Tax-Free Shopping in Portugal: VAT Refund Step by Step

Visitors who live outside the EU can claim back Portuguese VAT on goods bought for personal use. The purchase must be over €50 before VAT, and you must leave the EU with the goods within three months, validated at an airport e-Taxfree kiosk. Anyone living in Portugal is excluded. Last checked: 3 November 2026.

Looking for the personal income tax allowance that residents get? That is a different subject, covered in our Portugal tax guide for expats.

Who can get a VAT refund in Portugal, and do expats qualify?

Where you live decides, whatever passport you hold. The Portal das Finanças, Portugal’s tax authority, says you may claim VAT on goods bought in Portugal if you reside outside the European Union. It adds that residents of the 27 EU Member States cannot claim.

That rule sorts readers of this site into three groups:

• Expats living in Portugal are out. If you hold a Portuguese residence permit and live here, you are an EU resident for this purpose, whatever country issued your passport. A 2017 tax-authority circular adds that the authority can refuse the exemption if its own records show you live in the EU, even if your ID suggests otherwise.
• Visitors from outside the EU are in. Friends and family who live in the US, Canada, the UK or Brazil can claim when they visit you. The circular says the law sets residence as the condition and is silent on nationality, so a Portuguese citizen who lives abroad outside the EU can claim too.
• A few EU territories count as outside. The Portal lists places that sit outside the EU VAT area, including the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and several French overseas departments. Residents of those places can claim. Our moving to Portugal from the USA guide explains when your own residence moves into the EU.

Residence is shown at the till with a passport or another official document. The seller records your name, date of birth and the type, number and issuing country of the document. If you plan a house-hunting trip before you move, you are still a visitor who lives abroad on that trip. Once you live here, you are not.

Is the minimum €50 or €61.50?

Both numbers circulate, and they describe the same threshold. The official figure is €50 before VAT. The €61.50 figure is that €50 with the standard 23% mainland VAT added.

Here is what each source says:

Source	What it states
Portal das Finanças e-Taxfree page	The total of your purchases in Portugal must exceed €50, excluding VAT. No other minimum appears on the page.
Decreto-Lei 19/2017, article 2, as changed by Lei 114/2017	The exemption does not apply where the value on the invoice, net of tax, is below €50.
2017 tax-authority circular	Describes the 2017 text of the law as €75 per invoice, net of VAT, and says sales up to 31 December 2017 kept the older €49.88 limit.

Two practical points follow from this.

First, the Portal says “total” while the law says “invoice”. Treat €50 before VAT as the minimum on a single receipt from one seller. Spreading €30 across two shops is a risk, and the law’s wording is on the receipt, not the shopping trip.

Second, the €61.50 figure works only for goods taxed at 23%. The rates in article 18 of the VAT Code are 23%, 13% and 6% on the mainland, and Madeira and the Azores set their own, so the tag price that equals €50 net changes with the product.

VAT rate on the goods	Tag price that equals €50 before VAT
23% (standard)	€61.50
13%	€56.50
6%	€53.00

The standard rate applies unless a product sits on one of the reduced-rate lists, which is why €61.50 is the number people repeat. Ask for an invoice that shows the net amount and the VAT line. Older guides that quote €75 or €49.88 predate the €50 rule.

On exact-limit purchases, note the small wording gap: the Portal says “exceed” €50, the law says “not below” €50. Aim for a clear margin above the line.

What does tax-free cover and what is excluded?

The Portal sets these conditions for the goods:

• They are for personal use, not resale or business.
• You carry them in your personal luggage.
• They are new and unused when you show them at customs.
• You take them out of the EU within three months of purchase.

The 2017 circular adds one legal exclusion. The exemption does not apply to goods meant to equip or supply pleasure boats, private planes or other private means of transport. The Portal page lists no banned product categories, so ask the shop whether an item qualifies before you buy it.

The scheme is about supplies of goods. Hotel stays, restaurant bills, spa treatments and tours are services consumed in Portugal, and none of the sources checked extends the refund to them.

