There are still many people who don't know about tax refund. Xiaobian has compiled a general information about this aspect, so you can take a closer look. These contents are still very European in comparison, and may not be as detailed as other places. Tax rebate rate of each country+details
Western Europe
France and Monaco: the tax rebate threshold is 175 euros, and the tax rebate amount is 12-13%.
Netherlands: the tax refund threshold is 5 euros, and the tax refund amount is 16%.
Belgium: the tax refund threshold is 125 euros, and the tax refund amount is 16%.
Germany: the tax refund threshold is 25 euros, with a tax rate of 7% (food and books) and 19% for general goods.
Switzerland: the tax refund threshold is 3 Swiss francs, and the tax refund amount is 8%
Austria: the tax refund threshold is 76.1 euros, and the tax refund amount is 15%.
northern Europe
Britain and Ireland: the threshold for tax refund is between 3 and 1 pounds, and the amount of tax refund is about 17 to 2%.
Denmark: the tax refund threshold is 3 Danish kroner, and the tax refund amount is 19%.
Norway: the tax refund threshold is 315 euros, the food is 29 euros, and the tax refund amount is 19%.
Iceland: the tax refund threshold is 4, Icelandic krona, and the tax refund amount is 15%.
Finland: the tax refund threshold is 4 euros, and the tax refund amount is 17%.
Sweden: the tax refund threshold is 2 euros, and the tax refund amount is 19%.
southern Europe
Italy: the tax refund threshold is 154.78 euros, and the tax refund amount is 12.5%.
Spain: the tax refund threshold is 9.16 euros, and the tax refund amount is 15.7%.
Portugal: the tax refund threshold is 61.35 euros, and the tax refund amount is 15%.
Greece: the tax refund threshold is 12 euros, and the tax refund amount is 17.5%.
eastern Europe
Poland: the tax refund threshold is 2 PLN, and the general tax rate is 23%, food and medicine 8%, agricultural products and handicrafts 5%.
Hungary: The threshold for tax refund is 5, Hungarian dinars, which must be kept brand-new, except for works of art and antiques.
Czech Republic: the tax refund threshold is 2,1 kronor, and the tax refund amount is 17%. Tax refund process
1 When shopping in the store-please pay attention to the shopping tax refund sign
In the store with the tax refund sign, you can enjoy the professional tax refund service provided by the trained clerk. When the consumption amount reaches the tax refund quota, please ask the store for a tax refund form in triplicate, and fill in the detailed address, passport number and other relevant information. Every item purchased must be recorded on the tax refund form or receipt. If it is written on the invoice, the store will attach it to the copy of the tax refund form. At the same time, the store will write down the amount of tax refund you can get on the tax refund form. After completing the form, one copy will be kept by the merchant, one copy will be sent to the relevant authorities, and one copy will be kept by the consumer himself. Usually, the merchant will only keep one copy, and the other two copies will be presented to the customs officers together with the goods when the consumer leaves the country. When filling out a tax refund form in a store, consumers are usually allowed to choose their own tax refund method. You can choose to return cash, check, or return the amount to a designated credit card account. Most merchants will ask consumers to provide their passports when filling out documents, so remember to bring your passports with you when you go shopping! In order to avoid problems when you leave the country, you should keep the tax refund form with your passport. The best way is to put it in your passport so as not to forget to go through the relevant formalities when you leave the country.
2 airport tax refund
After entering the airport, you need to find the VATRefund sign
You need to prepare the following information:
1. Passport
2. Air ticket to travel itinerary (that is, to prove that you left the country today)
3. VATform)- whatever it is, but it is different from the shopping receipt
4. You may encounter two problems:
after receiving cash and/or refunding credit cards, ask the waiter to give you a "Tax
refund", and then ask the salesman to fill in your English address (city, street and house number) and your passport number accurately on this document, and write down everything you buy in detail on this document. The salesman will ask you about the tax refund method: cash or credit card refund. (Some store tax refund forms stipulate that only credit cards can be refunded; For example, in some shops in Italy, the tax refund forms stipulate that credit cards can be refunded or cash can only be refunded in Italy. If you leave the EU in Italy, you can only choose to refund your credit cards. )
sort out all tax refund forms before arriving at the airport, and make sure to fill in the English name (the same as the passport), English address and passport number of the tax refund person in detail.
