United States Customs Duty

Key Takeaways

• The $800 de minimis exemption is gone for all countries and all modes except the international postal network - effective 29 August 2025, made permanent regulation on 24 June 2026, and upheld by the Court of International Trade on 13 August 2026.
• There’s no US import VAT. Instead, a Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) applies to every formal or informal customs entry, separate from and in addition to duty.
• The general duty rate has changed repeatedly through 2025-2026 amid active litigation - the current framework leans on Section 301 tariffs at a 10-12.5% baseline for most countries, but this is genuinely unstable and reviewed frequently on this site.
• Carriers add their own disbursement fee for fronting the duty and MPF on your behalf - typically 2-3.5% of the amount advanced, with a flat minimum per carrier.
• State sales tax is a separate matter from any of this - it’s usually already shown at checkout by the seller under state economic-nexus rules, not hidden at the border like duty and MPF.

De Minimis Is Gone - What That Actually Means

For years, the $800 de minimis threshold meant most everyday online orders crossed into the US duty-free. That’s no longer true for any country of origin. China and Hong Kong lost the exemption first, in May 2025; every other country followed on 29 August 2025, when every commercial shipment arriving by a non-postal mode became subject to formal customs entry, 10-digit HTS classification, and full duty payment regardless of value (CBP).

On 24 June 2026, CBP moved the suspension from an executive-order policy into permanent regulation, and on 13 August 2026 - within days of this page’s most recent review - the Court of International Trade upheld that suspension in Axle of Dearborn, Inc. v. Department of Commerce (Federal Register). A brief transitional option had let postal shipments pay a flat $80-$200 fee (tiered by the origin country’s tariff rate) instead of standard duty - that option expired 28 February 2026, so postal shipments are now subject to duty collection too, just under separate guidance from courier shipments.

What Duty Rate Should You Expect?

This is the genuinely hard part to pin down, because the legal basis for US tariffs has shifted multiple times through 2025-2026. The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA “reciprocal” tariffs in February 2026 (Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump); a temporary Section 122 global baseline that followed it expired by statute in July 2026; and the current framework leans on Section 301 tariffs, with additional duties of 10% or 12.5% depending on the country under investigation taking effect 24 July 2026 (Dorsey & Whitney). Separately, a bilateral reciprocal-tariff track affecting specific countries (China in particular) has its own escalation-and-pause history, most recently a 90-day pause announced 11 August 2026 on a threatened jump to 125% (Tax Foundation).

In practice: a 10-12.5% baseline is a reasonable estimate for general merchandise from most countries, but individual countries can sit meaningfully higher depending on their own trade-dispute history - see this site’s dedicated lane guides (for example, China to US or Canada to US) for country-specific detail. If you’re making a real purchasing decision on a specific product, verify the current rate for that product’s HTS code and country of origin directly with CBP rather than relying on any single percentage here.

Merchandise Processing Fee and Other Charges

Since there’s no import VAT, the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is the closest US equivalent to a standard border charge - it applies to every formal or informal entry, on top of any duty owed.

Entry type	Applies when	MPF
Informal	Shipment value $2,500 or less	Flat fee, commonly $2.69 for an electronically-filed entry, up to $12.09 depending on how it’s filed
Formal	Shipment value over $2,500	0.3464% of value, minimum $33.58, maximum $651.50 (plus a $4.03 surcharge if filed manually rather than electronically)

These figures took effect 1 October 2025 for fiscal year 2026 (CBP).

On top of duty and MPF, the carrier that clears your parcel typically charges its own disbursement fee for advancing the payment on your behalf - this varies by carrier and has generally been rising through 2026: FedEx charges the greater of $17.50 or 2.5% of the duty, tax, and MPF combined (as of 20 July 2026); UPS charges 3.5% with a $14 minimum plus a $2.50 processing fee; DHL charges roughly 2% with about a $17 minimum (ShipSaving).

State sales tax is a separate matter entirely, and this site’s calculator doesn’t attempt to estimate it - it’s usually collected by the seller or marketplace at checkout under state economic-nexus rules, not hidden at the border the way duty, MPF, and the carrier’s fee are.

Frequently Asked Questions About Customs Duty in the United States

Is there any way to import into the US duty-free now?

Not through a value-based exemption for commercial goods - de minimis is gone entirely, for every country of origin and every mode except the international postal network, with no confirmed return date. The suspension was made permanent regulation in June 2026 and upheld by the Court of International Trade in August 2026.

Does the US charge VAT on imports?

No. The US has no import VAT or GST equivalent. Instead, a Merchandise Processing Fee applies to every customs entry (informal or formal), and state sales tax - a separate matter, usually already shown at checkout - may also apply depending on the seller and your state.

Why does the US duty rate keep changing?

Several of the legal authorities the US government has used to impose tariffs in 2025-2026 have been challenged and struck down in court, each time triggering a replacement measure under different legal grounds - most recently a shift toward Section 301 tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA “reciprocal” tariffs in February 2026. This is an unusually active area of trade litigation, and rates can change with little notice.

What’s the difference between informal and formal entry?

Shipments valued at $2,500 or less generally qualify for informal entry, with a flat Merchandise Processing Fee (commonly $2.69-$12.09). Above $2,500, formal entry applies instead, with MPF calculated as 0.3464% of value, subject to a minimum ($33.58) and maximum ($651.50) for fiscal year 2026.

Does this calculator include state sales tax?

No, by design - state sales tax varies by state and is typically already shown at checkout by the seller, unlike duty, the Merchandise Processing Fee, and the carrier’s disbursement fee, which are usually only revealed once the parcel arrives.