Tax Free for tourists still exists in Russia on paper, but since 2022 it has become almost symbolic for a Western traveler. The refund to your foreign card no longer works, one of the big operators (Sber Tax Free) shut down in September 2025, and at best you can now recover part of the VAT in cash and in rubles at a handful of airports. I’ll tell you what is actually left standing, how the process works, and whether it’s worth the hassle.
Can you get a VAT refund in Russia today?
Yes and no. The Tax Free system launched in Russia on January 1, 2018 as a pilot scheme and, on paper, it’s still in force: a foreign tourist who doesn’t reside in the Eurasian Economic Union can claim back part of the VAT on purchases they take out of the country. The theory hasn’t changed.
What has changed, a lot, is the practice. Since March 2022, Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Russia stopped working inside the country, and that wiped out the most convenient refund method Tax Free had: the payment to your card. If somewhere promises they’ll credit the VAT to your Visa once you’re back home, don’t believe it — with a foreign card that no longer happens. It’s just one of the many things that have changed about traveling to Russia since 2022.
On top of that, in 2025 one of the major operators threw in the towel: Sber Tax Free stopped accepting new forms on September 1, 2025. If you already had one being processed, it gets handled; but as a route for a new trip, don’t count on it anymore.
So what’s left? Basically the Global Blue circuit, whose refunds in Russia are now handled by the Russian bank Transstroybank: they give you the money in cash and in rubles at their office in Domodedovo airport, in Moscow. You’ll see other operators mentioned here and there, but right now I can’t confirm they’re still active, so I’d rather not sell them to you as a sure thing.
VAT in Russia is now 22%
Another figure worth updating: the standard VAT rate in Russia rose to 22% on January 1, 2026 (it was 20% before, and when Tax Free debuted in 2018 it was 18%). A reduced 10% rate still applies to books, food and children’s items.
Heads up, though: that doesn’t mean you get 22% back clean. Out of the VAT you paid, the operator keeps a service commission (historically between 5% and 10%), so what actually lands in your pocket is quite a bit less. And, in today’s setup, in rubles, in cash.
Who can claim it and which purchases count
To be entitled to the refund you need to meet three conditions:
- Travel on a passport from a country that isn’t part of the Eurasian Economic Union. That rules out Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, plus Russia itself.
- Spend a minimum of 10,000 rubles (taxes included) on the same day and in the same affiliated store. At the current exchange rate that’s around $140.
- Take the goods out of Russia unused and, ideally, with their tags on: at customs they may ask to see them.
Services (hotels, restaurants, transport) are excluded, and so are goods subject to excise duties, like alcohol and tobacco. You also won’t be able to validate the form if you leave Russia heading for one of those Eurasian Economic Union countries.
Which stores? Mostly department stores and luxury boutiques in Moscow and St. Petersburg — Moscow’s GUM and TsUM, St. Petersburg’s DLT — and premium-brand shops partnered with Global Blue. Look for the ‘Tax Free’ logo at the till and ask before you pay, because not every store is affiliated.
How the process works, step by step
If you decide to give it a go, the process is the same as ever and has three steps:
- In the store. When you pay (minimum 10,000 rubles), ask for the Tax Free form. You fill it in with the assistant and make sure the receipt is stapled to the form.
- At airport customs. Before you check in your bag, look for the ‘Tax Free Customs control’ desk and get the stamp certifying that you’re taking the goods out of the country. You have a maximum of 3 months from purchase to do it, and you need to be able to show the products. Get there early: the paperwork and queues don’t forgive cutting it close.
- At the operator’s office. With the form stamped, you head to the refund desk. In practice, today that means getting paid in cash and in rubles at the Global Blue/Transstroybank office in Domodedovo airport.
Is it worth it?
I’ll be honest: for most travelers, today it isn’t. The big drawback is that they give you the money in rubles, in cash, and those rubles are then hard to offload: you can’t load them onto a foreign card, and changing them back into your own currency outside Russia is a pain (and you always lose on the exchange). Add the operator’s commission, the extra time at the airport, and the fact that the convenient option — the card refund — no longer exists for you.
I only see the point in one very specific case: that you make a big purchase at a luxury boutique in Moscow and, on top of that, you fly home precisely from Domodedovo, where the refund point is. If your plan is to buy a few souvenirs, the hassle isn’t worth it. And if what you want is rubles to spend inside Russia, there are far more practical ways to get them than Tax Free: bring cash (dollars or euros) to exchange on the spot, or get yourself a Russian bank card.
