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23. Which customers are eligible for tax-free shopping?

V Julie avatar
Written by V Julie
Updated over 2 weeks ago

To qualify for tax-free shopping, my customer must:

  • Reside outside the European Union (EU).

  • Be at least 16 years old.

  • Stay in the EU for less than six months.

Eligibility is based on residency, not nationality.

🔎 For example, a French citizen living in the US or Singapore is eligible for tax-free shopping in France, whereas an American or Chinese citizen living in France is not.

My customer is eligible if they live in:

  • Any non-EU country

  • The United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland)

  • The principality of Andorra

  • The Vatican and San Marino

  • French overseas collectivities (COM):

    • French Polynesia

    • New Caledonia

    • Wallis and Futuna

    • Saint Pierre and Miquelon

    • French Southern and Antarctic Lands

    • Saint-Martin

    • Saint-Barthélemy

  • British overseas territories:

    • Channel Islands (Jersey and dependencies, Guernsey and dependencies)

    • Gibraltar

  • Other specific territories:

    • Faroe Islands

    • Canary Islands

    • Ceuta and Melilla

    • Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba

    • Dutch Sint Maarten

    • Heligoland and Büsingen

    • Livigno

    • Campione d’Italia

    • Mount Athos

    • Åland Islands

    • Greenland

    • Curaçao

My customer is not eligible if they live in:

  • Any of the 27 EU Member States:

    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

  • Northern Ireland

  • The principality of Monaco

Special case: French overseas departments (DOM)

The DOMs include:

  • Guadeloupe

  • French Guiana

  • Martinique

  • Mayotte

  • Réunion

🔎 According to EU VAT law, DOMs are outside the EU’s fiscal territory. Therefore, residents of these departments are technically eligible for VAT refunds across the EU. However, due to national restrictions, France does not recognise this eligibility for purchases made in France, even though other countries such as Belgium and Spain do.

So, if my customer resides in a DOM:

  • If I am a retailer in France, Zapptax cannot issue a French tax-free form

  • If I am a retailer in Belgium or Spain, Zapptax can issue a local tax-free form, but not a French one

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