What it actually cost, once it crossed the border
The Japan tax free changes keep the ¥10,000 and move it: you pay the tax, customs confirms at departure, and the law sets no refund method and no fee ceiling.
¥10,000, after the queue · Country Procedure
Japan tax free pays ¥10,000 on a ¥110,000 purchase, taken off at the register to 31 October 2026. The cutover is the receipt date, not your flight.
Same ¥10,000, taken off at the till · Country Procedure
A VAT refund in Switzerland is 7.5% of the price, starts at CHF 300, and runs 90 days — and leaving by land into the EU costs more than it pays back.
CHF 33.72 on CHF 600 spent · Country Procedure
A German VAT refund needs more than €50, a stamped Ausfuhrbescheinigung and the goods in your hand before check-in. On €600 it nets about €72.
€71.85 on €600 spent · Country Procedure
A Spain VAT refund has no minimum spend since 2018. On €600 the desk pays €75.50 and the shop pays €104.13 — and a 2012 order is why the gap exists.
€75.50 at the desk, €104.13 from the shop · Country Procedure
An Italy tax refund now starts above €70, not €154.94. OTELLO replaces the ink stamp, and a second deadline falls on the shop — which is why some refuse.
€81 on €600 spent · Country Procedure
A VAT refund in France needs more than €100 in one shop on one day, a signed bordereau, and a PABLO kiosk that returns OK before your bag is checked in.
€75 on €600 spent · Country Procedure
Tax free shopping runs on four things a desk asks for and a minimum spend that is different in every country — €100 in France, €70 in Italy, none in Spain.
Validate before check-in · Country Procedure
Duty free vs tax free: one takes the tax off at the till, the other returns part of it weeks later minus a fee. Two mechanisms, two sums, one customs hall.
Two mechanisms, not two words · The Arithmetic
A VAT refund calculator stops at the refund. On €1,000 spent in France that is €125 on screen and about €110 landed, once conversion and US duty arrive.
€125.00 on screen, about €110 landed · The Arithmetic
Is a VAT refund worth it? Below France's €100 minimum there is nothing to claim. Above it you net about €12.50 per €100 spent, against three queues.
Below €100 spent, there is nothing · The Arithmetic
A VAT refund currency conversion fee of 3–5% is three to five times what a card network charges for the same job. The easiest deduction on the form to remove.
3–5%, against a 1% benchmark · The Arithmetic
VAT refund cash vs credit card: cash costs a handling fee nobody publishes, card costs 3–5% if the currencies differ. Take the card in the form's own currency.
Card — but only in the form's own currency · The Arithmetic
Global Blue vs Planet fees: neither publishes a service fee you can compare. What they do publish are the deductions around it — and the shop already chose.
Neither — the shop already chose · The Arithmetic
To calculate a VAT refund from a gross price, multiply by rate ÷ (1 + rate), not by the rate. At 20% that is 16.7%. The formula, and the rates it applies to.
€16.67, not €20 · The Arithmetic
Published VAT refund service fees range from 4% to 30%. They disagree by a factor of seven because they measure four different bases. Converted, they agree.
About €12.50 per €100 · The Arithmetic
How much do you get back from a VAT refund? About 12% of what you paid, not 20% — and less again once duty and conversion are counted. The whole sum, worked.
About 12%, not 20% · The Arithmetic