Shopping in Paris? How to Get Your Tax Refund

How to get this discount

• You must live outside the EU and be over 16 years old, and stay in France for less than 6 months.
• All the goods must be for personal use only, not for resale.
• You need to spend at least €101 for the transaction to qualify for the detax.

Important note : In France VAT is included in the price, so you don’t have to calculate anything: the price on the tag is what you’ll pay.

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Getting your detax: step by step

At the Store

Make sure to bring your passport when shopping. If you are too scared to lose it, you can bring a copy; but someshops might not accept a copy and can require the original.

• Ask the cashier for detax (tax refund).
• Show them your passport.
• They will ask if you want to get the refund by cash or card, best is to ask by card.
• The shop gives you a special form in an envelope called bordereau de détaxe (or VAT refund form).

Important note : Most big brands stores offer this discount. Vintage store aren’t legally allowed to give VAT refund and smaller boutiques might not know about it and won’t be able to give it to you. But it’s always worth asking!

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At the airport or train station

Before you leave, you have to look for tax refund signs. You have two options : going to the ticket booth with a custom officer (generally open from 6am to 9pm) or go to refund machines. The machines are just in front of the booth, it’s usually quicker way to get your refund as the line is usually smaller than for the booth. bring all your envelopes and have them easily accessible

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What to prepare :

• your VAT refund forms
• your passport
• your items, unused and still in their original packaging (the custom officer might ask to see the items on the form. So try to have them accessible in case!)

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How does it work?

On the machine, scan the bar code of each form (if you have several). If everything is good, the machine will show a green screen saying your form is valid. In some cases, usually for bigger purchases or random checking, the machine can show you a red screen saying your form is invalid. If it does this, don’t panic! Just get in line to the booth and the custom officer will check it for you, and probably ask you to show the purchased item.

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Once it’s done, you can go and take your flight!

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• Pro tip : It's recommended to arrive 4 hours before your departure time so you’ll have time to do the refund, then go through customs which can take some time. Better be safe than miss your flight, and once you pass the gate you can alway do a little duty free shopping if you have some time left!

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You can get your refund in cash or on your credit card. You’ll usually get your refund in 6 to 8 weeks.

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Where you can find Refund booth & machines:

Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport

• ‍Terminal 1, Level 2
• Terminal 2 ABCD, Level 0
• Terminal 2 ABCD, Level 1
• Terminal 2 EF, Level 0
• Terminal 2 E, Level 2
• Terminal 3, Level 0

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Paris-Orly Airport

• Orly 1 & 2, Level 1
• Orly 3 & 4, Level 0

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Gare du Nord, Eurostar terminal, Hall 2, Level +1

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Leaving by another way?

If you’re leaving France by another mean, you need to do the taxe refund before you leave the European Union. Keep in mind that some European countries like The United Kingdom or Switzerland aren’t part of the European Union, so you’ll have to do the tax refund at the border. Here’s a map of all the tax refund machines in France, so you’ll know where to go depending on your travel plans.

If you’re traveling to several European countries, you will do all your tax refund when you live the European Union.