A tourist VAT refund calculator with real minimums and fees
Shops in Europe and many other countries include VAT in their prices, and visitors who take the goods home can often claim it back. How much you actually receive depends on three things: the VAT rate in the price, whether each receipt reaches the country’s minimum spend, and how much the refund operator keeps. This tourist VAT refund calculator works through all three for each receipt and gives you an estimate before you shop or at the refund counter.
It covers all 27 EU countries with VAT rates from the European Commission’s database, plus Switzerland, the UAE, Thailand and Singapore, using each tax authority’s own minimum spend where it could be confirmed. Thailand’s official refund table and the UAE’s official deduction are built in, so those two give the amount you should actually receive. Great Britain is included to show that its scheme ended in 2021.
How to use the Tourist VAT Refund Calculator
- Choose the country where you shop. The VAT rate list updates with that country’s standard and reduced rates.
- Enter each receipt on its own line — the price you paid, VAT included. Add a line per receipt or tax-free form.
- If you know the refund company’s fee, enter it as a percentage of the VAT and a fixed amount per receipt. For the UAE and Thailand the official deductions are applied for you.
- Read the estimated refund, which receipts qualify, and how much more you would need to spend on a receipt that falls short of the minimum.
- Copy the estimate, and check the rule line under the result for the source and date of each figure.
Tourist VAT Refund Calculator features
VAT taken out correctly
VAT in a VAT-inclusive price is price × rate ÷ (100 + rate), not price × rate — 20 % VAT in €120 is €20.
Per-receipt minimums
Each receipt is tested against the country’s minimum, including “more than” rules such as France’s €100 and Italy’s €70.
Official deductions
The UAE’s 13 % + AED 3.60 and Thailand’s Revenue Department refund table are built in.
Dated sources
Every rate and minimum links to the official page it came from, with the date checked.
Honest gaps
Where an official minimum could not be confirmed, the tool says so and lets you enter it.
Minimum spend by country (official sources, checked 24 Oct 2026)
EU rates come from the Commission’s Taxes in Europe Database (situation on 1 July 2026). For the other EU countries the rate is included but the minimum spend could not be confirmed from an official page, so you can enter the shop’s figure yourself.
| Country | VAT (standard) | Minimum purchase | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 20 % | More than €100 incl. VAT, same shop, same day | French Customs |
| Italy | 22 % | More than €70 per invoice | Customs and Monopolies Agency |
| Spain | 21 % | No minimum stated | Spanish Tax Agency |
| Germany | 19 % | €50.01 per receipt | German Customs |
| Netherlands | 21 % | €50 incl. VAT | Dutch Customs |
| Austria | 20 % | More than €75 per invoice | Federal Ministry of Finance |
| Switzerland | 8.1 % | CHF 300 incl. VAT | Federal Tax Administration |
| UAE | 5 % | AED 250 excl. VAT per transaction | Federal Tax Authority |
| Thailand | 7 % | ฿2,000 per store per day | Revenue Department |
| Singapore | 9 % GST | S$100 incl. GST (up to 3 same-day receipts) | IRAS |
Worked example
You buy a coat for €250 and a scarf for €80 in two Paris shops. French VAT is 20 %, so the coat contains 250 × 20 ÷ 120 = €41.67 of VAT. The scarf’s receipt is below France’s minimum of more than €100 per shop per day, so it does not qualify on its own — you would need €20.01 more in that shop. If the refund company keeps 25 % of the VAT plus a €2 handling charge, you would receive 41.67 × 0.75 − 2 = €29.25.
For the trip as a whole, the Travel Budget Planner keeps track of spending, and the Forex Markup Calculator shows what your card or exchange counter adds when the refund is paid in another currency.
Who can claim and how
- You must normally live outside the area: outside the EU for EU refunds, outside Switzerland, and so on. Residence is shown by your passport or another document.
- Ask for the tax-free form or digital registration at the till, with your passport. You cannot add it later.
- Take the goods, unused, out in your luggage within the deadline — three months for the EU (Germany and Austria: before the end of the third month after the month of purchase), 90 days for Switzerland and the UAE, 60 days for Thailand.
- Get the form validated by customs or at a kiosk before checking in your bags, then claim the refund from the operator or at the refund counter.
Tourist VAT Refund Calculator FAQ
How is a VAT refund calculated for tourists?
Take the VAT out of the VAT-inclusive price — price × rate ÷ (100 + rate) — for each receipt that meets the minimum, then subtract the refund operator’s fee. For 20 % VAT, €250 contains €41.67 of VAT.
What is the minimum purchase for a VAT refund in France?
More than €100 including VAT, bought in the same shop on the same day, according to French Customs. €100.00 exactly does not qualify.
What is the VAT refund minimum in Italy?
More than €70 per invoice since February 2024, according to the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency. Italy’s standard VAT rate is 22 %.
How does the UAE VAT refund work?
The minimum is AED 250 excluding VAT per transaction. The Federal Tax Authority’s system deducts 13 % of the VAT plus AED 3.60 per transaction, so you get roughly 87 % of the 5 % VAT back.
How much VAT refund do you get in Thailand?
The Revenue Department pays a fixed amount from its refund table — for example ฿1,720 on ฿32,000–33,999.99 of purchases — or 6.1 % from ฿200,000. Each store’s purchases must reach ฿2,000 in one day.
Can tourists get a VAT refund in the UK?
Not in Great Britain: the scheme was withdrawn on 1 January 2021. Shops can still sell VAT-free if they ship the goods directly to an address abroad. Northern Ireland has a separate scheme that is not modelled here.