Duty | Tax | Customs for International shopping {VAT refund}

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#1,261
Hi everyone! I am new to TPF, and I'm so excited to see there are many people here that love luxury, like me!

I am planning on going to London in December (hopefully) from Texas and wanted to do some damage at the Chanel Heathrow purchasing some RTW. Does anyone know what the Harmonized Tariff Schedule % for RTW and costume jewelry would be?

Thank you in advance, and I hope everyone here is safe and healthy.

xx
 
#1,262
Sunj said:
Hi everyone! I am new to TPF, and I'm so excited to see there are many people here that love luxury, like me!

I am planning on going to London in December (hopefully) from Texas and wanted to do some damage at the Chanel Heathrow purchasing some RTW. Does anyone know what the Harmonized Tariff Schedule % for RTW and costume jewelry would be?

Thank you in advance, and I hope everyone here is safe and healthy.

xx
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Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what this is. Are you referring to the import taxes you'll have to pay when you return to the US?

One note about the Heathrow boutiques, they don't always have everything you're looking for and you can only shop at them when you leave the UK for a non-EU country. You might be able to check Heathrow stock by visiting a central London boutique before you leave- and if they don't have what you need, get it in London.
 
#1,263
Kem45 said:
Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what this is. Are you referring to the import taxes you'll have to pay when you return to the US?

One note about the Heathrow boutiques, they don't always have everything you're looking for, and you can only shop at them when you leave the UK for a non-EU country. You might be able to check Heathrow stock by visiting a central London boutique before you leave- and if they don't have what you need, get it in London.
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Hello Kem45! Thank you so much for that information. I will make sure to check other boutiques before I go back to Heathrow for my flight back to Texas. :)

Yes, I wanted to know what the tax percetage was on costume jewelry and clothes. I read that for leather goods, it is usually a 9% tax. With the recent price increase with Chanel, I didn't know if it was worth it to purchase at the airport. I am trying to weigh my options since shopping at the airport saves me 20% VAT.

Thank you!!
 
#1,264
Sunj said:
Hello Kem45! Thank you so much for that information. I will make sure to check other boutiques before I go back to Heathrow for my flight back to Texas. :smile:

Yes, I wanted to know what the tax percetage was on costume jewelry and clothes. I read that for leather goods, it is usually a 9% tax. With the recent price increase with Chanel, I didn't know if it was worth it to purchase at the airport. I am trying to weigh my options since shopping at the airport saves me 20% VAT.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...

So I believe you can bring anything back up to $800 duty free, and duties are charged over that. Also, it's not a 20% savings in the UK- if all of the VAT was removed it's more like 16.5%, but then the processing fees that are charged make it more like 11-12% savings off the GBP price. Buying at Heathrow will get you back another 2-3% I think. There's a whole Heathrow thread on here that might have some info on this.

When I've bought in London, I've always known what I've wanted to buy ahead of time and found the GBP price of the item on the Chanel website. Most of the VAT refund scheme operators have VAT refund calculators where you can put the amount you're spending in and it will tell you how much of a refund they'll give you. Then you can convert the net into USD and see what your cost will be vs. the USD price + sales tax. I know the UK had a monster price hike a few months ago (like +1,000 GBP on some handbags) and there's chatter on here about another imminent one. A few years ago with Brexit FX rates you could get some incredible deals!
 
#1,265
Sunj said:
Hello Kem45! Thank you so much for that information. I will make sure to check other boutiques before I go back to Heathrow for my flight back to Texas. :)

Yes, I wanted to know what the tax percetage was on costume jewelry and clothes. I read that for leather goods, it is usually a 9% tax. With the recent price increase with Chanel, I didn't know if it was worth it to purchase at the airport. I am trying to weigh my options since shopping at the airport saves me 20% VAT.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...

Another thing to consider is that when you declare your purchase at US custom, your state might also get notified and will require you to pay use tax (which is the equivalent of sales tax). So this needs to be factored into your calculation as well...
 
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#1,267
Kem45 said:
So I believe you can bring anything back up to $800 duty free, and duties are charged over that. Also, it's not a 20% savings in the UK- if all of the VAT was removed it's more like 16.5%, but then the processing fees that are charged make it more like 11-12% savings off the GBP price. Buying at Heathrow will get you back another 2-3% I think. There's a whole Heathrow thread on here that might have some info on this.

When I've bought in London, I've always known what I've wanted to buy ahead of time and found the GBP price of the item on the Chanel website. Most of the VAT refund scheme operators have VAT refund calculators where you can put the amount you're spending in and it will tell you how much of a refund they'll give you. Then you can convert the net into USD and see what your cost will be vs. the USD price + sales tax. I know the UK had a monster price hike a few months ago (like +1,000 GBP on some handbags) and there's chatter on here about another imminent one. A few years ago with Brexit FX rates you could get some incredible deals!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I appreciate all this info!! <3
 
#1,268
Zixi1000 said:
Another thing to consider is that when you declare your purchase at US custom, your state might also get notified and will require you to pay use tax (which is the equivalent of sales tax). So this needs to be factored into your calculation as well...
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Hi Zixi1000! Do you mean I have to pay double tax? Once at US Customs and Border and another with my state of Texas? So 9% and then 8.25%?

