If you live outside the EU, you can reclaim VAT on goods bought there and taken home, provided you show the goods and the refund documents to customs as you leave the EU, within 3 months of buying them. Each country runs its own process and some set a minimum spend; Ireland sets none, the Commission says.12
Who can claim a VAT refund?
The refund is for people who live outside the EU. The Commission names two groups in particular: tourists whose permanent address or habitual residence, as stated in their passport or other recognised identity document, is outside the EU, and EU nationals living outside the EU who can prove it, for example with a residence permit.3
You will be asked for proof that you live outside the EU, such as a non-EU passport or a residence permit.3 EU residents pay VAT even when they shop in another EU country.2
The refund covers goods you carry out of the EU in your personal luggage.3 In Spain, the tax agency adds that it covers only goods for your own or your family's use, or as gifts, bought occasionally; services are excluded, and so are purchases sent straight to a home address.4
How long do I have to take the goods out of the EU?
The goods must be shown to customs on departure within 3 months of their purchase, together with the VAT refund documents.1 The Commission's tax department puts it as taking the goods out of the EU within 3 months of purchase, with a stamped VAT refund document as proof.3
Spain's tax agency gives the same limit of three months from the purchase to leave the EU with the goods.4
How does customs validate the claim?
Every claim must be validated by customs, digitally or on paper, before you leave the EU. Beyond that, the claim and refund process is not harmonised at EU level, so procedures differ between countries and depend on whether the seller or a VAT refund operator handles it.1
Shops can refund the VAT themselves or use an intermediary, and either may charge a fee, which may be withheld from the refunded VAT.3
We do not name or compare refund operators. This is not legal advice.
What does it look like in practice? Spain's digital system
Spain's tax agency publishes a step-by-step description of its DIVA system, which stamps tax-free forms electronically when travellers leave the EU. The digital process has been compulsory for all such sales made since the start of 2019.4
- At the shop, say you want a VAT refund. The shop checks your identity and residence and, if they qualify, issues an electronic refund document (the DER) and gives you a copy.4
- When you leave the EU through Spain, you validate the DER at a kiosk in the port, airport or border crossing.4
- A green tick means the form is validated and the refund is approved automatically. A red cross means you must go to the customs office, where staff check whether the requirements are met.4
- Once validated, you claim the money either through an entity authorised by the tax agency, which pays the VAT minus its authorised commission, or from the shop, to which you send the validated DER and which must then refund the full amount within fifteen days.4
If you bought in Spain but leave the EU from another member state, for example Lisbon, the form is not stamped in Spain: take a printed DER and have it stamped in the country you leave from.4
The goods must be with you. If you leave the EU without them, or without having your forms stamped at the kiosk, the tax agency says you cannot get the VAT back.4
Is there a minimum spend?
The official pages put this differently. The Commission's tax department says the value of the goods purchased must be above a minimum set by each EU country.3 Your Europe says some countries set a minimum value of purchases or other criteria to qualify for a refund, and its FAQ says Ireland has no minimum.12 Check with the tax or customs authority of the country where you shop.
| Country | Minimum spend | What the official page says |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | None | The Commission's Your Europe FAQ says some countries set a minimum value, but not Ireland2 |
| Spain | Not stated | The tax agency's traveller page, as read, sets out who qualifies and the time limit but gives no minimum amount4 |
| Other EU countries | Not collected | Set nationally; check the customs or tax authority of the country where you shop3 |
Is airport duty-free shopping different?
Yes. When you leave the EU there are no limits on the quantity or value of duty- and tax-free goods you can buy, but the country you are flying to may limit what you can bring in, so check its rules.2
What this page cannot tell you
- National rules differ. Your Europe says the claim and refund process is not harmonised at EU level, so forms, kiosks and procedures differ between countries. We describe Spain's system because its tax agency publishes it under terms that allow reuse.
- Minimums not collected. We did not take figures from customs sites whose terms bar commercial reuse, including the French and German customs sites and Italy's customs agency; check those authorities directly.
- Fees vary. Shops and refund intermediaries may charge a fee, which may be withheld from the refund; the official pages do not say how much.
- This is not legal advice. Nor is it tax advice. This page summarises official guidance and links it so you can check it yourself.
Related: How does Japan's tax-free shopping change on 1 November 2026? · How much can you bring into the EU and Japan duty-free? · EES and ETIAS: what changes at Europe's borders.
Key takeaways
- The refund is for people who live outside the EU, on goods carried out in their luggage.
- Show the goods and the refund documents to customs as you leave the EU, within 3 months of buying them.
- Ask the shop for the refund form at the time of purchase; in Spain it is the electronic DER.
- What we would skip: leaving the EU without the goods, or before the refund form has been validated; Spain's tax agency says either means no refund.
Sources
The EU rules come from the European Commission's Your Europe pages and its Taxation and Customs Union page; the worked example comes from the Spanish tax agency's page for travellers (updated 23 September 2026). All were read on 24 September 2026. See how we research.
- European Commission, Your Europe, VAT – Value Added Tax (page last checked by the Commission 1 July 2026). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- European Commission, Your Europe, FAQs – VAT – Value Added Tax (page last checked by the Commission 1 July 2026). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union, VAT refunds (section: VAT refunds to non-EU travellers). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (Spain), Información general sobre la devolución de IVA a viajeros (page updated 23 September 2026). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. Fuente: Agencia Tributaria (sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es), página actualizada 23/09/2026; translated from Spanish and summarised by us.
Changes made. We summarised the Commission pages (CC BY 4.0) in our own words. We translated the Spanish tax agency's page from Spanish and summarised it without changing its meaning, as its reuse terms require, and we give its source and last-update date. The table is our arrangement. We name no refund operator. This is not legal advice.