Tax refundable on computer notebooks and mobile phones that will be taken overseas

[telstrareg]

At Home Pro I saw people filling out tax forms for goods purchased in store.

I need to purchase a new notebook and mobile phone and would like to know how much I could save on tax (%) if I was travelling out the country with the items. Does paperwork have to be filled out in store at the time of purchase? Do most retail shops you would find in a mall like Central Plaza offer this kind of service?

[casualbiker]

V.A.T in Thailand is 7%.

So you can claim 7% back. Only certain stores do the tax reclaim and it can take an hour or two at the airport depending on how busy they are. I also do not believe they allow it if you have a return ticket, but i could be wrong!

[telstrareg]

So there are no additional taxes apart from the standard VAT. I thought I would ask because I know some things in TL are taxed a lot more than 7% and I wasn't sure if phones and computers had any additional taxes.

[muratremix]

V.A.T in Thailand is 7%.

So you can claim 7% back. Only certain stores do the tax reclaim and it can take an hour or two at the airport depending on how busy they are. I also do not believe they allow it if you have a return ticket, but i could be wrong!

7% was in the past. Last time I buy an iPhone 5S and get Vat refund, it was more like 5.5 percent back. They reduced amount of vat refund you'll get.

[astral]

Most refund schemes around the world have charges

reducing the amount you can reclaim.

[muratremix]

Most refund schemes around the world have charges

reducing the amount you can reclaim.

It was 100 baht fixed before and could get full 7 percent minus 100 baht.

Now it is less than 7 percent.

It could be due to the scene I've witnessed. I saw 2 Chinese-Thai ladies (mother & daughter) in iPhone 5S line along with me and they were talking Thai but they also had foreign passport for VAT refund (And they get VAT refund form).

[Digitalbanana]

And the passport holder needs to be on a tourist visa or visa exempt entry I think?

[muratremix]

And the passport holder needs to be on a tourist visa or visa exempt entry I think?

Non-O works fine, I assume business visa should also work.

So unless you have permanent residence in Thai (I'm just guessing), VAT refund is valid.