Taxes

Taxes are typically included in all quoted prices.

Value-Added Tax in Greece is 6% for books and 24% for almost everything else, including most groceries. In Greece the tax is called FPA (pronounced "fee-pee-ah"). If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, you may get a V.A.T. refund on products (except alcohol, cigarettes, or toiletries) worth €120 or more bought at one time from participating stores that usually display a Tax-Free Shopping sticker in their window. Merchants participate in the program by choice, and many choose not to, so check when making a large purchase. To be clear, you can get V.A.T. refunds for multiple purchases, but each receipt you present must be for €120 or more. The merchant will ask to see your passport, and should then issue a completed V.A.T. refund form (called a Tax-Free Check receipt) along with the receipt for your purchases. You must have both to get the refund, so don't leave the store without them. Note that the V.A.T. refund may also apply to some portions of hotel bills, package tours, car rentals, and other services, so be sure to ask in advance. Maximum refunded V.A.T. per transaction is up to the equivalent of €1,500.

At the airport, have the form stamped by customs officials (if you're visiting several European Union countries, do this when leaving the EU). Be ready to show customs officials what you've bought (pack purchases together, in your carry-on luggage); budget extra time for this. After you're through passport control, take the form to a refund-service counter for an on-the-spot refund, or mail it back in the pre-addressed envelope given to you at the store. The processing time for a mail refund can be long, especially if you request a credit-card adjustment.

If you are leaving from the Athens airport for a country outside the EU, after your Tax-Free Check form has been stamped, you can go directly to the OneXchange bureau de change (extra-Schengen area, Gates 1–4, opening hours 6 am–10 pm) and get your refund cash.

Many stores only participate in the VAT-refund program through firms such as Global Blue, a Europe-wide service with 300,000 affiliated stores; you'll see the logo in the window. The process at the aiport is the same as with other V.A.T. refund plans, and OneXchange issues Global Blue refunds in the form of cash, check, or credit-card adjustment, minus a processing fee. If you don't have time to wait at the refund counter, you can mail in the form instead.