nice after paying for those.

Hi All,

So i need to ask the store to provide me with a VAT refund form in order to do the claiming at the airport?

I will be going to Italy, Paris and London. Do not think will be buying stuff from London.

Can I gather all my receipts on the items that I bought from Italy and Paris to do my VAT refund at the London Airport?

London is the last stop of my trip.
As I am flying to Rome this sat.
thanks.

You must purchase a certain amount from each store to get the form. I'm thinking 150€ but could be less. You will need the form and your receipt from each store. If the clerk does not fill out the form, be sure you do it before going to the Customs window. You will need to enter your name, address, and passport number. Most shops will fill this out for you. Keep up with all your forms and receipts attached and present them to the last EU airport. If you don't want to wait for credit to your credit card, you can opt for cash. They do keep more of your Euros for service charge.

I think different stores have different policies on the amount of money you must spend in order to qualify for a refund. You have to ask in each place.

And yes, *please* have your paperwork completed before going to the airport. I've been stuck in line behind 20 women who didn't have a clue about filling it out.

The officer may ask to see the items, so as much as possible, you should have them in your hand luggage.

I guess I need to shop at nicer places because I've never had a store clerk complete the forms for me!

Hi,

Let said if I bought LV from Paris and Prada from Milan, I will have 2 forms??

Does LV and Prada need to stamp on the form?? or they just need to fill up the form?

Then when i am in London i will just submit these 2 forms to the custom for VAT refund??

The service charge is applicable to Cash refund or Credit card refund??

btw, is there any limit of the number of bags that I could get from LV/Gucci/Prada??

Thanks.

The shops do not stamp your form. They will possibly fill them out for you. Louis Vuitton in Nice and Herties now Karstadt always have filled mine out entirely. Spend more than the required amount(no problem at LV or Prada) they will put your receipt and form in an envelope for you. Take each form to the Customs office along with merchandise. It does cost more in service charge to get cash back, but if you are worried about the credit, this is the way to go. If you choose the credit, just mail the form.

Yes, you'll have a separate form from each store.

Hi,

Is the form written in English?

Do you think we can fill up ourselves then go to the custom for stamping

Any idea what time does the Custom office opens in Heathrow airport?

As my flight is 1230pm so in order to clear the custom in time, does i need to be there by 8am?
how is the morning queue like?

Thanks

All you will need to fill out on the form is your name, address, and passport number. If the shop doesn't fill it out, ask them to help you and do it right there on the spot. I've never gone to the customs office in London, but the ones I have used open at 8:00.

If I remember correctly, the form is written in the language of the country you happen to be in.

The form is in English and the language of the country where you make your purchase. At the time you or the sales person is completing the form you must decide whether you want cash back at the airport or want the VAT to be refunded the amount to your CC. If you think you will have enough time at the airport, I recommend getting cash back at the airport.

Hi,

What is the percentage of VAT refund on items bought in Italy, Paris and London?

What kind of items are entitled for the refund?

Can hotel charges be refunded?

Thanks.

You can't get VAT refund on hotel charges. As far as I know all items are VAT free as long as they total at least 150€ from one shop. You must have the items available when you go to the customs office along with the form and receipt. I have never been checked, but I have seen others who have been.

You don't get any VAT tax back for hotel charges. VAT varies a bit but after processing people take their fees, you usually get about 12% refunded. Although I won't be buying much anymore due to the lousy exchange rate, in the past it has been a fairly smooth. One trick I learned in Paris or London--if you're after name brands try to focus on a single large department store because they will do an excellent job on the forms and often, in the case of Printemps and I think Galeries Lafayette for example, they also offer 10% off many purchases (but usually not the designer brands) at the cash register, if you are not an EU citizen. Have your passport with you. As others have said, wait until your last EU departure point and have your forms stamped at the airport--usually the forms are accompanied by a postage-paid envelope back to the store, which you can post after you have had it stamped. Terminals 3 and 4 at Heathrow have the process down pat, probably terminal 5 does as well.