The tax refund forms should be well matched with the purchased items, so as to avoid that the purchased items can't be found when required by the customs, and the customs will refuse to stamp them, so the tax refund can't be made.
Customs stamps: all tax refund forms should be given to the customs, and each copy should be stamped, and the bottom copy should be kept by itself; If there is only one copy of the tax refund form, please take photos for the bottom.
Paris Spring and Paris Galeries Lafayette Department Store have received the tax forms for cash tax refund.
The first copy is delivered in the corresponding envelope, and the second copy is kept for the bottom.
cash refund
queue up at the cash refund counter, and then give all the tax forms that choose cash refund to the staff. Generally, a service fee of about Euro3 is charged for each tax refund form. Large international tax refund companies have tax refund service counters at major airports in Europe, and refund taxes according to the tax refund method you choose. Cash refund: take the tax refund form after customs inspection to the cash refund office at the airport or border to collect cash. In view of the distance between the departments of the big airport, at least 3 minutes should be reserved for obtaining the customs stamp and tax refund.
You need to make an appointment by phone to collect cash when you return to China (only for GLOBALBLUE and PREMIER)
The amount of tax refund is less than 15 euros, and you should collect it on an agreed date; The tax refund amount is more than 15 euros and less than 1 euros; You can't get more than 1 euros in cash for a single tax refund form, but you can only return your credit card.
credit card tax refund
fill in the credit card information completely and correctly on the tax refund form.
- the first way: direct delivery, but because the prepaid mail of the tax refund company is easy to be lost, guests can consider the second way;
- the second type: return to China for delivery, and send a registered letter in time after returning to China.
when filling out the tax refund form, leave the credit card number and other relevant information, and ask the store for a special envelope. When leaving the country for security check, the goods purchased and the tax refund form will be handed over to the customs for inspection. After verification, the customs will stamp the two tax refund forms, keep one copy, and then put the other copy into the special envelope provided by the store and put it into the special tax refund mailbox at the airport.
Within three months, the store will deposit the returned tax into your account, and you can find the details of the tax refund amount on the credit card bill. If you are worried that you have not received the tax refund, it is suggested that you can write down the number on the document and the address on the return envelope for future inquiry. Tax Refund tips
1. Save time
Tax Refund Gallery of Harrods, UK
Some department stores have a tax refund gallery of Global Blue Alliance, so you can apply for tax refund in cash or credit card in advance, so you don't have to go to the airport to get a tax refund. The tax refund gallery can help you fill out a complete tax refund form.
it should be noted that if you choose cash tax refund (early tax refund), you may be charged a certain handling fee, for example, the handling fee for cash tax refund in France is 3 euros/piece, while that in Britain is 2.5 pounds/piece. This kind of cash tax refund is guaranteed by credit card. It is necessary to ensure that the tax refund form stamped with the tax refund stamp and customs confirmation stamp is sent back to the Global Blue Alliance Center within 21 days, so you still need to go to the airport to stamp and submit or mail the tax refund form, but you can get the returned cash in advance.
2. Save effort
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
In France, if your tax refund form is marked with Pablo, you can directly verify the tax refund on the Pablo automatic tax refund machine without going to the customs window.
however, if the tax refund amount is large, it can't be done on the tax refund machine, and you still have to go to the window. In addition, since Europe can only apply for tax refund when the last member country leaves the country, it is recommended that you start the buy buy shopping mode in the last country to avoid accumulating too much luggage along the way.
