{"id":84028,"date":"2017-02-21T11:59:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T10:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=84028"},"modified":"2019-02-22T16:29:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T15:29:35","slug":"tax-free-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/tax-free-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax free shopping in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You have had the time of your life in <strong>Barcelona<\/strong>, and now you want to do some <strong>tax-free\u00a0shopping<\/strong> before heading back home. That sounds like fun, but how and where can you do this? For everyone that doesn&#8217;t live inside the European Union, this applies to you and it means <strong>saving 21 % of all your shopping.<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0ShBarcelona<\/a><\/strong> is here to explain all about\u00a0<strong>tax-free shopping in Barcelona<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/tax-free-barcelona\/#What_is_Barcelona_tax_refund_rate\" title=\"What is Barcelona tax refund rate?\">What is Barcelona tax refund rate?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/tax-free-barcelona\/#How_can_I_shop_tax_free\" title=\"How can I shop tax free?\">How can I shop tax free?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/tax-free-barcelona\/#Barcelonas_tax_refund_offices\" title=\"Barcelona&#8217;s tax refund offices\">Barcelona&#8217;s tax refund offices<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Barcelona_tax_refund_rate\"><\/span>What is Barcelona tax refund rate?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_83826\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83826\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-83826\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Eurocoin-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-83826\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo : JWPhotography2012 via Visualhunt.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">First of all, everything you shop can be <strong>tax exempt<\/strong>, apart from hotel bills, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/4-gats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">restaurants<\/a> and food items. So, what is this <strong>tax<\/strong> that you can be exonerated from and why? <span id=\"result_box\" class=\"\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"\">When a resident of the European Union buys something in the <strong>European Union<\/strong>, the price of the item is automatically increased by a <strong>tax<\/strong> called <strong>VAT<\/strong> (Value Added Tax, known in Spain as IVA).<\/span> <span class=\"\">This <strong>tax<\/strong> goes unnoticed to the consumer who simply pays the price displayed in the store.<\/span> <span class=\"\">However, all purchases include <strong>VAT,<\/strong> which in Spain amounts to <strong>21%,<\/strong> except for certain items like food and books, which have only<strong> 10% VAT<\/strong>.<\/span> <span class=\"\">The stores collect this <strong>tax<\/strong> and pay it to the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span id=\"result_box\" class=\"\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"\">Anyone living outside the European Union is entitled to <strong>claim VAT on purchases made in Spain<\/strong> when they return to their country. All you have to to is spend more than \u20ac90,15.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/outlet-barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Outlets in Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_can_I_shop_tax_free\"><\/span>How can I shop tax free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_84031\" style=\"width: 273px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-84031\" class=\" wp-image-84031\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/festive-motion-shopping-300x195.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"263\" height=\"171\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-84031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Jorge Franganillo via Visual hunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span id=\"result_box\" class=\"\" lang=\"en\">When you are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/shop-barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shopping<\/a>, ask the store if they will practice this service. You can then ask for <strong>tax refund<\/strong> checks that the store will fill for you. Keep all checks from all the stores in which you have been shopping. When, at the airport, you go get your\u00a0<strong>VAT<\/strong> money back,<span class=\"\">\u00a0you will be required to present<strong> tax refund checks<\/strong> and customs may require you to check all items in your baggage before validating your checks.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>When your checks have been validated by customs, you can receive the money in cash from any exchange office, in the currency of your choice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Information about Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Barcelonas_tax_refund_offices\"><\/span>Barcelona&#8217;s tax refund offices<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_84033\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-84033\" class=\"wp-image-84033 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aeroport-300x157.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-84033\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Giacomo P. via VisualHunt.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span id=\"result_box\" class=\"\" lang=\"en\"><span title=\"Si vous ne passez pas par l'a\u00e9roport pour quitter Barcelone, la proc\u00e9dure de remboursement de la TVA est un peu diff\u00e9rente car vous ne pourrez pas toucher vos ch\u00e8ques en liquide dans Barcelone. \">If you do not go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/metro-airport-l9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">airport<\/a> to leave Barcelona, the <strong>VAT refund<\/strong> procedure is a little different as you will not be able to cash your checks in Barcelona. Ask for<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span title=\"Si vous quittez Barcelone par un autre moyen de transport que l'avion, demandez une enveloppe de remboursement de la TVA dans le magasin dans lequel vous faites vos achats.\"><strong>a VAT refund envelope<\/strong> in the shops where you make your purchases.\u00a0<\/span><span title=\"Avant de quitter Barcelone en croisi\u00e8re par exemple, vous devrez vous rendre \u00e0 la douane du terminal portuaire (ou \u00e0 tout autre poste de douane avant votre d\u00e9part d'Espagne) et pr\u00e9senter vos ch\u00e8ques de remboursement de la TVA pour que les douaniers vous les valident\">Before leaving Barcelona for a <strong>cruise,<\/strong> for example, you will have to go to the port terminal customs office and present your <strong>VAT refund checks<\/strong> for customs clearance<\/span><span title=\".\">.\u00a0<\/span><span title=\"Quand vous revenez dans votre pays, envoyez les ch\u00e8ques valid\u00e9s au Bureau des remboursements de TVA \u00e0 Madrid, dans l'enveloppe que le ou les magasins vous ont fournie. \">When you return to your country, send the validated checks to the <strong>VAT Refund Office<\/strong> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/madrid-barcelona-barcelona-madrid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Madrid,<\/a> in the envelope provided to you by the store. <\/span><span title=\"Vous devrez attendre environ 3 mois pour que votre r\u00e9clamation soit trait\u00e9e, avant de vous faire rembourser. \">You will have to wait about 3 months to get reimbursed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span title=\"Suivez la m\u00eame proc\u00e9dure que dans l'exemple donn\u00e9 pour les croisi\u00e8res pour tout autre moyen de transport utilis\u00e9 pour quitter Barcelone, comme le train ou la voiture.\">Follow the same procedure as in the example given for cruises for any other means of transport used to leave Barcelona. Y<\/span><span title=\"Mais vos ch\u00e8ques doivent imp\u00e9rativement \u00eatre valid\u00e9s aupr\u00e8s de la douane avant de quitter l'Espagne.\">our checks must <strong>imperatively be validated with the customs<\/strong> before leaving Spain. <\/span>You can also\u00a0 visit the<strong> Global blue tax free office<\/strong> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.es\/maps\/place\/Passeig+de+Gr%C3%A0cia,+7,+08007+Barcelona\/@41.3884865,2.1667519,17z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x12a4a2f232865b71:0xb205d0f2d7df5711!8m2!3d41.3884825!4d2.1689406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Passeig de Gracia, 7<\/a>, in the city center, to get your money back.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"84028\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 132.5px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">4.5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">4<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            votes        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You have had the time of your life in Barcelona, and now you want to do some tax-free\u00a0shopping before heading back home. That sounds like fun, but how and where can you do this? For everyone that doesn&#8217;t live inside the European Union, this applies to you and it means saving 21 % of all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":84032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4599],"tags":[6943,6941,6942,5876,1304,6939,6940,5877],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84028"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108553,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84028\/revisions\/108553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}