Does anyone know if you can claim your sales tax back from the US if you are not a resident?

Question

I bought a laptop in Vegas and I live in Scotland and the guy in the shop said could claim the tax back but I can't find anyway of doing it.

Answer 1

No, you cannot claim back sales taxes. In the US, sales taxes are levied at the point of purchase. If you purchased the laptop in Las Vegas, then you paid tax on it and cannot reclaim that.

If the laptop were purchased online and shipped to Scotland, then you would not be charged the tax.

Answer 2

Since you’re not a United States citizen why are you here long enough to have so much sales tax to be concerned with? You’re the only one who know’s your specific situation, but this can be a very sensitive topic. That being said, you may try contacting a local tax preparation business and/or the IRS, both of which would know the laws for California and could help direct you through the process. Take care.

Answer 3

To avoid the sales tax, you really should have had shipped directly to Scotland. If you took delivery in the store, you were charged the tax. Unlike the VAT tax, sales taxes are levied by the states at point of delivery and are generally not refundable.

There is an article inside this PDF that talks about refunds to out of state residents (warning the pdf is large and I'm having trouble downloading it.)

http://tax.state.nv.us/documents/TAX%20NOTES%20160.pdf

Answer 4

if you bought it mail order and had it shipped to Scotland from the US and you were charged sales tax, you might be able to get a refund, but if you bought in a store in the US in person, I think you're out of luck.

Answer 5

no