Compared across countries
Can you get a tax refund on shopping?
For a trip that crosses borders — the same question, answered country by country.
The pattern
Three of the four refund the tax; the United States does not. Korea can take it off at the counter, Taiwan and Thailand make you claim at the airport before the bags are checked. In the US the tax is a state one and there is no federal scheme to claim against — Louisiana runs the only visitor refund in the country.
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United States
No, and the reason is structural: sales tax is a state tax, so the federal government has nothing to hand back at the border. Louisiana runs the only visitor refund in the country.
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Thailand
Yes — 2,000 baht per day per store, a P.P.10 form issued at the till against your passport, and customs inspection at the airport before you check in.
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South Korea
Yes. Foreign visitors can reclaim value-added tax on purchases — either taken off at the till or claimed at the airport.
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Taiwan
Yes: spend NT$2,000 in one day at one store carrying the Taiwan Tax Refund label, then claim at the airport before you check your bags.
United States
Thailand
South Korea
Taiwan