I am not blaming anybody but tax (VAT) refund at Heathrow airport can be hell. Literal Hell. The line goes out the door and it can take up to two hours just to get back my precious 100 pounds backs. And if you don’t know these basic things, you might even not be able to get portions of it cause you didn’t follow the rules. So today, I want to tell you everything you need to know about tax refund at Heathrow Airport.
You HAVE to Show What You Bought at Heathrow Airport VAT refund
This is something very simple but I never ever thought the VAT officers would actually ask me to show the stuff I bought. They literally do!
A lot of airports usually skip this process to shorten the line, but at Heathrow Airport, VAT officers will check everything. I once bought tons of stuff I checked in and I couldn’t get the tax refund at Heathrow airport.
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There are two ways you can do it. First, if you are checking in your bag, there is a place where you can just do your VAT refund before checking in. The line is usually a lot longer than after you go through security.
But if you are getting a refund more than 100 dollars, there is a reservation system. You can reserve your timeslot for 15 pounds. I think it’s worth it rather than waiting on line for two hours.
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Second, you can also get your tax refund after checking in and going through the security. Usually the line is a lot shorter and there is no wait. If you bought very little and able to fit everything in the hand luggage, this is the best option.
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