Hey Taxman

June 12, 2010 2:28 PM

Tax Refunds! When i leave mexico, will i get the value added tax back?

Im staying in mexico for a year (as a german citizen) and am wondering if i will get the vat back on products bought in mexico when i leave the country?
I bought a flight with a mexican company which already contained 600 pesos of taxes. Is it possible to get this money back?

posted by freddymetz to Work & Money (2 answers total)

In most countries, VAT returns are only allowed for tourists, and you would need to be visiting Mexico on an FMT visa.

You also need official invoices from every place, and services (such as air flights) do not count.
posted by that girl at 3:48 PM on June 12, 2010

I can't say about Mexico specifically, but in general, you can only reclaim it if you're on a tourist visa. The times I've reclaimed it while traveling it's always been handled by the merchant selling the item and handled at the time of sale. Not all merchants were willing (or knew how or were able) to do it, and there was a minimum charge of around $100USD in goods. I would show my passport with the tourist visa and they'd take down the information and give me a form. If I remember correctly I was expected to show that when I left the country I was taking the stuff with me. (It was virtually never worth the hassle of all the paperwork, I haven't done it in quite a while.)
posted by Ookseer at 1:52 AM on June 13, 2010