Tax Free shopping in Madrid!
Tax Free Shopping in
Madrid
If you have been shopping around Madrid, you may have
noticed that the prices of clothing and other non-consumable goods are exceptionally lower than those in other places. Here
in Spain you can take advantage of a tax refund prior to leaving the country.
This is an easy way to save money on expensive goods. The sales tax is almost always going to be 21%. You must make sure to keep all recipes in order to get a partial refund.
This means if you buy a 100€ jacket,
and the sales tax is 21% you can keep your receipt and take it with you to the
airport for the 21€ refund. If you keep your receipt for everything that you purchase (other than food) these tax refunds can add up and save you a large amount of money.
It's quite popular for people from neighboring countries to come to Spain just to shop, as the prices are so attractive its hard to pass up. If you plan on making larger purchases like a Rolex or some jewelry, the 21% refund still applies to this too. This makes it much more logical to make these big ticket purchases in Madrid.
Another possibility for refunding is at the Corte Ingles. The rules surrounding this partial refund are slightly different that for the general tax return from the airport.
It's important to understand that you cant exploit the system. You may only buy products for yourself, if you buy multiple with the purpose of reselling, you will have to pay taxes upon arriving to your home country. You may also only get a partial refund on products that you have purchased in 90 days prior to your departure. If you are staying in Spain for a year, you may only get a partial refund for the items you have bought after your first 9 months.
If you reside in any country that is not a member of the European Union, the Canary Islands, Ceuta or in Melilla, you can obtain a refund of the VAT for purchases over 90.15 euros.
If you go to El Corte Ingles and you bring your passport to the customer service desk after a Purchase, they will issue you a 10€ discount coupon which you can use on your next purchase. This does not apply to consumable goods sold at El Corte de Ingles. This may not seem like a lot of money for the amount of work, but it will definitely start to add up and could save you hundreds of euros!
The DIVA is a system developed by the Spanish Agency for Tax Administration for the digitalization of Tax Free refunds at the Madrid airport. In order to use the DIVA system for a Tax refund, you must present proof of identification as well as proof of departure in the form of a boarding pass. The DIVA system only works when traveller's depart via a Spanish port or airport. For this reason, it is convenient to print the traveller refund document out, since if it is stamped in a different European country, the process will have to be manual.
These are the requirements in order to receive a refund for non consumable goods:
- Purchases must be for personal use, that is to say, not for commercial purposes.
- The European Union must be left within three months after the date of the purchase.
- When shopping ask for the tax free online form (called “reimbursement electronic document” ).
- When leaving Spain and always before checking in your luggage, you must validate electronically all the purchases' reimbursement electronic documents. To do so, you must go to the DIVA screens located in the airport check in areas.
- Remember to always carry:
- Passport.
- Purchases receipts and the DIVA form.
- Purchases for which you ask for the reimbursement. Without goods there will be no stamping.
- Boarding card or travel ticket.
Locations for the refund are in the Madrid Airport:
- Terminal T4. Floor 2. Check-in area. Desks 840
- Terminal T4. Floor 2. Check-in area. Desks 850
- Terminal T4. Floor 2. Check-in area. Close to security checkpoints
- Terminal T4. Floor 1. Boarding
- Terminal T4 Satellite. Floor 1. Boarding
- Terminal T1. Floor 1. Check-in area
- Terminal T1. Floor 1. Boarding zone B
.jpg)
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario