Travelers to Europe may be leaving money on the table. Here's why

Shoppers enter and exit a Dior luxury boutique in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2025. Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images Travelers to Europe may be leaving money on the table when they buy goods there . I learned this during a recent trip to Italy. My girlfriend, who bought a pair of shoes in Venice, was able to claim a refund on the value-added tax she paid on the purchase. She ultimately got back 17 euros (US$20) on a total purchase of 155 euros (US$181). Refunds of value-added tax, known as VAT, can be worth a "chunk of money" for U.S. travelers to Europe, depending on what they buy and in which country they purchase the item, said Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founder of Sofia's Travel. Getting a few extra dollars back after a European vacation may help somewhat defray the higher cost of airfare resulting from the Iran war, and a euro-U.S. dollar exchange rate that has become less favorable in recent years. However, we would have missed out had the Italian shopkeeper not asked whether we wanted the paperwork necessary to claim the refund later, which we did with relative ease at an airport kiosk in Rome. Many times, stores don't flag the option for customers, experts said. "You have to remember to get [the paperwork] in the shop, because not every shop will remind you of it," Markovich said. …