Sounds like purchasing in Europe is not a very good idea anymore :(
 
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#1,269
Sunj said:
Hi Zixi1000! Do you mean I have to pay double tax? Once at US Customs and Border and another with my state of Texas? So 9% and then 8.25%?

Sounds like purchasing in Europe is not a very good idea anymore :(
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So technically you will have to pay use tax for item purchased out of state but is used in-state, depending on your state’s use tax policy.

I purchased clothing overseas before and paid duty as a part of the transaction. When my shipment arrived in state I received an email from US custom requesting additional information since it’s considered an import. I didn’t have to pay anything extra at the time as vendor took care of the duty payment since it was a part of the purchase order, however when I filed for tax the next year my state told me I also owed 200 in use tax from this import. I think US custom likely shared my SS with my state during the importation process. Not sure if this would be the same if you just bring goods back through travel
 
#1,270
Zixi1000 said:
So technically you will have to pay use tax for item purchased out of state but is used in-state, depending on your state’s use tax policy.

I purchased clothing overseas before and paid duty as a part of the transaction. When my shipment arrived in state I received an email from US custom requesting additional information since it’s considered an import. I didn’t have to pay anything extra at the time as vendor took care of the duty payment since it was a part of the purchase order, however when I filed for tax the next year my state told me I also owed 200 in use tax from this import. I think US custom likely shared my SS with my state during the importation process. Not sure if this would be the same if you just bring goods back through travel
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Thank you for your insight.

My plan was to purchase a Chanel jacket, belt, and some earrings at Heathrow airport. I figured that I would be saving money even if I did have to pay the 9% tax on the good. But reading all the comments, maybe it will equal out to about the same, or just a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. I am going at Christmas time to visit family there so maybe the customs officers in Texas will be in the holiday spirit lol.

Thank you so much for your comments! <3
 
#1,271
Zixi1000 said:
So technically you will have to pay use tax for item purchased out of state but is used in-state, depending on your state’s use tax policy.

I purchased clothing overseas before and paid duty as a part of the transaction. When my shipment arrived in state I received an email from US custom requesting additional information since it’s considered an import. I didn’t have to pay anything extra at the time as vendor took care of the duty payment since it was a part of the purchase order, however when I filed for tax the next year my state told me I also owed 200 in use tax from this import. I think US custom likely shared my SS with my state during the importation process. Not sure if this would be the same if you just bring goods back through travel
Click to expand...
Hi: I am trying to buy a bag online from a store in Paris and having it shipped it to the US. The price of the same bag at the NYC store (4350 excluding taxes) is clearly more expensive than at the Paris store (3500$ excluding taxes). If i bought the bag from the Paris store, would it get complicated when it arrives at the US customs? I will pay Illinois sales tax for it next year for sure. Any advice or suggestion? I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.
 
#1,272
bambita said:
Hi: I am trying to buy a bag online from a store in Paris and having it shipped it to the US. The price of the same bag at the NYC store (4350 excluding taxes) is clearly more expensive than at the Paris store (3500$ excluding taxes). If i bought the bag from the Paris store, would it get complicated when it arrives at the US customs? I will pay Illinois sales tax for it next year for sure. Any advice or suggestion? I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.
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Does the store say that the price includes customs and fees? If not, you may (likely) get charged customs fees when it arrives. DHL definitely collects them, as does FedEx. Many stores include them in the price of the item. I only buy from stores that include such fees in the price. If not, and you pay the fees and then decide to return the item, it is very complicated vis-a-vis getting customs charges returned. I gave up on the one thing I returned in those circumstances and chalked it up to a learning experience.
 
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#1,273
bambita said:
Hi: I am trying to buy a bag online from a store in Paris and having it shipped it to the US. The price of the same bag at the NYC store (4350 excluding taxes) is clearly more expensive than at the Paris store (3500$ excluding taxes). If i bought the bag from the Paris store, would it get complicated when it arrives at the US customs? I will pay Illinois sales tax for it next year for sure. Any advice or suggestion? I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I don’t think it will get complicated. If the price doesn’t include duty then most likely your carrier will pay first then charge you at delivery. US custom might contact you for additional information about the goods but you just need to provide a general description.
 
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#1,274
How's everybody here? Hope everyone is well...I am just wondering or anyone here knows about VAT refund? My husband is going to Germany and Italy soon and I am asking him to buy me LV..We know the price in europe is little bit cheaper than here in US, so if ever my husband going to buy my LV there, does he still can file for VAT refund? Thanks
 
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