Tax on goods and how much ???

[andy151]

Ive never even thought about this but we are taking probably far too much money out to florida with us so being a woman i will spend, spend, spend but i have just read a post saying once you hit the £145 mak you have to declare and start paying tax aarrrgggghhhh :angry: !!! does it depend on what you buy is it just on clothes, perfumes, electrical or EVERYTHING towels, make-up etc ?? Is it £145 per person or per family ?? If its per person could i get away with me, hubby, 5year old and 11 month old having £145 then ?? how do they know what youve bought over there ??? sorry for all the questions but its something i dont have a clue on, many thanks

[BevS97]

could i get away with me, hubby, 5year old and 11 month old having £145 then ??

Yes, so for a family of 4 you can spend the best part of $1200 on 'stuff' before you have to worry about it. You don't have to worry about spending on food etc, it's just things you bring back into the country - and technically it's anything you bring back, so disney t-shirts, cuddly toys, new clothes etc. Perfume, booze and cigarettes have seperate limits and don't count towards the £145.


When I say a family of 4 can spend $1200 - that is true, with one caveat. No single item can be worth more than £145, so if you are planning on buying lots of small things then you should be fine, but if you have plans to buy a single expensive item like laptop/camera/jewelry then you have to declare it even if your total spend is under the family's limit.



Each person can bring back :-
When travelling from outside the EU to the UK you are allowed to bring in the following, provided you travel with the items and do not intend to sell them.

* 200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250 gms of tobacco
* 2 litres of still table wine
* 1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs
* 60cc/ml of perfume
* 250cc/ml of toilet water
* £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs



how do they know what youve bought over there ?
Its pretty rare, but they can ask to open your cases and take a look, and its upto you to prove that what is inside wasn't bought in the USA. That sounds pretty harsh, but I think it's quite rare for it to get to that stage, but if you had a ton of stuff and were being bolshy with the customs guys then they have the right to get bolshy back.

[motty1969]

Don't worry, been four times and always bring stax of stuff back. Never stuck to the limit, and never been stopped at customs. Usually have a good £500 worth of stuff to bring back.