So I'm travelling overseas next month and I recently bought a new laptop for about $1757 from the Good Guys eBay which is below the limit for 2 people travelling. However I just received the invoice and it says I paid in full which is $2197. How would I claim this as I did not pay this much and does that mean I am not available to claim tax back on this as the pool for 2 people is $1800?
I've never done this before so any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Tgg can't legally issue a revised tax invoice stating an amount other than what EBay paid them.
the 900 pp limit is when you bring it back
you can claim 50k tiffany rings , as long as you're not caught for bringing it back
So I can claim based on one person and not require to state that concession pool?
they won't tag you for bringing it back
just claim yourself upon departure and have your partner to carry it back as used personal belonging (without box/packaging obviously) , no need to declare.
I believe what you're suggesting is smuggling.
@2jzzzz: Not necessarily. Takes it out of the country as new item, uses it overseas, brings back as old/used item. Pretty sure that's sufficient?
Correct. Customs are looking for people bringing items back into Australia for re-sale, not to ping you for the laptop you used to store photos / stay in touch while you were away.
I am pretty sure you misread the TRS document.
There isn't a "$900" limit per person. You can claim as much as you want, however:
If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring up to AUD 900 worth of goods into Australia duty-free, or AUD 450 if you are younger than 18. Families travelling together can pool this allowance (a couple with one child can bring in a total of AUD 900 + AUD 900 + AUD 450 = AUD 2250 worth of goods into Australia without paying duty or GST). This is called your passenger concession.
If the total value of the goods you are bringing into Australia that you purchased overseas or for which you have claimed a refund under TRS is greater than your passenger concession: you must declare all of their goods, you will need to repay the GST refund back on the goods you claimed under the TRS, duty and GST will apply to all items purchased, not just goods over the limit of your passenger concession.
I declared a camera that I'd brought back in again after claiming it, and they told me the depreciation of using it would have made it worth below the limit.
Ahh thanks for that. I did misread as I've never done this before!
Given that the difference between $2197 and $1800 isn't much, I'm wondering if anyone's ever tried to argue depreciation on a laptop or other electronic equipment on the way back into the country. The laptop was worth $2197 brand new, but since it's now used and no longer brand new, the value of it is now $1800. lol
I was just thinking this! Something about a 10% depreciation? My laptop would be near 2 months old by the time I've returned.
I did a quick search on the frequent flyers forums and came up with this:
https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/tourist-refund-sc…
In short, it appears to be a grey area.
yes but 99.999% don't bother to stop you if there isn't box/packaging with you
There's always one dick.
do we need to state this? who has more than 1?
20% depreciation 0 to 3 months, 40% 3 to 6 months, 60% 6 months to 12 months.
What I'm hearing is… it's your lucky day!
I had the same thing except mine was for salary sacrifice. Bought a PC for 1319 but receipt shows 1649 before the discount. Got back GST and tax of around 800 and my PC works out to be just around 550 from the original amount I paid of 1319. And also got back cash back from cash reward.
You should be under the limit based on this comment in another thread
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/402934#comment-6365776
As others have said, the incoming officers are more concern about bio security than tax fraud, they will be easy on you, but if they aren't, don't fight it. I did the calculations and you will still be about $4 in front. With the full price invoice you get a $200 refund, where as with the discounted price, you would only get $160, so $40 bonus.
If you came back and got a nasty officer, and they wanted you to pay back the excess. 2197 - 1800 = 397. tax on 397 = $36
For that amount, nothing to worry about.
On border security, person claim tax refund on some jewellery or diamond ring valued at some ridiculous amount of >20k!!!
Tax refund was like 2k. Got busted coming back…
I had a similar experience to saine a few years ago when I declared my iphone purchase (around $1,200 I think) coming back (Melb) and the officer mumbled something about depreciation on electronics and waved me through. I going to face this situation again in a couple of months when I intend to buy the iphone XS 256gb and claim the GST.
I had a nearly identical situation recently and decided against the claim. I didn't feel it was worth the risk of getting charged GST on the way back considering the items I would be bringing back with me.
In the end, I probably should have just done the claim as I always declare and get waved through
Make sure you declare it on the way back and you should be fine. They'll likely thank you for declaring it and then say it's depreciated and not to worry about it.
As for the receipt being worth more, it's your lucky day. I did the same thing with a pair of prescription glasses - the receipt showed the full amount, before I got discounts/rebates from my health insurance.
Question for anyone that's purchased Tiffany items via their website. Their invoices do not specify the GST amount, so I was wondering if anyone has run into any issues claiming TRS with online invoices?
I have claimed TRS on store purchases in the past without issue as those invoices clearly specify the GST amount. Thanks in advance!
Just an update in case anyone is interested. I requested a tax invoice and they responded with it pretty quickly.
While I am unsure if the first invoice without GST will work for the TRS office, I'd rather not risk it considering how grueling the waiting line is.
I assume you paid $1757 with a voucher code.
contact TGG to adjust the invoice - if they can/will