My issue is that I will be shopping in Paris on a layover on my way to Rome. We will be returning home Rome-Paris-USA. Our connection is only 60 minutes in Paris on our return back home. If we even MAKE our second flight (and believe me, I've tried to change the flight already- no luck), I cannot imagine I'd have a second to get in line to get the VAT tax form/receipt stamped during this ridiculous connection. Anyone know what the protocol is for this situation with the originating airport? Someone posted earlier that the official in Rome stamped their forms due to a short connection time. Is this common practice? I'm already over the VAT refund before I even begin to shop! LOL!

My issue is that I will be shopping in Paris on a layover on my way to Rome. We will be returning home Rome-Paris-USA. Our connection is only 60 minutes in Paris on our return back home. If we even MAKE our second flight (and believe me, I've tried to change the flight already- no luck), I cannot imagine I'd have a second to get in line to get the VAT tax form/receipt stamped during this ridiculous connection. Anyone know what the protocol is for this situation with the originating airport? Someone posted earlier that the official in Rome stamped their forms due to a short connection time. Is this common practice? I'm already over the VAT refund before I even begin to shop! LOL!

I'm not sure I understand your situation, but maybe. This is my experience. I depart out of Nice for the US, but I have to change planes in Amsterdam. I get the forms stamped and mail my VAT form from Nice.

The standard rule is that:

- VAT may be refunded ONLY as you exit the EU, except if:
- You are taking an intra-EU flight to make an immediate connection at another EU airport to exit the EU, for which you have a boarding card at your originating airport. In this case you must do the VAT paperwork at the first airport. Unless
- Italy is involved at any point, in which case all bets are off. The buffoons the Italian state pays to strut around pointlessly might decide to stamp anything you give them - or decide it's coffee time. And in either case:
- Customs administrations really have better things to do than pay people to give our money away. So in complicated journeys, like yours, you might well find you simply can't get the refund. Well, there you go.

may have been said above-- but if they checked you bags through to the u.s. you can get your stamp and refund at your first departure city. we flew in yesterday-- flew from milan but stopped in london to change planes. we got our form stamped in milan-- then went to another place to get the refund (c.c. credit) he checked to see that we were checked all the way through (2 boarding passes) and took care of it.

Thank you all so much. This is exactly what I was wanting to get info on. I think I will change our taxi pick-up time to an earlier one in case the Italian process takes longer than it should.

yes. get there early. i will say that, when we went to get the actual refund, there was a guy in front of us that probably had 30 or more receipts. it took so long that 2 people in front of us gave up and left.

also-- they CAN require you to show the goods. you should at least have a couple of items in a bag with you so that if you get the odd official in a bad mood you can gesture to them to say "yes, i have the goods here."

don't stress too much about it-- as you know, it's not worth it. but getting there with an extra 30 or 60 minutes is always a good thing.

Hi,
I am travelling through portugal as one of my destinations but flying in and out of europe through paris. I noticed the VAT percentage is higher in portugal so you can claim more and also do not have to spend as much as you do in other european countries.
If i purchase my goods in portugal but fly out of paris and get my forms that i got from portugal stamped in paris, will I be getting the VAT in portugal back or the VAT in paris? Similarly, if i spent enough to claim VAT in portugal but not enough in paris, will i still be allowed to claim in paris for portugal VAT?
Thanks, hope that is a clear question!

Those more recently familiar with the details than me may correct me, but my understanding is:

- no national Customs administration places limits on eligibility for refund. But some retailers and some intermediary companies do. So the minimum spend for refund doesn't depend on which country initially deals with your refund paperwork: it depends on the company you bought the goods from and its refund agent

- You're then refunded the VAT you've paid, minus agents' commission. Self-evidently, this is determined by the VAT rate forthe goods you've bought in the country you've bought them.

Perfect, thank you that helps heaps!

What we will go through for a bit of a bargain! Yes, VAT in September out of Paris was 12%, some stores have them essentially completed w envelope, you just need to sign, and get it stamped, and pop it into the mailboxes right in the processing area. Last September lines at CDG were over an hour for our 1pm flight so allow lots of time accordingly. They have scanner machines which are very fast, but at CDG 3 of the 5 machines were out of order! Refunds were on our credit card statement in under 2 months. Trip before flying out of Venice, there was no wait and there was just one official sitting in a booth. And yes, I'll do it every time!

Be sure the refund envelopes have enough postage to get back to Portugal, also add Portugal to the envelope if it just shows a Lisbon address, for example.