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ImportCostEstimate duty

DHL customs fees

Verified 1 official source

Short answer

DHL Express advances duty and tax to CBP on your behalf and bills you for it, plus a charge for the advance itself. The government portion and the DHL portion appear on the same invoice.

Charges DHL adds

  • Duty Tax Paid / advancement

    advance_percentage

    Charged when DHL pays duty and tax to CBP before delivery. Usually a percentage of the advanced amount, subject to a minimum.

  • Formal entry / brokerage

    flat

    Applies when the shipment requires a formal entry rather than clearing informally.

How to check the invoice

Compare each line against DHL's published surcharge schedule for the shipment date. The duty line should match the duty computed from your HTS classification and origin; anything else is a DHL charge governed by its own tariff.

DHL’s official customs page

Government fees for FY2026

Formal entry MPF is 0.3464% of the entered value, minimum $33.58, maximum $651.50, with a $4.03 surcharge for manual filing. Informal entries — generally under $2,500 — use a fixed fee of $2.69, $8.06, or $12.09 instead. The formal minimum never applies to an informal entry.

Sources

  1. CBPCOBRA user fee adjustments for Fiscal Year 2026
    FR
    90 FR 34665
    effective
    2025-10-01
    retrieved
    2026-08-09

    FY2026 MPF: formal 0.3464% ad valorem, min $33.58, max $651.50, $4.03 manual filing surcharge. Informal fixed fees $2.69 / $8.06 / $12.09. MPF value base excludes duty, freight, and insurance.

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