Anyone able to clarify the TRS thing for me?
I’ve read a few comments on deals where some people have said that you can get the tax back at airport but some also saying they weren’t eligible or had to pay tax when they came back?
I’m going from Sydney overseas to Asia for a few weeks. Thinking of buying a MacBook.
Cheers!
It's subject to GST if the value is greater than $900, assuming you declare this upon your return.
If you are travelling with others, you can split your goods with others, essentially pooling together your limits.
If you are travelling with others
Not true.
This only applies for families. ie. partner and children under 18.
If there's a singular item greater than the individual passenger concession, then yes, TRS limits pooling it to just families. But how will they know when you claim that person to be your 2nd cousin?
Also, if there are multiple items, then just split the items amongst your group of friends so everyone is carrying within their allowance.
But how will they know when you claim that person to be your 2nd cousin?
cousins are not eligible only your partner and children under 18.
(unless you are married to your cousin ?)
then let them be your de facto partner
Making false declarations to customs can result in a very high fine or even jail…
TRS is the TOURIST Refund Scheme, intended for visitors who enter Australia and buy things here to claim the GST back.
First line from the page you linked:
International travellers (including Australians) …
So no, not intended just for tourists or visitors which you emphasised.
Stop spreading misinformation please. Regardless of what the scheme is named it is clearly intended for all international travelers leaving Australia not just tourists.
People who take advantage of this to save money on items under $900 are not scamming anyone as long as they declare the goods upon their return.
For OP's case though since I don't think there are any MacBooks under $900, they may have to repay the GST upon their return which would put them back to the same position had they not claimed anyway. According to a couple of the comments below they may not even have to pay GST even if it's over $900.
So just claim and declare on your way back, all perfectly legal and there's nothing to lose (other than a little bit of your time).
tbh, I would not bother.
Most people queuing up to use this service don't have much of a clue so the queue moves slowly, saving up to $90 (10% of the cap) can be found through simple haggling/negotiation for far less effort and bureaucracy. I'd rather spend the time relaxing in the business lounge drinking free beer.
if it was a true "tourist refund scheme" it would be made ineligible to people travelling on Australian passports
TRS is applicable to Aussie passports? Genuine question
it's applicable to Australian passports. I've done TRS numerous times
Yes it is
I've never been asked any questions, tbh I doubt they give a shit anyway
WOW~!
I’m going from Sydney overseas to Asia for a few weeks. Thinking of buying a MacBook.
Take the risk. Claim it and state that it is a gift for your mother in China. Then unbox it and discard the box and paperwork overseas and bring it back.**
**not legal advise.
exactly this, I've done this for jewellery, camera, laptop and a phone
never been asked on my return
sweats profusely whilst speaking in broken English/Mandarin
DW I got this
@MrThing: Agent: OP, oh that's a nice macbook. Did you buy it overseas or in Australia.
<proceeds to open the macbook lid where the officeworks receipt falls out on the able with a TRS form attached>
OP: err…..shit.
Legally two ways you can bring goods back for with you have claimed GST and avoid the tax.
as a true Ozbargainer,
1) bring laptop in its original package (unopened) and tax invoice to the TRS office in the airport and claim the tax back
2) upon return, just bring it back as your personal laptop in your carry on luggage.
No one is going to bother to check for your $200 tax back.
They generally only chase after larger quantum value.
NOTE: It's been a few years since I've claimed TRS and the below is my experience from about 2018.
One is allowed up to (if I recall correctly) $900 of tax free goods upon returning to Australia. If bringing the item back into Australia, you'd in theory need to re-pay tax back on the item for the difference between the $900 and the item price.
I also believe, do your own research, that the tax free amount accumulates for the number of people travelling in the party. For example, two adults have a total of $1800 for the group and can be claimed against one item.
My personal experience with TRS:
I've only ever ONCE presented goods for inspection for tax purposes when returning to Australia. All other times I've just discarded the box or never had it when leaving. However in most of these 'other' times the values of the items were less than $900.
For the one time that the goods were inspected/presented, value $2700, the customs officer simply inspected for about 2 seconds and let me through without any tax/costs to pay. At the time, and I can't recall if the question is still asked on returning custom's cards these days, but I did tick that I had goods valued more than $X
This was quite a while ago and I can't remember the details, but I claimed TRS on a laptop (I think).
When I came back I did the right thing and told customs, but the guy just waved me through. Win!
just claim it, - i did,
i bought an iphone (which i ended up returning) from the apple store and a macbook at jbhifi - the tax refund comes through within a week or so.
they do stamp your receipt though, so you're unlikely to be able to profit on returning an item
so for faster processing - you can apply on the trs website and state the amounts in dollars to get a QR code which you present at the claim counter (which is PAST security, i thought for the longest time the refund is done at border force at arrivals lol, - they will send to you elsewhere)
so bring that QR code ( you can show it digitally or print it) and bring along your receipts
on your way back, its best practice you tick number 3 on the declaration form ($900 or more duty free etc), I showed the officer and he asked how much it was and i said 2.3(k) and showed him the phone (i was using it at the time), and he just told me to go through. (I forgot about the macbook), pretty much they care more about meat, food and traditional medicine you might bring in if you are Asian lol. Since its so many people they come through, they have to be more efficient about what they choose to care about,.
my holiday was only 3 weeks
Do the items need to be paid for by cash/credit card to claim TRS amount or as an example - can you buy a macbook with discounted apple gift cards and still claim the GST back?
As long as your receipt shows an ABN and GST amount you're claiming back, the payment method doesn't matter.
Make sure you bring a physical card (bank or credit card) so TRS can refund to.
So the options for OP seem to be to commit tax fraud or not commit tax fraud.
I get you OP, the trs website is very confustion and unclear.
I've done this for many years. Even for camera equipment costing a few thousands dollars, they didn't really care. Waved me through without a fuss.
But my brother claimed a $25k watch and when he returned, customs knew he had made a claim even though he had nothing to declare on his yellow card. They queried him but the watch wasn't on him.
So I'm pretty sure they only target very high value items. Doubt they would care for a mac book.
What did your brother do with the watch? Have someone else carry it through?
His wife brought it through
Still risky if they went through Customs as a family unit I guess
Do your "paperwork" prior to travel. TRS has 2 queues - one for travelers who are submitting a paper claim & one for travelers who are lodging electronically via QR code.i will let you guess which queue moves faster.
Do they still need the printed invoice or can be shown on phone ok?
Went through TRS Sydney over a week ago. A lot better than in Melbourne. They forced everyone to complete the application on the mobile app, which made the queue go so much quicker. There was a line of about 15 people in front. Only queued up for 10-15 minutes max. Had it been in Melbourne, would have waited 30-45 minutes at least
What happens if the item exceeds the limit? Do you just get to claim "Up to the limit" ?
Jowey on 08/01/2025 - 10:21 Comment score below threshold.
