Tax refund

DesertFox_2

Hello,

First of all, to contextualize the situation, I want to buy a laptop from the US and I am currently a full time international student in the UK. If I'll conclude my transaction, I will receive my laptop in about 4-5 days and I will certainly have to pay the british VAT on it (20% I believe). However, as I am buying a laptop from USA which is already a "VAT included" (I think ), I was wondering if I could get a tax-refund because it leaves the US territory? Would that be possible juridically?
Besides, I know that I can get a british tax refund from Heathrow if I do not bring the laptop back to UK. Would that be possible the same for usa? The main problem would be the fact that I am buying it from a shop =/

If anyone has any idea about it, please leave a post :T

ChiefGrasscutter

I'm not sure of the exact answer as I don't know the rules in detail.
hopefully others with direct experience will be along to comment shortly..........

however:
You may be charged customs duty when you bring it into the UK.
Any guarantees will require you to return it to the USA in the event of a fault.

In general I've heard it said many times that for UK persons it is not worth buying stuff like this direct from abroad. Although it may seem a cheaper headline price, by the time you have added in the various costs of importing it into the UK plus the major hassle of 'what do I do if it don't work'...............it ain't.

S0litaire

Also most (if not all) US prices are quoted without VAT, since every state has a different "Sales Tax" so it would be difficult to lost all 50 possible prices for each item ^_^

As for Customs, if you're lucky you might not get charged an import TAX but you will receive a bill for the VAT.