Is it still worth buying Apple in the United States? [UPDATED 2024]

See all the accounts and find out if it's still worth buying Apple in the United States!

It's no surprise to any Brazilian who travels abroad that the United States is a shopping paradise. Even with the high conversion rate between the dollar and the real, there are many products that are worth buying abroad. 

And a brand that is usually very worthwhile is Apple.

It is not uncommon to see Brazilians returning from trips with the latest iPhone models, as well as Macbooks, iPads and even Apple Watches or the Vision Pro.

However, is it really still worth buying Apple in the United States, even with the high dollar, the taxes that need to be included in addition to the sales price, and the credit card IOF rate? Is it more advantageous to buy in Brazil with the installment option? 

Find out the answers to all these questions, and learn a way to save even more when buying Apple products in this post!

Price comparison between Apple's main products in Brazil and the United States

First, let's compare the values ​​practiced on Brazilian soil with the values ​​practiced in the USA for Apple's main products: iPhone, Macs, Apple Watch, AirPods and iPad. 

For comparison purposes, let's use the current exchange rate, where US$1 is equivalent to R$5,02. The values ​​were taken from official Apple stores in each country.

As you can see from the table above, with the exception of iPhones, all other products cost more than double the price in Brazil when we make the conversion. 

The prices charged on Brazilian soil are completely abusive, and the only advantage is that you can pay in installments, something that doesn't happen in the United States. There are even some payment methods in installments, such as AfterPay, but they are only available to residents of the country.

However, it is worth remembering that the price shown in the table and on Apple's official website is not the price you will pay for your products. This is because we still need to add taxes on the purchase and other fees depending on your payment method.

However, before we talk about that, I want to give you a tip to save even more when purchasing your Apple products:

How to save money when purchasing your Apple products in the United States

Something very common among large electronics companies in the United States is the option to purchase products Refurbished, i.e. reconditioned. These are products that were already purchased by a customer, showed defects, and the company recalled and fixed the problem.

Refurbished products work normally and are covered by the company's warranty. I, for example, saved almost $400 when purchasing my refurbished 2017 MacBook Pro on one of my visits to the US. This difference was enough for me to be able to purchase a computer with much more memory and processing power. And look, the product came with a box, with no signs of use.

You can purchase refurbished products directly through the Apple website, but you can also buy in the refurbished section of sites like Amazon.com, with the Renewed program. In my experience, the prices charged by Amazon are even better, include the store's own guarantee and have a larger stock than Apple itself. 

If you are looking for older models, or other brands of electronics, buying on Amazon is also the best option. Here on the blog there is a complete post about the best electronics to buy in the United States.

Taxes on purchases in the United States

Now, going back to taxes on products you buy in the USA.

Unlike Brazil, where the price you will pay at the checkout is the price on the product label, in the United States taxes are only added when you go to the checkout (or in the cart of an online purchase). This means that the advertised price of the products is not the final price you will pay.

Each state and city has its own sales tax, which is the name of this tax, and the destinations most visited by Brazilians have the following value:

• New York (city): 8,875% (includes a 4% state tax and a 4,875% city tax)
• Los Angeles, California: 9.5% (includes 7.25% state tax and 2.25% local tax)
• Orlando, Florida: 6.5% (includes 6% state tax and 0.5% local tax)
• Miami, Florida: 7% (includes 6% state tax and 1% local tax)
• Las Vegas, Nevada: 8.38% (includes 6.85% state tax and 1.53% local tax)

This means that, if you were to buy an iPhone 15 in Los Angeles, for example, you would pay US$799 plus 9.5% of that amount, which would be US$75. The total value of the iPhone would then be US$874, R$4.383 in the current conversion. 

As the price of products in Brazil is more than double the price in the United States, even if the increase in sales tax represents another 10% of the value, you will still be at an advantage buying any of Apple's products in the US.

Here on the blog there is a complete post about how product taxes work in the United States.

And the IOF?

The IOF is the Tax on Financial Operations, and it is charged at various times, including international transactions made with a credit card. Currently, this tax is 4,38% of the purchase value.

This means that the iPhone 15 purchased in Los Angeles that we used as an example previously, on the credit card, would have an increase of 4,38%, thus costing R$4.574. A difference of more than R$2700 compared to the price charged in Brazil.

Even with the credit card IOF for international purchases, it is still worth buying your Apple products in the United States. You can also avoid IOF by purchasing cash or using cards that you load with dollars, such as the Nomad card. In these cases, the tax is only 1,1%. 

And at customs? Do I need to declare my purchases?

Upon returning home, each person is usually entitled to a quota for purchases abroad.In theory, this amount is for clothes, toys, accessories and any other item purchased outside the country, but in practice, this quota is usually only for electronics.

There is an exemption for items in Brazil that are considered for personal use, such as cell phones. For your new iPhone to fall into this category, it must be in use and you cannot have a second cell phone with you. If you brought 3 iPhones for friends, for example, only one will not be included in the US$1000 quota for personal use.

I know that personal use is subjective, but in my experience (and that of all the websites I consulted on the subject), computers and tablets are not usually included as personal items. Watches may fit the bill if they are already on your wrist.

If you go over the quota, you have two options: 

• Do not declare your purchases
• Declare your purchases

If you declare, you will pay a fee certain 50% of the excess value. In other words, if you buy US$1500, you will pay 50% of US$500, US$250.

If you do not declare your purchases and are stopped by inspection, you will need to pay 100% of the excess, that is, US$500 in the example above.

And look, if you buy a US$1999 MacBook Pro, which will cost around US$2150 with taxes, and declare your purchase, you will have to pay 50% of US$1150, or US$575. This value would be around R$2880, which would bring the total value of the computer to R$13.662. Which is still a saving of more than R$9.300 compared to the price in Brazil!

Conclusion

The price charged in Brazil is so absurd that it is still worth buying Apple in the United States even with the dollar worth R$5,00, paying by credit card and declaring your purchases at Brazilian customs.

The only disadvantage I see in buying in the USA is the lack of installments, but this can also be resolved through Nomad, which allows you to pay in installments when purchasing dollars to put in your account.

So, have you ever purchased any Apple products in the United States? How much did you save? Tell me in the comments!