Buying a macbook pro in usa & bring back to ireland

[jlc1978]

Here is an official statement concerning a sales tax refund:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...les-tax-paid-while-visiting-the-united-states
The bottom line is that you have to ask the state. Illinois:
http://tax.illinois.gov/Businesses/TaxInformation/Sales/rot.htm
Excerpt:
Sales — The following list contains some of the most common examples of transactions that are exempt from tax.
[...]
Sales to out-of-state buyers

I have no idea how to make use of the fact that you are exempt from sales tax... you might have to negotiate with the vendor (Apple store)!

They are not exempt because they are not an out of state buyer - purchases physically made in a state, no matter where the person is resident, is taxable; sales shipped to out of state locations is generally not taxed. There are exceptions, but this generally are big ticket times such as cars where tax is paid when licensed to the state where it is licensed.

Your advice to order from Amazon or other retailer that doesn't charge sales tax on mail order sales is the best way I know of to not pay the sales tax.

As a side note, you'll only get a 1 year warranty on your MBP rather than the typical 2 years in the EU.

 

[skeleb]

As a side note, you'll only get a 1 year warranty on your MBP rather than the typical 2 years in the EU.

The warranty provided by Apple is only 1 year, and any "extended" protection depends on consumer rights laws of a certain country. Technically it's not a warranty and involves a bit of bureaucracy, but a it's a great thing to have.

 

[jlc1978]

The warranty provided by Apple is only 1 year, and any "extended" protection depends on consumer rights laws of a certain country. Technically it's not a warranty and involves a bit of bureaucracy, but a it's a great thing to have.

However, most of those depend on purchasing the product in the country where the law applies. For example, for the EU:

From EU sites:

a two- year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU (Directive 1999/44/EC).

and

Wherever you buy goods in the EU, you have two years to request repairs or replacement if they turn out to be faulty or not as advertised.

Since the sale occurred outside of the EU the 2 year rule appears not to apply. Apple is reasonable in that the warranty still is valid, unlike many companies who only honor warranty claims in the country or region of origin.