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 Travel & Outdoors | June 2008 
Mexico's Sales-Tax Refunds Could Prove Taxing for U.S. Tourists
 Jayne Clark - USA Today
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| | The lure of shopping: Mexico City, with its popular Las Americas mall, is one of five cities now in Mexico's sales-tax rebate program. (Chris Hawley/Arizona Republic) | | |
Mexico is now offering sales-tax refunds for goods bought by foreign visitors in five popular tourist haunts — Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. But collecting the cash will require digesting lots of fine print as the program gets off the ground.
The refunds are for value-added tax paid on retail goods, and exclude hotel and restaurant tabs. The items must be purchased in stores that have registered with the rebate program — only about 5% of total retailers at present, though the government is "aggressively" marketing the program to others.
The refunds apply to purchases of a minimum of 1,200 pesos (about $115) made in a single location. If an item was paid for with cash, its value can't exceed 3,000 pesos (about $287); to get tax back on anything over that amount, you must pay with a credit or debit card.
Visitors who present their sales receipts at airport kiosks can get refunds of 50% of the total due, up to 10,000 pesos (about $959), in cash. The other half will be deposited electronically in the individual's bank, meaning they have to supply an account number to receive a full refund.
For now, the refunds apply only to visitors departing Mexico by air, and paperwork must be submitted at the respective airports. A government spokeswoman says the program is expected to expand to five other major cities by year's end, and eventually will be available in major cruise ports. |
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