User level: Level 1 (8 points)why does tge 18 promax cost £1299 in the UK and $1299( £969) in the USA ? Why does UK have to pay £300 more .. that’s 33% more ?
Posted on Sep 20, 2026 10:39 AM
User level: Level 9 (55,707 points)Sep 20, 2026 9:59 PM in response to Ianmilty
An apples-to-apples comparison would be between £1,082.50 (the part of the UK price that does not reflect built-in VAT) and $1,299 USD (the US price before sales tax).
(Back of the envelope calculation: (£1,299.00 / 1.20) = £1,082.50)
A currency converter site says that $1,299 USD equals £971. So, excluding sales taxes and value-added taxes, the UK price is about 11.4% higher than the US price.
Figure in the 20% value-added tax, and that is how you get to the UK price (that already includes VAT) being 34% higher than the US price (which does not include any sales taxes).
User level: Level 10 (233,174 points)Sep 20, 2026 10:43 AM in response to Ianmilty
This is from a Google Search, but it's pretty easy to understand the price difference:
"iPhone prices are higher in the UK than the US primarily due to the inclusion of a 20% Value Added Tax (VAT) in UK prices, whereas US prices exclude sales tax. Additionally, Apple applies a currency hedging margin to UK prices to protect against exchange rate fluctuations between the pound and the dollar."
User level: Level 7 (28,946 points)Sep 20, 2026 11:05 AM in response to Ianmilty
Ianmilty wrote:
why does tge 18 promax cost £1299 in the UK and $1299( £969) in the USA ? Why does UK have to pay £300 more .. that’s 33% more ?
Because of your government’s high VAT (value added tax) structure. Take it up with your MP. The price in the U.S. is before any sales or property taxes are applied.
User level: Level 9 (64,078 points)Sep 20, 2026 10:43 AM in response to Ianmilty
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Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256361344