Canada Customs Duty

Key Takeaways

• Canada’s total sales tax on imports ranges from 5% GST alone (Alberta, the territories) to 15% combined GST/HST (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI) - it depends on the destination province, not a single national rate.
• The general de minimis for courier shipments from most countries, and for all postal shipments regardless of origin, is a flat CAD 20 - duty- and tax-free at or below this.
• Courier shipments confirmed as originating in the US or Mexico get CUSMA’s higher thresholds instead: duty-free up to CAD 150, tax-free up to CAD 40 (GST/HST still applies between CAD 40 and CAD 150).
• Above the relevant threshold, GST/HST, an estimated customs duty (genuinely product-category dependent), and a courier brokerage/disbursement fee all apply.

How Canadian Import Rules Work

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) sets two different sets of thresholds depending on where a courier shipment actually originates - a distinction most other countries in this guide don’t make.

• General threshold (most countries, all postal shipments): CAD 20 or less is fully duty- and tax-free. Above CAD 20, both duty and GST/HST apply.
• CUSMA threshold (US or Mexico-origin courier shipments only): Up to CAD 40, fully duty- and tax-free. From CAD 40.01 to CAD 150, still duty-free but GST/HST applies. Above CAD 150, both duty and tax apply.

This CUSMA distinction only applies to courier shipments (UPS, FedEx, DHL, and similar) - Canada Post/postal shipments use the flat CAD 20 general threshold regardless of where they’re sent from. Since this calculator can’t trace formal customs origin documentation, it uses a practical proxy instead: if the store is a recognized US-based retailer, the higher CUSMA thresholds are applied; otherwise, the general CAD 20 threshold applies.

GST/HST Varies by Province

Unlike most countries in this guide, Canada doesn’t have one single VAT-equivalent rate - it depends on where the goods are being delivered:

Province/territory	Combined rate
Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	5% (GST only)
British Columbia	12% (5% GST + 7% PST)
Saskatchewan	11% (5% GST + 6% PST)
Manitoba	12% (5% GST + 7% RST)
Quebec	~14.975% (5% GST + 9.975% QST)
Ontario	13% (HST)
Nova Scotia	14% (HST, reduced from 15% on 1 April 2025)
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI	15% (HST)

This site’s calculator uses Ontario’s 13% HST as a single representative rate, since Ontario is Canada’s largest e-commerce market - but your actual rate depends on your own province, and could be anywhere from 5% to nearly 15%.

Duty Above the Threshold

Once a shipment exceeds the relevant duty-free ceiling, customs duty applies based on the product’s specific tariff classification rather than a single flat percentage - Canada’s average applied tariff across all goods sits in the low single digits, but individual categories like apparel and footwear commonly run into the mid-to-high teens. Couriers also charge their own brokerage or disbursement fee for handling the customs paperwork on your behalf, typically a flat amount in the CAD 10-50 range or a small percentage of the duty and tax advanced, whichever is greater.

Frequently Asked Questions About Customs Duty in Canada

Why does Canada have two different duty-free thresholds?

CUSMA (the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, successor to NAFTA) raised the threshold specifically for courier shipments confirmed to originate in the US or Mexico - a trade-policy choice to reduce friction on North American cross-border shopping. Shipments from anywhere else, and all postal shipments regardless of origin, use the older, lower CAD 20 general threshold.

How does Dutix know if a shipment is CUSMA-eligible?

There’s no way to trace formal customs origin documentation from a product page alone, so this calculator uses a practical proxy: if the store is a recognized US-based retailer, it assumes CUSMA’s higher thresholds apply. This is an approximation, not a guarantee - the actual eligibility depends on where the goods themselves originate, which can differ from where the store is based.

Is there a difference between postal and courier shipments?

Yes - Canada Post (postal) shipments always use the flat CAD 20 general threshold, regardless of where they’re sent from. Only courier shipments (UPS, FedEx, DHL, and similar) can qualify for CUSMA’s higher CAD 40/CAD 150 thresholds, and only when the goods are confirmed US or Mexico-origin.

What GST/HST rate should I expect?

It depends entirely on your own province - from 5% in Alberta and the territories up to nearly 15% in Atlantic Canada. This guide’s calculator uses Ontario’s 13% HST as a representative estimate.

Has the US-Canada trade conflict of 2025-2026 changed these thresholds?

Not directly - the CAD 20/40/150 de minimis figures are unchanged and treaty-bound under CUSMA. Separately, Canada has imposed retaliatory surtaxes (around 25%) on specific categories of US-origin goods like steel and aluminum in response to US tariff actions, but that’s a category-specific measure, not a change to the general de minimis rules covered here.