Macy’s Return Policy: 30 Days for Most Items, Free Store Returns, and Holiday Returns Until 31 January 2027

Macy’s return policy gives you 30 days from purchase or delivery to return most items unworn, with the tags attached, for a refund or exchange. Returns to a Macy’s store are always free. Returns by mail are free for Star Rewards members and cost $9.99 plus tax for everyone else, taken out of the refund. Holiday purchases made between 5 October and 31 December 2026 can be returned until 31 January 2027. This guide covers the 30-day window, the mail fee, the items Macy’s will never take back, and how fast each refund lands.

Return Windows at a Glance

Category	Return window	Good to know
Most items	30 days from purchase or delivery	Unworn, unaltered, original packaging, tags attached
Holiday purchases	Until 31 January 2027	Bought 5 October to 31 December 2026
Gift registry items	90 days from the event date	With a receipt; items bought before the event count from the event date
Furniture (preference returns)	3 days from delivery to contact Customer Service	15% restocking fee; delivery fee not refunded
Last Act items	No returns	Final sale, sold “as is” — no exchanges or price adjustments
Gift cards (physical and electronic)	Not returnable	Final sale; cannot be returned or exchanged
Price adjustments	10 days from the order date	Ask through chat, by phone, or in store with the receipt

How to Return an Item to Macy’s

1. Check your window. Most items have 30 days from the date of purchase or delivery. Holiday purchases made between 5 October and 31 December 2026 have until 31 January 2027. Furniture is different — you must contact Customer Service within 3 days of delivery.
2. Check the condition. The item must be unworn, unaltered and in its original packaging, with the original tags still attached. Last Act clearance items are final sale and cannot go back at all.
3. Gather your proof. Bring the receipt, the order number, the packing slip or the card you paid with. Macy’s can look a purchase up from the card, the order number, the packing slip or a registry number.
4. Choose the route. Take it to any Macy’s store for a free return, or start a mail return at macys.com/returns. Only online purchases can be mailed back — store purchases must go back to a store.
5. Start a mail return online. Sign in at macys.com/returns and follow the steps, or find the order through Purchase History if you checked out as a guest. Print the label, pack the item with its tags, and drop it off.
6. Ask for the refund route that fits your payment. Refunds go back to the original form of payment. If you paid with a gift card, a certificate, a cheque or Star Money, expect store credit instead.

How Long Do You Have to Return Items to Macy’s?

The standard window at Macy’s is 30 days from purchase or delivery for most items. That is the window that decides nearly every return: a sweater bought on 1 November can go back until 1 December, and an online order counts from the delivery date, not the day you clicked buy. The item must be unworn and unaltered, in its original packaging with the tags attached.

Star Rewards membership does not change the 30 days, but it does change the cost of returning by mail. Mail returns are free for Star Rewards members at every tier, including the free Bronze tier. If you are not a member, the return label costs $9.99 plus tax, deducted from your refund. Returning to a store costs nothing for anyone, so a store trip is the cheapest route if you live near one.

Two windows sit outside the standard 30 days. Gift registry items can be returned or exchanged within 90 days from the event date, with a receipt — and if the item was bought before the event, the 90 days still count from the event date. Furniture is much tighter: for a preference return you must contact Macy’s Customer Service within 3 days of delivery, the item must be in “as new” condition, and a 15% restocking fee applies. The delivery fee is not refunded on a furniture preference return.

Can You Return to Macy’s Without a Receipt?

Yes, but what you get back changes. Macy’s can verify a purchase from the card you paid with, the order number, the packing slip or a registry number, so a missing paper receipt is not the end of the return. If the purchase cannot be verified at all, the refund is issued as store credit at the item’s lowest selling price within the last 90 days — which can be less than you paid, because the lowest price is the price Macy’s uses when it cannot prove what you paid.

Gift returns work the same way. A gift returned with a receipt or a gift receipt gets the normal treatment for its window. A gift returned without proof of purchase is refunded as store credit at the lowest price in the last 90 days. Bring the gift receipt if you have it, and bring any promotional gift that came with the item — Macy’s can reduce the refund by the value of a promotional gift that is not returned with it.

How Do Online Returns and In-Store Returns Work?

Online orders have two routes, and store purchases have one. An order placed on macys.com or in the Macy’s app can be returned to any Macy’s store or by mail. A purchase made in a store can only be returned in a store — it cannot be mailed back.

