American citizen, Macbook was stolen and need to get a new one

Upvote:-1

The solution is to purchase in France, then reclaim the VAT after you leave. You will still be eligible to pay appropriate taxes when entering the US, but I'm not sure how significant they are.

See http://www.douane.gouv.fr/articles/a14710-eligibility-for-vat-refunds for the offical information. Note that you will have to buy from a retailer that participates in the scheme, and make sure to properly register that you have exported the macbook.

Upvote:1

The simplest route would be for your parents to buy a new or used MacBook in the US, and ship it to you as a gift. This'll have the correct keyboard.

Yes, you may have to pay French customs duty on the import of the machine. If it's used, however, its value (and the resultant duty) will be less than if it were new. There are reasonable, buyer-friendly web business from which they might purchase it. I've used Swappa several times and been very satisfied.

After you have it in your hands, the used machine's further travel back to the US will be ignored, just like the laptops carried by a large proportion of other travelers.

Upvote:2

For a VAT refund you the product should be exported without being used. If you use it in France you would be expected to pay VAT on it. But once used it is no longer a new laptop, but a used one, part of your personal luggage I would not expect you having to pay import duty on it when flying back to the US.

Your biggest issue may be finding one with a US keyboard...

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