Question >> Claiming U.S state tax back??

[Aleem]

Does anyone know how I can claim U.S. state taxes back?


Here is what happened:
My wife and I went shopping in Buffalo on the weekend, and got stopped by Canadian customs on the way back - so we had to pay GST and PST, no big deal. But the thing is, we paid 4.75% state of New York taxes on everything, which when added up is quite a bit!

I have been told there is a website that explains how to do claim the U.S. taxes back (as you can't pay taxes twice on the same product purchased) - some U.S. customs website?

I am sure there are few RFD'ers that have done this after doing cross border shopping - please help!

[WorldIRC]

You shoulda done it when you were driving back.. I believe you can stop at US Customs on the way back and claim it there. Now that you're back in Canada, you probably can just claim it on your income tax or something.

[HighFlyer]

no such thing.... state taxes are like provincial taxes, they are not refundable. The GST is a federal tax.

[Aleem]

no such thing.... state taxes are like provincial taxes, they are not refundable. The GST is a federal tax.

Are you sure?


You can claim VAT back in Europe - so why not US state tax?

[LNahid2000]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can claim it unless something has changed recently. I remember my relatives from England doing a bunch of shopping in Buffalo and then getting their taxes back on the way back to Canada. This was 5 years ago though.

[CheapScotsman]

Might at well contact them and ask ... http://www.tax.state.ny.us/

[HighFlyer]

I couldn't find any reference other than this:

http://www.louisianataxfree.com/

Did you know Louisiana is the only state in providing sales tax refunds to international visitors?! This means: International visitors to the state of Louisiana are finding a shopping paradise in Louisiana – the only state in the United States providing a sales tax refund for international shoppers on purchases made at nearly 1000 tax free stores.

[CheapScotsman]

I know that you can't claim the sales tax back in Washington State ... and that Oregon doesn't have any sales tax.

[HighFlyer]

I think it works the same way when my Amerifriends come over here to visit. They don't get any refunds of PST (similar to state tax) paid, only GST. Since the US doesn't have GST equivalent, there's no tax for international visitors to the US to claim (other than Louisiana).

[UrbanPoet]

ive seen some things in toronto where US vistors can get their taxes back on shopping stuff
i also wonder if it works the other way around...