Before you fly home

VAT refund at the airport

• You live outside the EU, are 16 or older, and are in France for less than six months.
• You spend more than €100 (so at least €100.01) including VAT in one store or one store group. French customs pages differ on timing: one says purchases must be made the same day, another allows up to three days. Plan on one day and ask the store how it bills.
• The goods are for personal use, and you carry them in your luggage when you leave the EU.
• Not eligible: services such as hotels and meals, tobacco, fuel, weapons, cultural goods like antiques and art (which have their own export rules), and vehicles.

Packing wine

• Wrap each bottle in a padded wine sleeve or bubble wrap, then in a plastic bag, and pack it in the middle of the suitcase surrounded by clothes.
• A standard bottle with packing weighs about 3 lb (1.4 kg). Six bottles can push a bag toward the 50 lb (23 kg) limit for economy.
• Many wine shops sell polystyrene shipping boxes for 6 or 12 bottles that you can check as a bag.
• Duty-free alcohol bought after security can go in your carry-on in a sealed bag with the receipt. If you connect in the US, you go through TSA screening again, so put it in your checked bag after customs.

Prices and rules were checked in October 2026 and change often. Confirm tickets, hours and entry rules on official sites before you travel. €1 ≈ $1.12.

US customs

• Each returning US resident can bring back $800 of goods duty-free if you have been away at least 48 hours
• Each adult 21 or older can bring 1 liter of alcohol duty-free; more is allowed with duty and within your state's rules
• Solid cheese, hard or soft, is allowed; cheese that pours like a liquid or contains meat is not
• Saucisson and cured ham are not allowed, even vacuum-packed; canned, shelf-stable foie gras usually is
• Chocolate, meat-free baked goods and sealed condiments are fine
• Declare all food on your customs declaration: declared items are at worst taken away with no penalty

Prices and rules were checked in October 2026 and change often. Confirm tickets, hours and entry rules on official sites before you travel. €1 ≈ $1.12.