U.S. customs and import duty guides
Every guide here answers one question, states its answer in the first paragraph, and links the government document it came from. If something cannot be established from official sources, it says so rather than filling the gap.
The reason most customs guidance reads badly is that it was written before 2025 and never updated. Duty-free de minimis treatment ended for all countries on August 29, 2025, the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, and the surcharge that replaced them expired in July 2026 and was itself replaced. Guidance that predates any of those is not slightly stale — it gives the wrong answer.
These pages carry the date each figure was verified and the citation it rests on, so you can tell how current they are rather than having to trust that they are.
Start here
The three questions that bring most people to this site.
- Do I pay customs on packages under $800?Most read
The $800 duty-free allowance ended for every country on August 29, 2025. What that means for a package you have already ordered.
- Why did I get a customs bill?
Which lines on a courier invoice are government charges and which are the carrier's own fees.
- How much customs will I pay?
What can be worked out before you know your classification, and what genuinely cannot.
Understanding the charge
How a duty figure is actually built, and where the money goes.
- How U.S. import duty is calculated
Classification, then preference, then additional programs, then federal fees — in that order.
- Customs duty versus brokerage fee
FY2026 fee figures, and why the formal-entry minimum must never be applied to a small parcel.
- Section 301, 232 and 122: what the difference is
Three statutes, three different scopes. Confusing them is how people reach wrong totals.
Classification
The tariff code decides the rate. Everything else follows from it.
Situations
Specific circumstances with rules of their own.
- De minimis in 2026: the $800 exemption is goneReference
The full timeline of the de minimis suspension, with the government document behind each date.
- IEEPA tariff refunds: who gets money back
The Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA duties. Who is actually entitled to money back.
- Gifts and personal imports: what still applies
Why personal use has never been an exemption, and what gift treatment really covers.
- Can I refuse a customs charge?
What you can dispute, what you cannot, and where disputes are actually won.
- How long does customs clearance take?
The four reasons a shipment sits in customs, and which one you can do something about.
- Importing for resale: what changes
What changes when the shipment is commercial rather than personal.