Francisca
Marketing · Vivencias Travel
Both countries refund tax to foreign visitors, but through different routes and with rules nobody explains side by side. What you can recover, what to keep, and where most people lose the benefit.
Chile and Argentina both charge high VAT: 19% in one, 21% on the other side of the Andes. Both refund part of it to foreign visitors, but through different mechanisms, and most people lose the benefit over a paperwork detail.
Worth understanding before you travel, because almost everything is decided at the moment of payment, not afterwards.
Argentina: accommodation is the easy case
The most relevant benefit for anyone travelling to Bariloche is not a shop purchase, it is the hotel. Foreign visitors are entitled to a VAT refund on accommodation, and in practice it works as a direct discount: the hotel does not charge the tax on the bill.
Three conditions are usually required:
- Show your passport at check-in, as a non-resident foreign visitor.
- Pay with a payment method issued abroad: an international card or a transfer from outside the country.
- Pay in foreign currency through the channel the hotel indicates, not in cash pesos.
That is why paying for the night in cash, in pesos, usually wipes out the benefit. Paying that way saves on the exchange rate and loses 21%: it rarely adds up.
For shop purchases there is the VAT refund scheme at participating retailers, which requires an invoice issued in your name and validation when leaving the country.
Chile: the route is the invoice and the exit
In Chile the rate is 19% and the visitor refund applies to purchases at authorised retailers. The logic matches other countries: buy at a participating shop, ask for the right paperwork at the time, and validate on departure.
One point specific to Chile worth knowing: on certain tourism services provided to non-resident foreign visitors and paid with a foreign payment method, VAT does not apply at all. That is, the price comes without the tax. It is not something you claim afterwards: it depends on how the charge is issued.
The mistake that costs the most
Always the same one: deciding how to pay without thinking about the tax.
In practice, the sequence that works is:
- Say you are a foreign visitor before paying, not after. Once the invoice is issued there is no fixing it.
- Pay with an international card when the benefit depends on it.
- Keep everything: the invoice, the card receipt, and your passport to hand.
- Allow time at the airport if something has to be validated on departure. With a tight connection, it will not happen.
What is not covered
Everyday services such as restaurants and transport are generally outside both schemes. The benefit covers accommodation and purchases, not everything you spend on the trip.
And one change on the Brazilian side
Brazil will have its own tax refund programme for foreign visitors under the tax reform that starts in 2027. It changes nothing for anyone travelling to Chile or Argentina, but it explains why the subject will come up a lot over the next few months.
Before you close the budget
Exchange and refund rules change often in both countries, so confirm the current detail with the hotel and with the retailer at the moment of purchase. For the rest of the budget, what is not included in the price of a trip to Bariloche lists the charges that appear in destination, and currency exchange in Santiago covers the money side on arrival.
Frequently asked questions
Do foreign visitors get the hotel VAT back in Argentina?
Yes, generally as a direct discount on the bill: the hotel does not charge the tax when the guest is a non-resident foreign visitor, shows a passport and pays with a method issued abroad, such as an international card or a transfer from outside the country. Paying the night in cash pesos normally wipes out the benefit.
What is the VAT rate in Chile and Argentina?
Chile charges 19% and Argentina 21%. Both countries provide refunds to foreign visitors, but through different mechanisms: in Argentina the most relevant case is accommodation, and in Chile it is purchases at authorised retailers, plus certain tourism services that are billed without the tax when paid with a foreign payment method.
What do you need to keep to claim a tax refund?
The invoice issued in your name, the international card receipt, and your passport to hand. The most important part is saying you are a foreign visitor before paying: once the invoice has been issued another way, there is usually no fixing it.
Do restaurants and transport qualify for VAT refunds?
Generally not. The benefit covers accommodation and purchases at participating retailers, not day-to-day trip spending. So it is worth calculating the refund on those items only, rather than on the total.
