I'm a Norwegian traveling to the states in November, and I'm planning on buying the iPhone 5S there since it's much cheaper than in Norway. But because I'm traveling to Seattle, WA I know I'll also have to pay tax on top of the base price, and I'd like to keep my spending to a minimum. Here in Europe, if you buy something abroad and travel back to your home country, you get the tax deducted if you show the receipt, so I was wondering if this goes for the state of Washington/US too? And if so, how do I go about doing it?
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iPhone 5S - Tax deduction when purchasing abroad?
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But you will pay the appropriate taxes on it when you arrive back in Norway with it though, right 
Don't forget you probably won't have any warranty in Norway if you do it this way.
Don't forget you probably won't have any warranty in Norway if you do it this way.
Oh well, it was worth a shot, thanks for answering!
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@Steve: I know I won't have a proper warranty in Norway, but since I live in the UK, go home to Norway on vacations and travel to the US regularly to see my boyfriend it's impossible to have any electronics with a proper warranty anywhere. I will be very careful with it though!
... and yes, of course I will pay the taxes when I go back, hehe.
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@Steve: I know I won't have a proper warranty in Norway, but since I live in the UK, go home to Norway on vacations and travel to the US regularly to see my boyfriend it's impossible to have any electronics with a proper warranty anywhere. I will be very careful with it though!
... and yes, of course I will pay the taxes when I go back, hehe.
But you will pay the appropriate taxes on it when you arrive back in Norway with it though, right
Don't forget you probably won't have any warranty in Norway if you do it this way.
Why? Apple warranty works worldwide
Why? Apple warranty works worldwide
That's not what the Apple store told me with a US bought ATV. At $99 I wasn't too worried though
That's not what the Apple store told me with a US bought ATV. At $99 I wasn't too worried though
Found this:
IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE AND iPAD SERVICE.
Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the Apple Product.
So the rest of the products do apply
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/iphone-english-uk.html
If you're visiting Seattle, are you renting a car and/or visiting Portland? There's no sales tax in Oregon.
Now, you'll spend more on fuel costs than you'll save by not paying the tax while driving the three hours down, but if you're going there anyway it might be worth it to wait and buy it there.
I second the trip down to Portland. It is only a 3 - 4 hour drive at the most (my wife met some friends in Olympia while having relatives in Chehalis/Centralia, and we flew into Portland for the trip). The not having sales tax in Oregon is a money-saver.
The only other way around this, is if (big if) some shop in the airport is selling the 5s, and you have not cleared customs. If they were, you may be able to buy it duty free, as you had not cleared Customs. Not clearing customs = not entering the country. But I seriously doubt a shop in the in-transit area that will sell it.
Safest bet would be to head to Portland.
BL.