Tax back on goods purchased in Germany (MwSt)

US citizen working in Germany, often travelling. Can I get $$$ for my purchases when exiting Germany, even though I will be returning in a few days? It looks like I must "present" the items to customs (delcare?) so expecting tax-back for buying a fridge, oven, dishwasher is hard to imagine... but...

You're NOT able to qualify for tax back if you have a German residence permit. Otherwise, you can get tax back for goods that you can physically SHOW to customs, so pretty much it has to fit in one of your bags. The check point in the Munich airport is before security control so you can claim tax back for goods you plan to check in, just be prepared to show and unpack.

FYI: This is true for any EU country...say you take a weekend trip to Spain...as long as you have a return ticket for the US within the next three months. Some officers want to see the physical ticket itself but I made do with an e-ticket itinerary in Spain.

HTH,
jml

http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch/busin...vat_refund.html

Though I searched the forums on this same topic, I only discovered threads regarding refunds for non residents temporarily employed in Germany.
My question is this, as a non resident/non EU traveler, who has been on business here in Berlin for the past eleven weeks, are there any taxes on goods and services I can claim back once leaving the country. I know that in Canada, tourists, if declaring receipts can obtain either the PST or GST (if not both) on goods and services paid for within the country when visiting. Anybody know of any similar procedure here in Germany?

Many thanks

Topics merged by admin

I think you have to get a special receipt from anywhere that has the 'tax free' sign on it.

This page is yer huckleberry:

http://www.zoll.de/english_version/a0_pass...ping/index.html

The purchase of goods in the retail trade is free of sales tax under the following presuppositions: You

* are resident in a third country and can prove this to the seller with personal identity documentation;
(Citizenship is irrelevant; only the place of residence is decisive. Thus, a Swiss citizen who is resident in Germany, for example, cannot purchase goods here tax free.)
* do not have a residence permit authorising you reside in this country for more than 3 months; and
* export the goods within 3 months (that is, before the end of the third month following the purchase) yourself in your personal travel luggage. Your personal travel luggage includes those objects that you have with you on crossing a border, for example hand luggage or the objects in a vehicle used by you as well as the luggage checked in connection with your travel. Hence, baggage sent beforehand or afterwards by post or forwarder does not fulfil the conditio