3. Save money
It is suggested that you buy everything in a store or department store as much as possible, so that it is not only easy to meet the standard of tax refund, but also only need to go through the formalities of tax refund once, saving time and money. Prerequisites for tax refund
Shopping tax refund means that overseas tourists buy tax refund items that they carry with them out of the country at designated shops for tax refund, and can be refunded according to regulations. Overseas tax refund is generally value-added tax and consumption tax, which is a kind of welfare for foreign consumers in many countries and regions abroad in order to promote tourism consumption.
1. Goods
Because the tax refund is the value-added tax and consumption tax, that is to say, if we pay extra value-added tax and consumption tax for the goods we buy, we can refund the tax in principle.
There are many things that can be refunded, and it is impossible to list them one by one. However, some goods cannot be refunded, including goods without VAT, separate gems and gold bars not used for inlaying, goods purchased online or consumer goods that have already started to be used, and service fees.
2. Tax refund threshold
Of course, not all consumers of any amount have the opportunity to get a tax refund, and they should reach the corresponding threshold first. Different countries and even different stores have corresponding tax refund thresholds, and you need to make inquiries in advance.
Moreover, most large department stores will advise you to collect the invoices you spent in the company on that day first, and then help you with the tax refund together. This will be much more convenient and avoid taking a bunch of lists.
3. Necessary procedures
With the tax refund being paid more and more attention by the general public, many related service providers have also introduced various convenient tax refund methods (this will be detailed below). However, no matter how simple the tax refund process is, the following three key nodes are still indispensable.
1) Tax Refund Form
The English tax refund form is TaxFreeForm. If it is in a small-scale store, it can be opened directly at the cashier. If it is a comprehensive shopping mall, it will be issued with the help of a service counter.
In theory, you need to show your passport when you open a tax refund form. Although many stores don't require it in practice, you may still encounter stricter requirements, so take a copy of your passport with you when shopping.
whether it is typed by machine or filled by hand, the tax refund form should contain the following information:
① Basic personal information: name, address, passport number and personal contact information
② Commodity information: commodity name, amount, tax refund percentage and tax refund amount.
③ forms of tax refund: cash tax refund or bank card tax refund or other forms
another reminder: after filling out the tax refund form, it is best to put it together with the shopping receipt to avoid the situation that there are too many lists on hand that can't match the numbers.
2) customs inspection
in most countries, customs inspection is an indispensable link in tax refund.
The customs is usually strict in inspection. Besides the detailed documents and tax refund application forms of the purchased goods, it is also necessary to provide the corresponding goods to the customs. Customs usually require these goods to be unused, or even to keep the packaging intact, otherwise it is very likely that the tax refund will not be possible.
In addition, it is worth reminding that if there are liquids that are beyond the flight limit and cannot be carried on the plane, they should go through customs inspection before consignment.
3) Submit or mail the tax refund documents and shopping receipts
Only when the tax refund documents and shopping receipts are submitted to the tax refund institution can the final tax refund be completed. Using various tax refund channels, the methods of submitting tax refund documents and shopping receipts are also different. Why is the tax refund
1. Because of the preferential tax policies formulated by foreign countries in order to sell their products abroad. Our country is the same.
2. Tax refund goods include taxes and fees when they are purchased, and these taxes and fees can only be returned after customs inspection and relevant procedures. Therefore, before leaving the country, you need to hold a tax refund form and stamp it at the customs office before you can refund the tax, and the customs is usually more strict in inspection. In addition to the detailed documents of the purchased goods and the tax refund application form, it is also necessary to provide the corresponding goods purchased to the customs. Customs usually require these goods to be unused, or even to keep the packaging intact. The tax refund commodity itself is a preferential policy for not consuming in the country, and the tax refund policy is usually not implemented for consumer goods or services. Therefore, if you want to successfully refund the tax, you must ensure that the purchased goods are unused or unopened. If the consumption documents and goods do not match at the customs office, you may not be able to refund the tax.
note: it is best not to use or unpack the goods before the tax refund!