Hotel IVA/VAT tax?

[floridarob]

Last time I went, didn't pay tax at Embassy Suites Bogota.

I've booked Hampton Inn Medellin and in the confirmation, it shows IVA/VAT taxes of 19%.

In looking online, it seems there are hotels or hotel workers that try to charge it to tourists that are exempt from this tax and pocket it.

Any experience with this?

Also, I'm not going until May and I've been going into a cam site, this is addicting, lol

[Riobard]

Foreign tourists are VAT-exempt for hotels, in fact for many goods and services, but sometimes the booking system adds it assuming you are a national or dual citizen. I only detected it on a one-night stay in 2023 and flagged it on check-in, as it was itemized in the 3rd party system. Hence, I always checked final receipts because a mistake could have amounted to 3-digit figures for long durations. Nobody could be “accidentally ” charged for it from mid-2020 to end of 2022 because hotel VAT was waived even for nationals over that period.

The problem is if you pay the hotel bill upfront through a 3rd party booking system; good luck reversing it because the hotel would likely need to pay it back to you through its coffers and seek reimbursement from the booking company. If you pay directly via a card hold upon check-in the hotel will waive it on the final tally.

There is an onerous procedure for applying for VAT reimbursement at the airport upon leaving. As I understand it, goods merchants, say for example you purchase a watch, cannot waive the VAT. This way the country can calculate the ratio of obligatory sales tax to exempt tax by tracking departure reimbursement claims, though I expect most people go through the bother only for larger expenditures or longstay accumulation. 

[macdaddi]

1 hour ago, Riobard said:

 I expect most people go through the bother only for larger expenditures or longstay accumulation. 

All of this information is correct. Hotels here are supposed to remove the IVA tax at time of booking/check-in upon presentation of your foreign passport - they must enter that into their system which should remove the IVA. But it doesn't always work, and certainly with services like Booking.com you are almost certainly stuck paying. Do check your hotel bill closely to be certain it has not been charged (19%).

The IVA reclaim process is designed to be tedious and you can only do so at the airport DIAN office.  You also must have the original sales receipts plus the small credit card transaction receipts which includes the required IVA registration number. Sorting through it all (if you have been living here several months) is a big time investment on a travel day.

This recently updated article from Medellin Guru blog covers the claim process really well.  https://medellinguru.com/iva-tax/

[speedoo1]

If you have already paid/prepaid rate, you are SOL. Move on.
 

If you pay at check-in, the hotel will remove the IVA at check-in regardless of what you see in the confirmation. 
 

Only book with OTA like Booking.com, Exp. etc if you see that the rate is without  IVA or if you can choose to pay at the hotel. 

[floridarob]

1 minute ago, speedoo1 said:

Only book with OTA like Booking.com

I book direct on the Hilton site, I get industry rates...Medellin hotel shows taxes, Bogota doesn't..

[speedoo1]

As long as you pay at check-in you will be fine/it will be removed. Ignore what you see online.