Detaxe (tax free or tax refund) and Duty Free in Paris

For those looking to take advantage of their trip to France for shopping, it's important to understand how to obtain Detaxe or Tax Refund or Tax Free in Paris and France.

Detaxe / tax free / tax refund refers to the refund - for non-residents of the European Union - of the taxes included in the price of goods.

We wrote this post to clarify common questions from readers regarding the détaxe procedure and provide tips regarding Duty Free shopping.

To be eligible for a refund, the total amount of purchases made at a single store within 1 to 3 consecutive days must be over 100 euros.

When paying, inform the cashier that you want to do a détaxe. And remember that you will need to present your passport, so always have a copy with you. Some stores require the original.

You must inform the retailer whether you prefer to receive the refund in cash or as a credit on your credit card.

The merchant will give you a form (and a pre-stamped envelope), which you will need to present to the customs officer, along with the purchased items, at the airport at the time of your return trip to the United States. The customs officer will stamp this form, which you will need to place inside the envelope and then drop into a mailbox at the airport. See item 4 below for the location of the customs desks at Paris airports.

Nowadays, in France, most stores use the PABLO form which can be validated at automatic terminals located at Paris airports (CDG and Orly) and some other French airports such as Nice and Nantes (click here to read our article about the PABLO form). There is no need to mail the PABLO form after validation at the terminals. See item 4 below for the location of PABLO terminals at Paris airports.

You can only carry out this procedure when you are leaving Europe. Therefore, if your trip includes multiple countries, you will need to present the détaxe forms at the customs of the airport where you will check-in for your flight back to the United States.

The détaxe can be processed up to 3 months after the purchase date.

Generally, when requesting a cash refund, payment is made at the airport, meaning that, except for a few exceptions like Galeries Lafayette, it is not the retailer who will give you back your money. After presenting the forms to the customs officer or validating them at the PABLO terminal, you will have to face another line for cash refunds at tax refund Cash Paris offices. See item 5 below for the location of 'Cash Paris' offices at Paris airports.

Some stores refund at the time of purchase (like at Galeries Lafayette, click here to learn more). But even in these cases, you will need to finalize the détaxe procedure at the airport, validating the form either at the PABLO terminals or at the customs desk with the officer. Otherwise, the refunded amount will be charged to your credit card with an additional 2%.

If you prefer to skip the refund line, the best option is to request the refund on your credit card. In this case, credits take 4 to 6 weeks to appear on the card. And they do not all happen simultaneously.

If your purchases are in your checked luggage, you should complete the détaxe procedure before check-in as the officer may request to see the purchased items.

Orly (click here)

Orly 1-2: Level 1, near Gate 21d

Orly 3: Level 0, near Arrivals 3

Orly 4: Level 0, near Gate 47d

Charles de Gaulle (click here)

Terminal 1: CDGVAL level, Hall 6

Terminal 2A: Departures level, Gate 5

Terminal 2C: Departures level, Gate 12

Terminal 2D: Departures level, Gate 6

Terminal 2E: Departures level, Gate 4

Terminal 2F: Arrivals level

Terminal 3: Arrivals level

Orly (click here)

Orly 4 - before security - Departure Level

Charles de Gaulle (click here)

Terminal 2AC - after security

Terminal 2E - after security - Hall K / Hall L / Hall M

The lines tend to be long so we suggest arriving at the airport at least three hours in advance.

It depends on what you are going to buy. The Duty Free at Charles de Gaulle Airport is excellent, with many shops and a huge variety.

If you don't want to waste time shopping in Paris and are not buying much, it might be better to shop at Duty Free. This way, you can avoid the détaxe procedure, which can be annoying and very time-consuming.

However, there is obviously a much wider variety of products available in Paris.

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GALERIES LAFAYETTE: Gifts on purchases over 50 euros made at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, click here for more information and to download vouchers.

FRAGRANCE DE L'OPÉRA PERFUMERY: €10 discount for every €150 spent at the Fragrance de l'Opéra - click here for all information and to download the voucher.

CARRÉ OPÉRA PHARMACY: 10% discount on purchases made at Carré Opéra Pharmacy - click here for all information and to download the voucher.

HOTEL SAINT ANDRÉS DES ARTS (charming 4-star in Saint Germain): 10% discount + 1 bottle of wine + breakfast - use code paris-story.com when booking on the hotel's website, click here to access.

TRAVEL INSURANCE: 5% discount on purchasing your Travel Insurance using code paris-story.com. Travel insurance is one of the documents that may be required upon your entry into Europe, click here to learn more.

TICKETS: 5% discount on tickets, tours, and activities sold at Tiqets using code paris-story.com, click here to access the website.