Guide to VAT Refund for Visitors to Austria - Cash Refund at Vienna International Airport
Austria has one of the highest refund rates for large purchases, at up to 15%. A convenient way for visitors from third countries or non-EU countries is to apply for a cash refund of the VAT at the airport (Flughafen Wien Schwechat) on all their purchases made in Austria before their return flight.
Shopping in Austria: Austria has one of the highest refund rates for large purchases, at up to 15%. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Ninjakeg [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
For your VAT refund, please follow these steps:
Step 1:
Present all required documents (duly completed Tax Free forms along with your original invoices, air ticket, passport) and goods at the eValidation service counter at Flughafen Wien Schwechat in Terminal 1 or Terminal 3. Your documents will be digitally recorded at this stage.
Goods that are not carried in hand luggage can be validated for export in Terminal 1 or Terminal 3.
Documents for goods carried in hand luggage can be digitized in Terminal 1 or Terminal 3. However, these goods will only be validated after the security check.
Step 2:
After validating your export goods, check in your luggage at check-in. If your purchased goods are in your carry-on luggage, make sure to have the corresponding documents for the export of your purchases validated after passing the security checks.
Step 3:
Claim back the VAT on your purchases. Once validated, you may claim your Tax Free Refund in cash at Interchange or have it credited directly to your credit card.
If any part of the necessary information on your Tax Free Form has been filled out incorrectly or incompletely, or if goods requiring presentation cannot be submitted, the application for VAT refund will be rejected.
General Conditions
VAT will only be refunded if the following conditions are met:
- Your main residence is in a third country or non-EU country.
- You do not have a secondary residence within the European Union. Third territories - for instance the Canary Islands, Greenland, Lake Lugano or San Marino - are exempt from this rule.
- The total value of your purchase must be at least 75.01 Euro per invoice, i.e. the minimum of 75.01 Euro per invoice applies to each individual invoice. An example: Two invoices from the same day and from the same shop with a purchase value of 30 Euro and 50 Euro each do not entitle the customer to a VAT refund. (Note: The minimum purchase amount is determined by national law.)
- You need to be older than 18 years.
Following Territories of Member States of the European Union are entitled to VAT Refund:
Andorra
Denmark Faroe Islands
Denmark Greenland
Finland Åland-Islands
France French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and La Réunion
Germany Island of Heligoland, territory of Buesingen
Greece Mount Athos
Italy Livigno, Campione d’Italia, the part of Lake Lugano belonging to the territory of Italy, San Marino, Vatican
Netherlands Aruba and Netherlands Antilles
Spain Ceuta, Melilla
Spain Canary Islands
United Kingdom Gibraltar
United Kingdom Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey
European Countries outside the EU that are entitled to VAT Refund:
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Norway
Schwitzerland
Member States of the European Union are NOT entitled to VAT Refund:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
Source: VIA Vienna International Airport