21.2.09

Tourism in Estonia - How to Shop Tax Free


If you are traveler residing in a non-EU country, you can get back the VAT (18% in Estonia) payed when you bring your purchased items back home. When buying something big, like electronics, this can be a big discount!

First, if you want the money back, make sure you buy your item in a store with the "TAX FREE" sign, and ask for the shop to fill a Refund Cheque! (You might need to show your passport for filling the form)

Second, when leaving Estonia, or leaving EU, show your purchases, receipt and passport to a Customs Office and get your refund Cheque stamped. (Can be done before or after check-in in airports).

Last, show your Stamped Refund Cheque and passport to a Refund Office before leaving EU (usually every international airport has one) and ask for the credit in your credit card or the refund in cash! (If you want cash, you can get the amount converted to the local currency, or in Euros).

Easy! But there's some tricks. You have 3 months after the purchase to ask for the refund, and there's a minimum purchase value for asking the tax refund. For Estonia, this value is 2000 eek (around 180 U$D).

Have you ever got your tax money back? Was it easy? Add your info in the comments!

1 comment:

Underground Millionaire said...

Found: A Hole in the Tax Code

There’s a hole right in the middle of the U.S. tax code. And you can LEGALLY hide your money there tax-free. The IRS can’t touch one thin dime.

CLICK HERE now to find out how to locate that safe zone.