US Pricing (tax confusion)?

[chfilm]

Hi,

I'm from Germany, so I dont really understand how the prices on the apple website have to be understood.
I'll be in the states at launch date so I'm considering lining up actually, because here the phone costs 1319 € (including business tax), wich is like $1546 USD.

Apple lists the 256 GB version in the US as 1149$. But is that the actual price, or do I have to add taxes?

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[rui no onna]

Hi,

I'm from Germany, so I dont really understand how the prices on the apple website have to be understood.
I'll be in the states at launch date so I'm considering lining up actually, because here the phone costs 1319 € (including business tax), wich is like $1546 USD.

Apple lists the 256 GB version in the US as 1149$. But is that the actual price, or do I have to add taxes?

Thanks for clarifying.

You still need to add sales tax. Sales tax varies by state/county/locality.

 

[zhandri]

sales tax. depends on what state you're in. and also have fun going through customs

 

[noobinator]

If you want to estimate, I'd say the average is somewhere around 7-9% in tax so about $1240 total give or take a bit.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

sales tax. depends on what state you're in. and also have fun going through customs

there will be no problem with the customs, my parents took 8 plus with them and they had no problem what so ever!

 

[zhandri]

there will be no problem with the customs, my parents took 8 plus with them and they had no problem what so ever!

well if you get caught it will not be fun. on the other hand, he can't get it cause they don't sell the X unlocked in the US.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

well if you get caught it will not be fun. on the other hand, he can't get it cause they don't sell the X unlocked in the US.

getting caught for what? you are just buying a product and taking it with you. and you can open it as well, i dont think there will be any problem. Also Apple will be selling the unlocked X. All you gotta do is buy at full price.

 

[zhandri]

getting caught for what? you are just buying a product and taking it with you. and you can open it as well, i dont think there will be any problem. Also Apple will be selling the unlocked X. All you gotta do is buy at full price.

not according to the apple website. you will only get it on a contract. but yes if you get caught with a phone that was not available to buy when you travelled to the US and come back with it, they will fine the crap out of you. i know that german customs used to check for electronics when new apple models came out. plus you will be charged with tax evasion if they do watch you with stuff worth more than 700€. everybody has to deviced if it's worth the risk. i wouldn't take it.

 

[gnasher729]

there will be no problem with the customs, my parents took 8 plus with them and they had no problem what so ever!

You don't even have to pay. My parents picked up a phone in the store without paying, and they didn't get caught.

I mean it's up to your parents, but if they imported a US phone into Germany without paying taxes, that's just tax evasion.

getting caught for what? you are just buying a product and taking it with you. and you can open it as well, i dont think there will be any problem. Also Apple will be selling the unlocked X. All you gotta do is buy at full price.

Tax evasion, obviously. And consider that it is tax evasion, illegal, making you a criminal, whether you get caught or not.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

You don't even have to pay. My parents picked up a phone in the store without paying, and they didn't get caught.

I mean it's up to your parents, but if they imported a US phone into Germany without paying taxes, that's just tax evasion.


Tax evasion, obviously. And consider that it is tax evasion, illegal, making you a criminal, whether you get caught or not.

So if you buy a phone for your own personal use and take it there it’s considered tax evasion? Or in other words I bought them this phone as a gift and they started using it here and then took it there, it’s considered tax evasion?
[doublepost=1507305918][/doublepost]

not according to the apple website. you will only get it on a contract. but yes if you get caught with a phone that was not available to buy when you travelled to the US and come back with it, they will fine the crap out of you. i know that german customs used to check for electronics when new apple models came out. plus you will be charged with tax evasion if they do watch you with stuff worth more than 700€. everybody has to deviced if it's worth the risk. i wouldn't take it.

Okay that makes sense. And you can buy the X for full price from Apple. See the attached screenshot.

 

[zhandri]

So if you buy a phone for your own personal use and take it there it’s considered tax evasion? Or in other words I bought them this phone as a gift and they started using it here and then took it there, it’s considered tax evasion?

yes! you are only allowed to bring stuff worth 470€ into the country and if you're above that you'll have to do a customs declaration and pay import VAT and regular VAT. it's only tax evasion if it's more than 700€ and you did not do a customs declaration and they caught you

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

yes! you are only allowed to bring stuff worth 470€ into the country and if you're above that you'll have to do a customs declaration and pay import VAT and regular VAT. it's only tax evasion if it's more than 700€ and you did not do a customs declaration and they caught you

Well I think it depends country to country I am not talking about Germany here, talking about Pakistan

 

[zhandri]

So if you buy a phone for your own personal use and take it there it’s considered tax evasion? Or in other words I bought them this phone as a gift and they started using it here and then took it there, it’s considered tax evasion?
[doublepost=1507305918][/doublepost] View attachment 723950

Okay that makes sense. And you can buy the X for full price from Apple. See the attached screenshot.

but this will still only work if you're an AT&T customer cause when you pay, you'll have to login to your at&t account. as i said they're not selling it unlocked like they do in europe.

