Everything you wanted to know about Tax Free

Tax Free is a system for refunding Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT is refunded on purchases made by foreign citizens when re-crossing the border of the country where they were purchased.

There’s a nuance here: if you want to get a VAT refund for purchases, you must permanently reside outside the country where the tax-free was issued. In the case of Europe, you must reside in a country outside the EU. If you have a residence permit, work permit, or any other permit to stay in an EU country for 6 months or more, unfortunately, you cannot get a tax refund. Long-term tourist visas are not subject to this restriction.

Thanks to Tax Free, you have the opportunity to get back 7 to 23% of the item’s value, depending on the VAT rate in the country where you made your purchases. VAT (or GST) rates vary in each country, for example:

• Czech Republic — 21%
• Finland — 25.5%
• France — 20%
• Italy — 22%

Unfortunately, this does not mean that with 20% VAT, if you buy an item for €100, you will get back €20. It’s important to understand that VAT is a tax added to the price of the item, and €100 is the price already including VAT; in other words, €100 is 120% of the item’s price.

So, how do you calculate Tax Free?

It’s very simple: divide the item’s price by 120 and multiply by the VAT amount. Let’s calculate, for example, the VAT on purchases of €100 in France, where the value-added tax is 20%:

(100/120) * 20 = 16.66 €

In Italy, VAT is 22%, and the calculation would be as follows:

(100/122) * 22 = 18.03 €

But this is not the final amount. Tax Free refunds are processed through intermediaries, the most well-known of which is Global Blue. They do not work for free and charge a commission on each refund, the size of which depends on the purchase amount and the country.

For example, if you spent £195 in the UK, the VAT would be:

195/120 * 20= 32.5 £

In this case, Global Blue will charge a commission of 5% of the purchase amount (not the price of the item without VAT, but the price you paid), i.e., from £195. In this case, the commission will be £9.75.

Due to rounding, which is always done not in the customer’s favor, you will only receive £21.5, which is approximately 11% of the item’s value.

As a rule, the larger the purchase amount, the lower the commission percentage. If you had made purchases for £50, the commission would have been 10% of the item’s value.

How to apply for Tax Free?

Applying for tax free can be divided into three simple steps:

Step 1: Get a Tax Free receipt or form

When shopping in stores, ask the seller to issue a Tax Free receipt. It is advisable to bring your passport for the procedure. If you don’t have it at the time of issuance, don’t forget to enter all the data yourself.

Not all stores agree to issue a Tax Free receipt without the buyer’s passport.

The process will be faster if you become a member of the Global Blue program. To do this, you need to register on their website and get an individual digital barcode. At the payment stage, the seller will scan it, and then all Tax Free forms will be filled out automatically. Your passport and payment details will be uploaded to the system. You won’t need to fill anything out manually.

How to fill out a Tax Free form?

The form must be filled out in capital Latin letters. Check that the fields for your passport number, first and last name (as in your international passport), address, email, and signature are filled in. Please note that a receipt for the full purchase amount must be attached to the form.

Not all stores offer VAT refunds. Look for the special Tax Free emblem or ask the sales assistants.

There’s another point to consider: you can only get a tax refund if the total purchase amount exceeds a certain limit, i.e., the minimum amount for which you can claim Tax Free. In Finland, this is €40, in the UK £30, in Italy — €70.01, and so on.

Furthermore, you must make purchases in one store within a single day. For example, if you made purchases in Italy at H&M for €71 and at Zara for €60. You can only get Tax Free from your H&M purchases, as €71 is above the set limit. Therefore, if you see that you are slightly short, buy something else.

Note that VAT on food products is much lower, typically 4–5%. Depending on the country, a reduced VAT rate may also apply to books, children’s shoes, baby clothes, etc.

In some countries, VAT on food products, tobacco products, and books is not refunded.

Tax Free for food and non-food items is calculated separately. If you are short by €10–15, buy non-food items (electronics, clothing, accessories, etc.) instead of food.

It is most convenient to shop in large department stores, such as Printemps, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Harrods and Selfridges in London, etc. In such stores, the VAT amount will be calculated for all purchases within the department store, rather than by specific departments and small shops. But just in case, before making an expensive purchase, inquire about Tax Free with the sales assistants. For example, at Printemps department store, you can get a tax refund on purchases in all departments except Louis Vuitton.

In rare cases, store employees issue an invoice instead of a Tax Free refund company’s receipt. This also needs to be stamped at customs, but you can only receive the money at the store where you made the purchases (in person or by mail). A big advantage of this method is that you can get back the full VAT amount without third-party company commissions.

Step 2: Get a stamp at customs

When leaving the country, go to the customs desk with your purchases, receipts, and passport, where they will stamp your receipt. If you continue traveling in Europe, the stamp must be obtained in the last EU country of stay.

If you are leaving the country by plane, arrive at the airport in advance, as there may be queues at customs (preferably 1 hour before check-in starts). Also, keep in mind that customs does not operate 24/7, and if you have a late flight, there’s a chance you won’t get the stamp and consequently won’t get your money back. In this case, you need to arrive at the airport early, before customs closes (usually by 9:00 PM, but sometimes earlier in some airports).

A customs officer may ask you to present the purchased items. They must be unused (not worn) and with store tags; do not remove them or price tags until you get the stamp at customs. Do not pack purchased items deep in your suitcase; put them aside so you can quickly present them for inspection. It is most convenient to keep them in your hand luggage.

Step 3: Cash out your Tax Free receipt

You can only cash out the receipt if it has a customs stamp. You can receive the money in cash or to a bank card.

What to do if you didn’t get a stamp at customs?

You generally need to get the stamp within three months from the date of purchase (excluding the month of purchase). Theoretically, you can get it on your next trip, but remember that a customs officer may ask you to present the items, and as we mentioned above, they must be unused (not worn) and with store tags.

Where can you get the money?

There are several options:

1. At a Tax Free Cash Refund point. You need to present your receipt and passport. As a rule, these points are located at the airport, but sometimes also in the centers of large cities. A complete list of VAT refund points is available on the website of the company through which the tax-free was issued.

If you decide to get a refund at a Tax Free Cash Refund point in the city center, the refund procedure will be slightly different. At the office, you will receive your money (cash or to a card) and be given a receipt. Upon arrival at the airport, you must obtain your boarding pass (check in for your flight) and, without checking in your luggage (a special tag will be attached to it), proceed to customs, where they will stamp your receipt and inspect your items. Drop the stamped receipt into a special box. If you do not do this, the money received will be debited from your card (it will definitely be scanned at the office).

2. Seal the receipt in an envelope and drop it into a special Tax Free box at the airport. The envelope is attached to the tax-free receipt (if not, a customs officer or an information sign near the box will tell you how to make an envelope from the receipt). Do not forget to enter your card details on the form, as the money will be credited to it.

Pay attention to the currency conversion amount. According to VAT refund rules: for cashless refunds in a currency different from the currency in which the Tax Free check was issued, the “selling” rate of the European commercial bank is applied, plus a currency conversion fee of 3–5%.

Funds will be converted to the local currency or the currency in which the credit card account is held.

You can only get a refund within a certain period, which depends on the country and the intermediary company. For example, Global Blue and Tax Free Worldwide checks issued in Germany are valid for 4 years, while Premier Tax Free checks are valid for 3 years. The most inconvenient in this regard are checks from the Italian company New Tax Free, which are valid for only 60 days.

3. At the store itself. But this is provided that you went shopping in China: since April 2025, simplified (and very convenient!) Tax Free rules apply here.

In which countries can you apply for Tax Free