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Since Aer Lingus announced service to my airport starting next year, I've been planning a trip, likely this time next year. I'm likely bringing my laptop, my DSLR camera, and of course my phone. The page on revenue.ie

only mentions a personal exemption of 450 Euro, roughly (with today's exchange rate) the same amount in USD, with anything that has a value of more than that being charged a VAT on the entire value of the item.

My question is, given they're my personal property, and I've had them for a couple of years, must I declare them at Customs after I claim my luggage? Does the same apply for the clothes (underwear, shirts, pants) in my checked bag? I would like some clarification in order to calculate how much I should save every month for this trip. I will also ask this question to the Revenue and Customs Department themselves and will share any answer I receive.

Mark Johnson
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buckeyecapsfan19
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2 Answers2

27

The duty-free allowance is only relevant for goods that you are importing (i.e., planning to leave) in the European Union. If you are traveling to a country with some personal possessions and plan to take those possessions back with you when you return, you generally do not owe any duty on them.

In theory, there are some forms you could be required to fill out, but in practice, a US citizen visiting the EU with a "normal" amount of personal goods will never be asked to do so. Use the green "nothing to declare" channel at customs (unless you have other goods that should be declared for some other reason) and you'll be completely fine.

mlc
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15

The 450 euro Customs exception is for goods you intend to leave in Ireland. As a tourist, you will be bringing your camera, laptop, used underwear etc with you back out of Ireland when you leave, so the limit does not apply.

Formally, this is known as "temporary importation" and it's possible to officially declare your goods so they're not subject to import duties. In practice, this is a huge pain in the ass and nobody ever does it unless the item in question is hugely valuable, and the EU as a rule does not care.

Anecdote: In another EU country, I once had to formally temporarily import a research prototype with an assessed value in the five digits that was mailed to me from overseas, so I could set it up and take it out of the EU again to a conference. This involved running around customs bond warehouses looking for people who could even accept the paperwork, and was not what most people would call a fun time.

lambshaanxy
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