The short answer
Visitors who live outside the EU can often get back part of the sales tax, called VAT, on goods bought in the EU and taken home. Each country sets its own minimum purchase. France's is over 100 euros in one store on one day, and the Czech Republic's is 2,000 koruna. You must get the form validated by customs at the last EU country you leave from. Great Britain no longer gives tourist VAT refunds.
How it works
- Ask the store for a tax-free form. Show your passport when you buy.
- Keep the goods unused and with you. Customs may ask to see them.
- When you leave the EU, have the form validated by customs at your last EU stop, usually the airport.
- France uses PABLO kiosks: scan the barcode, and 'OK Validated voucher' means you're done.
- If you leave the EU from another country, that country's customs stamps the form. You then mail it back to the store.
- Refund companies such as Global Blue take a fee from your refund.
Minimums and deadlines (examples)
- France: purchases over 100 euros, tax included, in the same store on the same day. You must be 16 or older and visiting less than 6 months.
- France: validate before the end of the third month after the month of purchase.
- Czech Republic: at least 2,000 koruna. Goods must leave the EU within 3 months of purchase.
- Other countries set different minimums. Ask the store.
United Kingdom
- In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), tourists can't get VAT back on goods they carry home. Tax-free sales apply only when the store ships the goods abroad.
- Northern Ireland: refunds may be possible if the goods leave Northern Ireland and the EU within 3 months.
Cruise tip
- If your cruise ends in an EU port and you fly home from there, validate at that airport.
- If your cruise ends outside the EU, for example in Southampton or Istanbul, you may need to find customs before your ship leaves the last EU port. Ask the shore excursion desk.
Your checklist
Sources & what we could not confirm · 3 sources · checked 2026-11
- French Customs: Tax exemption in France for tourists (PABLO)
- Czech Consulate New York: Tax-free shopping in the Czech Republic
- GOV.UK: Tax-free shopping
Still being confirmed
- Minimum purchase amounts for Italy, Spain, Greece and other countries: the EU's central tax-free shopping page was not found (404), so only France and the Czech Republic are given.
- How customs validation works at cruise ports, as opposed to airports, was not confirmed on an official page.