How to make your next trip to France enjoyable and tax-free

You often come to France because of your love for its culture and beautiful landscapes. From the seaside to the mountains, from the fields to the woods, France has endless things to offer. This diversity guarantees as well a wide range of local products: you can enjoy unique and varied cuisine and products, made with regional ‘savoir-faire’. This is where the free application ZappTax comes in, as it allows you to get your VAT refunded on all the goods you buy in France and take back with you in your luggage. In this article, we will explain to you how to save money with ZappTax on the unique French products that you should not miss when traveling there.

For generations, France has been known for its leather goods and experienced craftsmanship. Numerous brands are exported worldwide thanks to their expertise in producing bags, jackets, belts and shoes. Prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Yves Saint-Laurent represent only a part of this vast heritage.

Since Brexit, you can buy these products at a discounted price! Let’s see how. Already purchasing French goods in France would normally guarantee you a better price thanks to a stronger currency and no export costs but, more interestingly, you can save by getting your VAT refunded.

If you don’t know yet about the VAT refund process, here is an example: you are a UK resident and want to buy a new leather bag that costs you £350. By claiming your VAT back, you can save up to £45! In other words, this beautiful bag will only cost you £305. Now, picture reproducing this process on all the products you buy on your different trips to France, and you can see how you can save a lot of money, by recovering up to 90% of the VAT on all of your purchases.

To support you in this process, ZappTax offers you a solution that will simplify your daily life. No more tedious lines and paper process, this free app offers you a simple and fast system, while providing the highest refund rate on the market. To benefit from it, you simply need to download the application, request your invoices in the name of ZappTax from the merchants and take pictures of them in the app, and scan a barcode generated in the app at your EU exit point. For the rest, they take care of everything!

How can I get VAT back on items I buy in France?

Here are the key steps to enable you to get your VAT back:

1. Download the free Zapptax app
2. When you make a purchase, ask for an “invoice made in the name of ZappTax” and also fill in the company’s address: 23 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris – As long as you bring your products back in your suitcase, everything you purchase can be tax-free, the service is applicable to all stores in France
3. After validating your profile in the app, take a picture of these invoices and add them
4. Once you have completed all your purchases, don’t forget to click to request for your tax-free form on your app, in the form of a barcode. You will need to scan and validate this barcode, that you will have available on the app, at your exit point of the EU

To simplify the process you can scan the tax-free form via the ‘Pablo’ terminals, a self-service electronic terminal. These kiosks are located at most EU exit points throughout France, such as airports, train stations, ports and other border control points. If there is no PABLO terminal at your EU exit point or if the kiosks are out of order, you should reach the nearest customs office.

In the coming weeks, ZappTax guarantees a return to all its customers at one of the highest rates on the market. For any other questions or information, the ZappTax team is available to support you 24/7.

The ZappTax application is available on the App Store and on Google Play