For a mail return, start at macys.com/returns and sign in, or find the order through Purchase History as a guest. Macy’s sends the label and the instructions. Star Rewards members pay nothing for the label; everyone else pays $9.99 plus tax, deducted from the refund. Pack the item with its tags, include the packing slip, and send it back. Macy’s processes mail returns within 10 business days of receiving them, and card refunds can take a further 5 to 7 business days to appear.

Exchanges follow the same split. Store purchases are exchanged in a Macy’s store only. Online orders can be exchanged in a store or by mail — but a mail exchange is not a direct swap. Macy’s processes it as a return, refunds you, and you place a new order for the size or colour you want at its current price. If the item has gone up in price since you bought it, you pay the new price.

What Can’t Be Returned to Macy’s?

Macy’s treats the following as final sale, which means no returns, no exchanges and no price adjustments:

• Last Act items — clearance marked Last Act, sold “as is”
• Macy’s gift cards — both physical and electronic gift cards are final sale
• Food, beverages, gourmet gifts and live plants
• Beauty Box items
• Bridal Salon items
• Custom or personalised items

Beyond that list, the condition rule does most of the work. Items must be unworn, unaltered and in their original condition with the tags attached. Opened or used cosmetics, perfumes and colognes are restricted unless they are defective. Marketplace items sold by a third-party seller follow that seller’s own return terms, not Macy’s standard policy, and damaged or defective items are exchanged for an identical item rather than refunded as a change of mind.

How Are Refunds Issued and How Long Do They Take?

Refunds go back to the original form of payment, with a few fixed exceptions. Purchases made with a gift card, a merchandise certificate, a cheque, Star Money or Macy’s Money are refunded as store credit — as an EZ Exchange Card, which works online and in store, or a Merchandise Certificate, which works in store only. Cash purchases refunded in store are immediate.

Return route	How the refund timing works
In store, cash	Refund is immediate
In store, card	Typically appears in 3–5 business days
By mail, Star Rewards member	Free label; processed within 10 business days of receipt, then 5–7 business days for the card refund
By mail, not a member	$9.99 plus tax deducted from the refund; same processing time
No proof of purchase	Store credit at the lowest selling price in the last 90 days
Gift card purchase	Refunded as store credit, not cash or a bank refund
Third-party Marketplace seller	5–10 business days for processing, plus up to 10 business days for the seller to complete the refund
Furniture preference return	Refund less the 15% restocking fee and the delivery fee, after the item is returned

Shipping charges are not refunded unless the return is due to Macy’s error or a defective product. If a mail return has been with Macy’s for more than 10 business days and nothing has appeared, call Customer Care on 1-800-289-6229 with the order number.

Does Macy’s Extend Returns for the Holidays?

Yes. Under Macy’s Extended Holiday Return Policy, eligible purchases made between 5 October and 31 December 2026 can be returned until 31 January 2027. That covers most Christmas shopping: a gift bought on 10 October has until the end of January, not just 30 days.

The extension does not cover everything. Last Act items stay final sale, gift cards stay final sale, and the usual condition rules still apply — unworn, unaltered, tags attached. If you are buying early for Christmas, the holiday window is the safety net, but the receipt still matters: keep it with the gift or keep it yourself until the recipient has decided.

Macy’s Contact Options

Option	Details
Customer Care (phone)	1-800-289-6229 (TTY 711), daily 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET
Returns Center (online)	macys.com/returns — start a return, gift returns and return FAQs
Furniture and mattress help	1-888-822-6229
Wedding and gift registry	1-800-568-8865
Macy’s Credit Card help	1-888-257-6757
In store	Any Macy’s store handles returns and exchanges for store and online purchases
Chat	Chat assistant available through the Macy’s help centre

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

• Kohl’s Return Policy
• JCPenney Return Policy
• Bloomingdale’s Return Policy
• Dillard’s Return Policy
• Gap Return Policy
• H&M Return Policy
• Banana Republic Return Policy
• Anthropologie Return Policy
• Abercrombie Return Policy

Conclusion

Macy’s return policy is simple at its core: 30 days, unworn with tags, free in store. The two numbers that catch people out are the $9.99 mail fee for non-members and the 3-day furniture clock, so return by mail only as a Star Rewards member — joining is free — and flag any furniture problem the day it arrives. Buy Christmas gifts between 5 October and 31 December and you have until 31 January 2027, but Last Act clearance and gift cards never come back, so check the tag before you buy.

Disclaimer: Policy Return is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Macy’s. Return policies can change at any time; always confirm the current policy on Macy’s official website before making a return.

Checked against Macy’s published policy on 10 November 2026. Policies change; the retailer’s official page is the final word.