택스 리펀드 Ireland: How To Claim Back Cash From Your Trip To Ireland

[Dubliner]

Who isn’t eligible for a VAT refund?

There are a number of situations where a VAT refund doesn’t apply. It’s worth taking note of the below to ensure that you don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’re due a refund when you aren’t.

1. Students

Let’s say that you’re a student from outside of the EU and you’re studying in Ireland. You decide to head home for a month at Christmas. In this situation, you don’t qualify as you’re going to be returning to Ireland.

Now, if you’re leaving Ireland for good, you’ll be able to pick up a Value Added Tax refund. However, it only applies to qualifying purchases that you made in the 90 days before you leave.

2. Non-EU workers

Let’s say you’re from Brazil and you’re working in Dublin as an accountant. The summer arrives and you decide that you want to head home to see your family.

Similar to the student example above, you don’t qualify for a Value Added Tax refund. Now, again, similar to the student example, you can claim an EU VAT refund when you leave Ireland, but only on the qualifying goods that you bought in the 90 days before your departure.

How to claim a VAT refund after visiting Ireland

Step 1. When making your purchase

If you’re planning on heading out shopping, bring your passport with you and make sure that you keep it nice and safe (I’ve heard that some places will accept a photo of your passport instead).

When you visit a shop, ask one of the people working if they take part in the VAT refund scheme. Many shops that operate within the tourist industry/that get good business from tourists will.

With that being said, many non-tourist orientated shops do, also. For example, I worked in a men’s clothing store while I was in college and we participated in the scheme.

You also need to understand what threshold applies to the purchase in order for you to be eligible to get a tax VAT refund.

Step 2. Getting the appropriate documents

OK, so you know that the shop you’re buying from takes part in the scheme and you know how much you have to spend in order to qualify. Now it’s time to ensure that you leave with the right documentation.

After you’ve made your purchase, ask the shop assistant/the person manning the till/cash register to fill out the VAT refund form – here’s where you need to be savvy.

There are several things that you need to query at this point:

• Ask the person what exactly needs to be done to get the refund: In some stores, they’ll organise a third-party to sort out the refund for them. In some cases, the store will issue the refund themselves
• Ask about admin fees: many stores will take an admin fee for processing the refund. Find out there and then how much it is

When they hand the form to you, have a quick scan of it to ensure that all the necessary sections are filled in. Usually, you’ll be given the document with an envelope. Pop your receipt in with the envelope and keep it safe as you’ll need it later.

Step 3. When you arrive at the airport

So, it’s time to head home. If you’re planning on claiming VAT back, ensure that you arrive at the airport early, as there can be a queue and you don’t want to risk missing your flight.Now, it’s here that you’ll need to get the VAT refund fully processed before you leave Ireland. The VAT refund points in Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport are located past security and before the customs office.

You’ll need to present them with the invoice you received from your purchases along with the filled in refund form. Now, the painful part here is that you’ll also need to show the thing you bought, which isn’t ideal.

You’ll need to pack it in your hand luggage so you have easy access to it. The customs officer will stamp the form as proof of export.

Note: if you’re flying to somewhere else in Europe before heading home, DON’T processes your refund yet. Wait until you’re leaving your final EU destination before making the claim.

Step 4: Getting the refund

According to the EU website, ‘In some larger ports and airports, you may be able to obtain a refund straight away once the customs officers have stamped your form, provided the shop in which you bought the goods uses this facility.’

더블린 공항에서 우체통에 영수증을 봉투에 넣으셔서 봉한다음 넣으시면 되고, 만약에 놓쳤을 경우에는 유럽 경유지 우체통에 넣으시면 됩니다.