How to Get a VAT Refund in Italy

Look at the bottom of almost any receipt in Italy and you'll see "IVA." That's imposta sul valore aggiunto, Italy's value-added tax, and it's already baked into the price on the tag. The standard rate is 22%, with reduced rates of 10%, 5% and 4% on things like food, some books and hotel stays. If you live outside the European Union, you can claim back the IVA on goods you take home with you.

It's worth doing on a big purchase, like a leather jacket in Florence or a set of Deruta ceramics. On a couple of scarves it usually isn't, and plenty of seasoned travelers never bother. The process is far less painful than it used to be, because it's electronic now, but it still takes time at the airport and you won't get the full 22% back.

Who can claim

You qualify if you live outside the EU: Americans, Canadians, Australians and, since Brexit, UK residents too. It's where you live that counts, not your passport. An American with an Italian residence permit doesn't qualify; a dual EU citizen who lives in Chicago does, as long as they can show where they live.

What qualifies

According to Italy's customs agency (ADM), the rules are:

• More than €70 per invoice, VAT included, at one shop. Three €30 purchases in three different shops don't add up. If you're buying several things, buy them in one place on one invoice.
• Goods for personal or family use, carried in your own luggage. Things you ship home don't qualify this way (the shop handles VAT on exports it sends itself).
• An electronic tax-free invoice with your passport details, issued by the shop at the time of purchase.
• The goods leave the EU within three months of the invoice date.

Services don't qualify, so there's no refund on your hotel, your restaurant meals, your tours or your train tickets. It's for things you carry out of the country.

Step 1: In the shop

Ask for tax-free before you pay, and hand over your passport (a photo won't do; the details have to be exact). Shops aren't obliged to offer tax-free shopping, but most fashion, leather and design shops in the big cities do, especially the ones with a "Tax Free" sticker in the window.

Since 2018 every tax-free invoice in Italy has been electronic. The shop sends it to customs' OTELLO system, and your copy should carry a request code that proves it went through. Before you leave the counter, check that the code is printed on your copy and that your name and passport number are correct. A typo here can sink the refund later, and this is the only moment it's easy to fix.

Some shops will take the VAT off the price on the spot. That's convenient, but you still have to get the purchase validated when you leave the EU.

Step 2: At the airport, before you check your bags

Validation happens at your last point of departure from the EU. If you fly home from Rome or Milan, that's in Italy. If you connect through Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam, it's usually there, unless your bag is checked through, in which case do it in Italy before you check in. Get to the airport an extra hour early on the day you claim.

Where you go depends on the logo on your invoice:

• Invoice carries a tax-free company's logo (Global Blue and Planet are the big two): go to that company's desk or kiosk. ADM says these operate at Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Venice and Florence airports. They send your invoices to OTELLO along with your passport and ticket details.
• Plain invoice with no logo, or no company desk at your airport: go to the customs office desk (Dogana) and show your passport and ticket.

OTELLO then runs an automatic check and puts you in one of two channels. In the green channel you get the digital validation on the spot. In the red channel customs wants to see the goods, so you go to the customs office with the items and the invoices. That's why you do this before checking your bags: if the leather jacket is already on the conveyor belt, you can't show it to anyone. There are no paper forms and no rubber stamps anymore.

If you leave the EU from another member state, that country's customs endorses the invoice instead, and the endorsed invoice has to get back to the Italian shop within four months of the purchase. Follow the instructions the shop or refund company gave you.

Step 3: Getting the money

Customs never pays the refund. It comes either from the refund company or from the shop.

• Through a refund company: once validated, the company refunds you, in cash at the desk or to your card. Cash is fast but often costs you more in fees; a card refund takes a few weeks. Either way the company keeps a fee, which is why you'll get noticeably less than the full 22% back.
• Directly from the shop: the shop sees the validation in the system and refunds you however you agreed at the time of purchase, usually to your card. This depends on the shop following through, so get the agreement clear before you pay, and keep the shop's email address.

You can check whether your invoice was validated by entering the request code in the "Tax free invoice research" search on the ADM site.

Is it worth it?

For one expensive item, yes. On a €600 handbag the VAT is over €100, and even after the refund company's cut that's a nice dinner. For a scattering of small souvenirs, no: most won't reach the €70 minimum on a single invoice, and the time at the airport isn't worth a few euros. Our advice is to save your serious shopping for one or two shops that do tax-free and make each purchase count.

>> Customs' own OTELLO procedure page has the full details, including a short video.
>> Before you shop, check how much you can bring home duty free. A VAT refund in Italy doesn't exempt you from import duty at home. For ideas on where to spend it, see outlet shopping in Italy and leather shopping in Florence.
photos, top to bottom, by Stefano - Stark, amandabhslater, Marc from Borft, specialkrb