I'm going out of the country for the first time, What do I need to know about customs at the border?mainly tax

Question

I heard I need to "claim my purchases", do they ask you what you bought when you enter back into the US? Do you need receipts? exact prices of what you bought? do I have to pay at the border the taxes on my purchases?

Answer 1

Are you just going for a normal vacation somewhere? Unless you are planning on purchasing a lot of stuff like tons of cigarettes, alcohol, antiques, etc it isn't an issue for the average traveler who picks up $100-200 worth of souvenirs.

If you are going to any of these:

The EC countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and Switzerland all refund VAT/GST to varying degrees.

than you are allowed to get some or all of the amount of tax you paid when you purchased your  items refunded, if you keep all your receipts and documents. You then show these documents to customs officials upon leaving the country to claim your refund.  Most countries specify a minimum amount you must spend in a particular shop to claim a refund. Anywhere from $25-300.

I don't usually bother because I am not buying expensive  souviners all from one shop.

*Also... there are often departure taxes when leaving foreign countries so you want to find that out before going (probably in a guide book/or online) so you know to have that amount of cash. Sometimes it is $10-20 (best to have that reserved in US dollars)

Good Luck to you, happy travels

Answer 2

most of the time they won't ask you to open your luggage.  If you're just bringing in small things, keep your mouth shut.  If you're trying to bring in something large you might have to claim it. It may also depend on where you're returning to the US from.

Good luck.