 

[upnorth85]

Hi,

I'm from Germany, so I dont really understand how the prices on the apple website have to be understood.
I'll be in the states at launch date so I'm considering lining up actually, because here the phone costs 1319 € (including business tax), wich is like $1546 USD.

Apple lists the 256 GB version in the US as 1149$. But is that the actual price, or do I have to add taxes?

Thanks for clarifying.

It depends on where you buy. The highest sales tax is in California. On the other hand some states have no sales tax.
Delaware, Montana etc., have no sales tax. Colorado is 2.9%, AL, GA, LA etc. 4%.
[doublepost=1507306328][/doublepost]

not according to the apple website. you will only get it on a contract. but yes if you get caught with a phone that was not available to buy when you travelled to the US and come back with it, they will fine the crap out of you. i know that german customs used to check for electronics when new apple models came out. plus you will be charged with tax evasion if they do watch you with stuff worth more than 700€. everybody has to deviced if it's worth the risk. i wouldn't take it.

I have never bought an iPhone on contract. I always buy full price,unlocked and no contract.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Have German friends who visited when the 7+ first came out and returning home customs did nothing. They save some money for sure.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

but this will still only work if you're an AT&T customer cause when you pay, you'll have to login to your at&t account. as i said they're not selling it unlocked like they do in europe.

oh yeah in that case yes you are right. but if you have at&t account and if you pay full price, its unlocked

 

[upnorth85]

Hi,

I'm from Germany, so I dont really understand how the prices on the apple website have to be understood.
I'll be in the states at launch date so I'm considering lining up actually, because here the phone costs 1319 € (including business tax), wich is like $1546 USD.

Apple lists the 256 GB version in the US as 1149$. But is that the actual price, or do I have to add taxes?

Thanks for clarifying.

One more thing - The SIM version does not come out for a month or two. The T-mobile version is what will work world wide. All you need to do before you leave the US is to "activate" the phone using an existing T-mobile SIM card. You can buy a pay as you go, or where ever you are staying request a friend or colleague to put in for your to activate your phone and then you can put your German SIM card and use here or if no roaming use on return. I have activated for others who were taking an iPhone outside the US.

 

[chfilm]

Lots of Interesting intel there, thanks everybody!

I don’t think if I carry the phone with me and just use it, without bringing the package or anything, that anyone will care, honestly. Only issue is with my old ip7 maybe.

So I have to buy the t-mobile version and unlock that? are they only selling a no-sim Version in the beginning?
What good will a no-sim tmobile Version be, if I don’t use T-Mobile at home? I don’t get it.

Sadly yes I’m buying in California.

 

[protoxx]

If for example you get a launch day Iphone X and it's not being sold in Germany yet, if the German customs agents have a sharp eye out you could easily get caught for smuggling if it wasn't declared. Just stating the obvious....

 

[aristobrat]

If for example you get a launch day Iphone X and it's not being sold in Germany yet, if the German customs agents have a sharp eye out you could easily get caught for smuggling if it wasn't declared. Just stating the obvious....

FWIW, looks like Germany is one of the 55 countries/territories where it launches at the same time as it does in the US.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/the-future-is-here-iphone-x/

 

[rui no onna]

Lots of Interesting intel there, thanks everybody!

I don’t think if I carry the phone with me and just use it, without bringing the package or anything, that anyone will care, honestly. Only issue is with my old ip7 maybe.

So I have to buy the t-mobile version and unlock that? are they only selling a no-sim Version in the beginning?
What good will a no-sim tmobile Version be, if I don’t use T-Mobile at home? I don’t get it.

Sadly yes I’m buying in California.

Buy the Verizon version. As long as you purchase full price directly from Apple Store, the phones are unlocked.

 

[dogslobber]

You still need to add sales tax. Sales tax varies by state/county/locality.

Try to buy in a non-sales tax state to maximize your savings. Going through customs is the luck of the draw. If you get caught then deal with it. If not then enjoy the savings!

 

[xyion1]

In addition to the VAT difference, generally the EU has stronger customer protections than the US. In the US there is only 90 days phone support and 1 year hardware support, I think its more than that in the EU (maybe 2 years, etc). Additionally the worker pay & benefits may be better than in the US.

Apple bakes this additional cost into their retail price, which is why it isn't a straight $ to € conversion based on the market rate (of course they also probably pick a conversion rate most favorable to them).

 

[NoBoMac]

Delaware, Montana etc., have no sales tax. Colorado is 2.9%, AL, GA, LA etc. 4%.

As others have posted earlier in the thread, county and or city taxes add into the rates. So, yes, Colorado state sales tax is 2.9%, but for example, Denver sales tax is 7.65%, Boulder is 8.85%.

So depends on what Apple Store someone walks into or the address they are shipping the device to.

 

[Jimpilot]

Last I checked New Hampshire had no sales tax