Business · Trade · 11 hrs ago
Germany keeps €50 VAT refund threshold until the end of 2028
A German parliamentary committee backed keeping the €50 VAT refund threshold until 31 December 2028.
The rule affects Swiss residents shopping in Germany: they currently need to spend at least €50 to claim a VAT refund.
A planned digital export form would let shoppers record receipts in an app and could allow refunds on purchases below €50.
Germany’s customs service had said the digital system could enter regular operation nationwide in 2026, but it is still being tested.
The committee’s decision means the current minimum may remain for years, unless the digital system rolls out nationwide sooner.
A German lawmaker called the extension a compromise, after the finance ministry proposed raising the threshold to as much as €175.
Germany’s parliament must still approve the change, while officials work towards wider use of the digital system.
Germany’s Bundestag budget committee has backed keeping the €50 minimum purchase threshold for VAT refunds until 31 December 2028.
The proposed extension still needs approval from the German parliament.
Under the current rule, shoppers receive VAT refunds only when they spend at least €50.
A planned digital export receipt system could allow refunds on purchases below €50, but it remains in a pilot phase.
The committee’s decision was described by CDU lawmaker Felix Schreiner as a compromise that avoids a proposed increase in the threshold.
- Who
- The German Bundestag’s budget committee approved the change; it affects shoppers seeking VAT refunds, including Swiss cross-border shoppers.
- What
- The committee backed keeping the €50 VAT refund threshold until the end of 2028. The change still needs parliamentary approval.
- When
- The committee approved the proposal on the Wednesday before 14 November 2026.
- Where
- Germany.
- Why
- Schreiner said the extension was a compromise that avoided a proposed increase to as much as €175 and allowed more time for nationwide introduction of the digital export receipt system.
German retailers and the Hochrhein-Bodensee Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Felix Schreiner
Threshold
German retailers and the Hochrhein-Bodensee Chamber of Industry and Commerce
The chamber supports reducing the threshold to zero euros, and German retailers want it removed as soon as possible.
Felix Schreiner
Schreiner welcomed keeping the €50 threshold temporarily and called it a compromise.
Reason
German retailers and the Hochrhein-Bodensee Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Retailers benefit from Swiss customers’ spending.
Felix Schreiner
Schreiner argued that raising the threshold would have put shops in southern Baden at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Germany’s finance ministry proposed raising the threshold to as much as €175.
Germany’s customs authority said it aimed to move the digital export receipt process into regular operation in 2026.
The Bundestag budget committee approved an amendment to keep the €50 threshold until 31 December 2028.
cash.ch reported that the proposed extension still needed approval from parliament.
- VAT refund threshold
- €50
- Proposed extension
- Until 31 December 2028
- Parliamentary status
- Approval still required
- Digital export receipt
- Still in the pilot phase
- Proposed higher threshold
- Up to €175
- Committee decision
- Wednesday before 14 November 2026
What people are saying
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