Faire du Shopping ! How & Where to Tax Free Shop Europe in 2025

Bonjour all! Something that often interests my American clients is making a luxury purchase abroad, especially during their travel to Europe. They are interested to know which location is most economically advantageous to make a novel European designer purchase. (Often to ring in a celebratory occasion for my amazing clientele!) Although a seemingly straightforward question, it can take some research to ensure you indeed find the best deal, where applicable, and understand the holistic refund process (which our travel service jo•vage can readily integrate into our clients’ travel itinerary).

Recently this exact question arose for us concerning travel to London and potential travel to Paris as well, and the optimal location to take advantage of tax free/refund opportunities for a designer handbag. Although we know the advantages of buying in France, it had been awhile since we reviewed the United Kingdom (UK)’s current policy. For those who adore Dior we used one of their handbags as an example and compared the online list prices in the UK, France, and US respectively. Which provided a baseline to determine where to best purchase a (in this case Dior) designer bag. Alors for those visiting London and also contemplating shopping in Paris, this may help. (Also note the new UK visa requirements for Americans prior to travel to, or through, Great Britain.)

Tax Refund Review

Using Dior’s “Small Lady D-Joy Bag” below as an example, the price differential between the UK and France isn’t terribly significant. In the UK the equivalent in US Dollars roughly amounts to $5,205 while in France it’s $5,059 (based on the 5 July 2025 USD-GBP and USD-EUR exchange rates). So only a difference of ~$146. Importantly however, the UK ended their tax refund scheme. Which now means the only way to get a VAT refund in the UK is by having it mailed directly from the retailer to an address outside the UK. (Which taking into account potential shipping costs, the refund amount, and coupled with possible impacts from new tariffs imposed by the US this year, we highly assess this route is probably not worth it — both financially and given the additional layers now complicating the UK’s tax return process.)

Images and pricing pulled from Dior.com & Country/Region United Kingdom, France & United States respectively. (All Dior company and Bag product rights and any accompanying copyright(s) remain with Dior.)

However, tax free remains valid in France. Which with the 20% VAT (value-added tax included in the list price) you would generally still get an ~12% tax refund. Of note the price of the same bag sold in the US is $5,000 for reference. So if you’re unable to make it to (and ideally depart from) France, you could purchase it either in the UK or the US, foregoing the VAT refund altogether. Which in this case it’s also important to factor in any potential sales tax/etc if contemplating a purchase in the US. But in short it remains best and most advantageous to make this purchase in France — both for the VAT refund and also for the unique experience of purchasing from a French designer brand in their flagship or other Parisian or French retailer.

VAT Refund Services

In general tax free shopping can certainly be something advantageous to consider, particularly if you are keen to shop while abroad, especially when traveling to the French or Italian fashion centers of Paris and Milan (see some of my favorite brands here). Many retailers advertise if they offer tax refund options, but if you don’t see that it’s worth asking. One of — if not the — primary refund company I’m familiar with is Global Blue, which hosts a list of participating countries here. However, there are several retailers that offer these services, such as Planet Tax Free. Some refund companies and merchants also readily provide information on tax refund locations as part of your purchase paperwork.

There are also various options to get your return; however, we generally recommend doing this at the airport — unless there might be a refund kiosk available near where you shop, such as in the outlets in Sicily, Italy. (You can also always ask the merchant if there is a kiosk nearby.) Some mail-in or online refund options also exist, but to avoid confusion and any missed required steps in the process (i.e. getting your custom stamp, etc) we highly recommend getting this accomplished prior to your departure from Europe. It would also prove most beneficial to look up if the Customs and the Tax Refund office(s) at your departure airport are before or after security. It can vary depending on the country and airport, so save yourself some time, potential delays and stress by confirming these locations beforehand.

Also your purchase does not necessarily need to be luxury designer goods to qualify. There is often a base monetary level needed to be reached, but then any purchases above that are eligible for the tax refund — pending of course that retailer participates in offering a tax refund. If not readily advertised, you can reference the refund company’s requirements that your retailer utilizes or even ask the merchant directly as well.

Closing Recommendations

Tax free shopping (particularly in Europe) can certainly be advantageous economically as well as provide a memorable, unique, and luxuriant experience. But to avoid delays or ineligible refunds, we must also call out these final recommendations: 1) request your return in the country of purchase and 2) complete your refund paperwork early and 3) keep your refund paperwork, receipt, passport, and purchase in your carry-on.

1) It is worth highlighting though that you will need to submit and procure your refund in the country where purchase was made. For example, if you make an eligible purchase in Paris but leave from Frankfurt, having made the purchase within the European Union is not necessarily sufficient justification to get your refund for a French good in Germany.*

Thus we HIGHLY recommend requesting your refund in the country of purchase (and potentially tailoring your itinerary to account for that if of high enough priority for you). We say that as although some documentation exists that this should be possible irrespective of the European Union (EU) country of purchase and departure, in our experience that was not the case. *Although both EU nations, German customs would not grant the requisite customs stamp for our French purchase, resulting in a substantive missed refund.

2) We also recommend filling out and completing your refund paperwork early (the night before can be a good rule for some). This helps you avoid time at the counter filling it out, especially if you become pressed for time before your departing flight/etc. Also occasionally some merchants will fill most of this out for you, especially if you have your passport information on hand during your purchase. Not everyone will do this though, so be prepared to complete it yourself.

3) Additionally, to make this the most streamlined and efficient tax return process, keep your required items (i.e. completed refund paperwork, receipt, passport, and purchase(s)) readily accessible in your carry-on baggage as this will all be required to readily present.

Finally, for further reference Condé Nast published a decent tax refund checklist that could help supplement this. (*Although as mentioned we did not personally experience successfully obtaining a customs stamp at an EU departure point outside the country of purchase — although ostensibly this might be possible.)

We hope this helps when evaluating purchases abroad and getting Tax Refunds. Merci for reading and bon voyage !