France's VAT is 20%7, but you only get back about 12% of what you paid, since a refund company takes a cut12. To qualify, you must spend more than 100 EUR in one store on one day5, live outside the EU, be at least 16, and stay under six months4.
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The shop refunds less than the VAT rate. The operator keeps a cut. Type the price on the receipt and see the realistic amount.
A currency converter with no ads, built for travel. Type the rate from the exchange board and see what the booth keeps. Check the ATM fee before you insert the card.
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You need to spend more than 100 EUR in the same store on the same day5. Think of it like a toll gate: spend less, and the gate stays shut.
This is a lower bar than before. Until the end of 2020, the minimum was 175 EUR. It dropped to 100 EUR from 1 January 20216.
You must live outside the EU, be at least 16 years old, and stay in France less than six months4.
The goods must be for your own personal use, and you have to carry them yourself when you leave13.
Some things never get the VAT back, no matter how much you spend. Services, tobacco, weapons, fuel products, and cultural goods stay taxed11.
Your goods also need to be new and unused. Customs expects them to be no older than 3 months when you leave8.
App Store · soonBefore you fly home, scan your tax-free form at a PABLO kiosk at the airport or border. If there is no kiosk, go to a customs desk instead9. PABLO is the system's name since 201414.
Since 2 June 2025, customs can only validate your form if the kiosk recognizes it when scanned. If it does not, you must contact the refund company that issued the form, not customs10.
The headline rate is 20% VAT7, but the refund company charges a fee for the service. Most travellers end up with around 12% of the purchase price in hand12.
You need to spend more than 100 EUR, exactly 100.01 EUR, in one store on one day5. Before 2021, the minimum was 175 EUR6.
The standard VAT rate is 20%7.
Most travellers get back about 12% of what they paid, not the full 20%, because the refund company takes a fee12.
You must live outside the EU, be at least 16 years old, and stay under six months4. You also need to carry the goods yourself13.
Since 2 June 2025, French customs cannot validate a form the kiosk does not recognize. You then have to contact the company that issued the form instead10.
Exchy checks exchange rates on your phone so you know what that refund is worth before you spend it. Get Exchy on Google Play.
ATM fees for the country you land in, a booth check and a converter with no ads. Ever.
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