There is no nationwide tax refund for tourists in the US. The federal government does not charge a sales tax or VAT, so there is no customs counter where you hand over receipts on your way home and collect money back. Sales tax is a state and local matter, and only Texas currently runs an active refund program for international shoppers. The other practical route is to do your shopping in one of the five states that charge no sales tax at all.
Why the US Has No National Refund
Countries that refund tax to visitors typically collect a single national VAT, which makes a centralized rebate workable. The US collects nothing comparable at the federal level. Every sales tax you pay in a US store is set by a state, a city, a county, or some combination, and each of those authorities writes its own rules.1LII / Legal Information Institute. Sales Tax None of them are required to coordinate on refunds, and most do not offer any.
What that means for a visitor: whether you can recover any tax depends entirely on where you shopped, and in most states the answer is no.
The Texas Refund Program
Texas is the only state with a functioning sales tax refund for international visitors as of 2026. It operates through licensed private customs brokers, not a government office. Under the Texas Administrative Code, retailers who collect sales tax on goods being exported can have that tax refunded once proper export documentation is presented.2Cornell Law Institute. 34 Tex Admin Code 3-323 – Imports and Exports
Who Can Claim
Both international visitors and US citizens qualify, provided the goods are leaving the country. A few conditions decide whether it is worth the trip to the refund counter:
- At least $10 in Texas sales tax per store location. Receipts from the same physical store can be combined to hit that floor.
- Purchases must have been made within 30 days of your departure from the US.
- The items must be unused. Wearing a piece of jewelry during your stay is enough to disqualify it.
- Original paper receipts only. Emailed receipts, reprints, and photocopies are not accepted.
Hotel nights, restaurant meals, and other services do not qualify. The refund covers tangible goods you physically carry out of the country.
Documents to Bring
For international visitors, refund stations expect all of the following:
- A valid foreign passport
- An I-94 arrival record or ESTA confirmation
- A US visa, if one was required for entry
- A flight itinerary or boarding pass showing the full route from Texas to your home country, including every connection
- Original sales receipts from each store
US citizens exporting goods need a US passport and a boarding pass for travel out of the country. Names on receipts and forms have to match the passport exactly, so check spellings before you get in line.
Where the Stations Are and What They Charge
Refund stations sit in major shopping areas and international airports around Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, McAllen, and San Marcos. A representative may inspect the items to confirm they are unused. The refund has to be requested before you leave the US, not after you get home.3Texas Comptroller. Sales Tax Refunds
The fees are steep, and they change the math on whether the program is worth using. A refund paid by check to your home address or by PayPal costs 35% of the recoverable tax plus $3 per store location. Cash on the spot costs 50% of the tax, and not every station offers it. There are no upfront charges; the fee comes out of whatever the provider collects for you.
Shopping in a State With No Sales Tax
For most international visitors, the easier way to skip sales tax is to buy in a state that does not charge one. Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Purchases there come tax-free at the register with no paperwork and no processing fee.
Alaska carries one caveat. The state charges nothing, but Alaska allows municipalities to impose their own sales taxes, and some do. Anchorage does not charge one; smaller towns and boroughs might. Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no state or local sales tax anywhere.
Portland and the outlet malls just over the New Hampshire line from Massachusetts draw shoppers partly for this reason. If your US itinerary already runs through one of these states, routing your bigger purchases through it saves more than a partial Texas refund would.
Programs That Do Not Help, or No Longer Do
A few things get confused with a tourist refund. They are worth naming so you do not plan around them.
Louisiana’s program is closed. The Louisiana Tax Free Shopping program, once the best-known tourist refund in the country, ended permanently on July 1, 2024. Refund centers shut by June 30, 2024, and merchants stopped issuing vouchers the same day. The mail-in window for pre-cutoff purchases closed on June 30, 2025.4Louisiana Department of Revenue. Louisiana Tax Free Shopping Program for International Visitors to End July 1 Older travel guides that still list Louisiana as a refund state are out of date. Visitors shopping in New Orleans now pay the full sales tax with no way to recover it.
Washington’s exemption is not for most tourists. Washington State offers a point-of-sale sales tax exemption, but only to residents of US states without a sales tax and to residents of Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. A visitor from outside North America cannot use it. Those who do qualify show proof of residency at the register and pay no Washington tax on the purchase.
Duty-free shops are a separate thing. Duty-free stores in international departure terminals sell goods free of certain federal duties and local taxes because the items are treated as exports. Savings tend to show up on alcohol, tobacco, and perfume, where duty rates are high; ordinary clothing and electronics often are not much cheaper than at a regular store. Your home country’s own import limits still apply when you land.
The $800 duty-free exemption administered by US Customs and Border Protection is for US residents returning from abroad, not for international visitors leaving the US.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Duty-Free Exemption If you are a tourist heading home, that rule is not one you use.