Damson

Cheers for that. Taking my cooker to the airport is out of the question then, and I'd then have to pay excess luggage on it anyway. Damn, they've got you all roads!!

JoeBloggs80

Does anyone know if the tax thing can be done retrospectively? I left UK last November.

Buzzy--Bee

Probably. You might need to talk to a UK based tax accountant.

BB

Alfresco

Maybe that new laptop is worth buying in UK after all.

MartinLuther

You have until end of September this year (if you want them to do the calculations) to file a tax return for TYE Apr 10 - the year that you left. Or you can do the calculations yourself and file by the end of next January.

MartinLuther

If you have school age kids then it's worth checking out if you can take advantage of the education refund. If you're eligible then you can basically get your computer half price. You can also get 50% off Internet connections and printer cartridges.

xzibit

I've just bought a new macbook. Would it be worth handing in the receipt at Heathrow and seeing what they say? I'll be on a one way flight and have a visa!!

Alfresco

Thanks ML.

Found this link:

http://www.educationtaxrefund.gov.au...ult.asp?sid=42

Alfresco

I think the shop has to be on the VAT scheme. They usually fill in another form with your passport number etc...

I have done this before. So I'm not sure how lucky you may be. Phone the shop and ask.

llanfachreth

Would they pass the info on to Australian customs who would tax you over there?

Alfresco

Nope. No way. Big Brother is not that big... just yet.

renth

You're only allowed to bring in $900 worth of new gear from abroad, so If they found , say a Macbook and it came with the paperwork and was clearly bought in the UK they'd sting you for GST.

This is a great thread. I was at Heathrow a couple of weeks ago and the queue for VAT refunds was HUGE before the check-in. Here I suspect they won't want to see your purchases.

After check-in in the departures area the VAT desk queues were much shorter but I'm betting they will want to see your goods knowing full well that they might be in the hold luggage and thus they won't have to pay out - but that's just me being cynical perhaps?

lonndongeek

The queues depend on which terminal you're flying from.

When we left the UK we flew Singapore from heathrow T3 and it was as you described - a hole! Fortunately it was just a pair of wedding rings that we were taking so we got the form stamped at the desk after passport control.

I went back to the UK for a week in March last year and flew out of Terminal 4 (before Qantas and BA moved to T3), there was nobody in the queue before passport control. Probably because the VAT refund desk was hard to find.

Cheers

Steve

Wol

There was no-one at the line in terminal five either this month.

MrCro

the VAT refund stuff is explained at http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document

OH wants an eternity ring b4 we leave, be a nice saving if can get VAT back!!!