A discounted price is the price on the invoice, so the €50 test is applied after the discount. That matters during sales. The Black Friday guide for Portugal covers the pricing rules, and the outlet centre guide lists which centres show a tax-free service.

How do I claim the VAT refund step by step?

The Portal describes two parts, one in the shop and one at the airport.

In the shop:

1. Ask whether the shop offers tax-free before you pay, and show your passport or another official ID that proves residence outside the EU.
2. The seller collects your details and issues a VAT exemption document with a registration code. The seller must also explain the refund conditions and any administrative fees.
3. Keep the invoice, the exemption document and the goods together. A 2017 circular says a seller may ask for a deposit equal to the VAT and return it, minus costs, within 15 days after the exemption is confirmed.

At the airport:

1. Check in for your flight.
2. Go to the customs area and use an e-Taxfree kiosk. Bring the ID you used at the purchase, your boarding pass, the goods, the invoices and the exemption document.
3. If the goods are in your cabin bag, go through security first and then go to customs. If they are in checked luggage, the Portal says to bring the bags with their airline tags. Keep refundable goods in one bag so you only have one to present.
4. The kiosk starts customs control. In the green channel, no inspection is needed and the exemption is confirmed. In the red channel, an officer checks the goods and documents and issues a certification or non-certification decision.
5. If the exemption is certified, collect the refund from the seller or its financial intermediary.

Tell the airline check-in agent that you have tax-free goods, and ask where the kiosk and customs desk are in that terminal. The Portal gives no terminal-level locations and the layout differs by airport, so follow the signs on the day. Leave enough time before boarding. Queues at the kiosk, customs and the refund desk are separate steps.

Who pays the refund, and how much do I get?

Under the Portal’s description, the refund comes from the seller or its financial intermediary, minus commissions or service fees. Those intermediaries are the tax-free operators whose names you see on shop windows and at airports. Guides to Lisbon airport name Global Blue, Innova Tax Free, Planet Tax Free and Travel Tax Free, and some describe both instant payouts at the airport and delayed payouts to a card or bank account. Which operator a shop uses depends on the shop.

No official page checked publishes a fee percentage. The Portal only says that fees are deducted and that the seller must explain them at purchase. The net amount therefore varies by operator, payout method and the size of the purchase. Ask for the fee before you pay, and compare it with the VAT amount on the invoice. A refund option with a flat fee can eat a large part of the VAT on a purchase that only just clears €50.

If customs does not certify the exemption, you are not entitled to a refund.

Why do tax-free refunds fail?

Most failures trace back to a missed condition or a skipped step. These are the ones the official pages point to:

What goes wrong	Why it matters	How to avoid it
You live in the EU	EU residents cannot claim, and the tax authority can refuse the exemption on its own records	Check eligibility before buying, not at the airport
The ID does not match	You must bring the ID shown at purchase	Use the same passport at the shop and the kiosk
Goods are used or opened	Items must be new and unused when shown to customs	Keep tags on and packaging intact until you pass customs
Receipt is below the minimum	The exemption does not apply below €50 net per invoice	Check the net amount on the receipt, not just the tag price
Kiosk or customs is skipped	No validation means no certification	Go straight to the kiosk after check-in
Goods are not in the bag you present	Customs checks the goods against the documents	Keep refundable items together and reachable
Exit is later than the deadline	Goods must leave the EU within three months	Book your departure with the deadline in mind
Flying out via another EU country	Validation follows that country’s procedure	Confirm where your last EU exit is before you buy
Documents are missing	Invoices and the exemption document are required	Keep them in your hand luggage, not in the case you check

Can I use tax-free at outlets and on Black Friday?

Yes, if the seller takes part in the scheme and you meet the conditions above. The three big outlet centres, Freeport, Vila do Conde and Designer Outlet Algarve, show a tax-free service or banner, and our outlets guide has the details. The €50 threshold applies to the discounted invoice price, so a 40% reduction can pull a single item below it.

If you are shopping for the season, the Christmas in Portugal guide and Portugal in November cover what is open and when. Airport transfers from the city centre are covered in our public transport guide.