United States (U.S.)
Customs Duty Rates
What are U.S. Customs Duty Rates?
U.S. customs duty rates are the percentage tax applied to items being imported into the United States. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, customs duties, in general, are in place “to protect each country's economy, residents, jobs, environment, etc., by controlling the flow of goods, especially restrictive and prohibited goods, into and out of the country”.
In other words, the customs duty rates for items help control the flow of those items into the United States.
U.S. customs duty rates range from 0% to 37.5%. In addition to the duty rate, other import taxes may apply to the item such as a merchandise processing fee, harbor maintenance fee, sales tax, and federal excise tax.
Depending on the country a product is coming from, different duty rates may apply. For countries that have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S. there is a preferential rate that’s usually a reduced rate or duty-free.
For more information on determining if a good is originating from a country with a free trade agreement, visit Determine if a product is eligible for duty-free or reduced duties.
For products coming from China, an additional rate on top of the general duty rate may apply.
Merchandise Processing Fee
The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is currently 0.3464% of the value of imported goods. Although the MPF is a percentage, as of January 24, 2022, the minimum fee is 27.75 and the maximum is $538.40. Before that, the minimum was 26.22 and the max was $508.70.
For informal entries, the Merchandise Processing Fee is a set fee ranging from $2.22, $6.66 or $9.99 per shipment.
Federal Excise Tax
The Federal Excise Tax is applied to certain goods such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
U.S. Duty Calculations
The duty rate is multiplied by the value of the imported goods to determine the duty payable. Depending on the origin country of the goods, the duty rates may have a percentage on top of the general rate. That total duty rate percentage should be used for an accurate calculation.
For example, The U.S. impose additional rates on imports from China. For example, the general rate for whistles is 5.3%, but the additional china rate is 7.5%. Therefore, calculating the duty for whistles requires adding the general duty rate to the china rate (5.3%+7.5%) and using multiplying that combined rate (12.8%) by the value of the imported good.
U.S. Customs Duty-Free
Items with a duty rate of 0% are also considered duty-free. Some examples of U.S. customs duty-free items are computers and original artwork. Although some items are considered duty-free, other import taxes may apply.
The Difference Between U.S. Duties and Tariffs
When importing items into the U.S. you must consider both the duty and tariffs. The duty is usually a fixed rate that applies to an item regardless of which country it’s coming from. On the other hand, tariffs apply to some items coming from certain countries.
Finding U.S. Customs Duty Rates
The most common way to find the duty rate for an item is by using its Harmonised System HS code. The U.S. International Trade Commission provides an HS database that allows you to search for the duty rates using the HS code or a product description.
Oftentimes, you won’t know the HS code when looking for the duty rate of an item and will have no choice but to search by description. When using the database to find duty rates by description, it may prove difficult since most of the descriptions are in broad terms.
For example, to find the duty rate for computers, you won’t find it by searching the term “computer” because it’s classified under “Automatic data processing machines”.
If you have the HS code for the item you want the duty rate for, you can use it in the U.S. International Trade Commission’s database. To the right of the Article Description, there is a column entitled Rates of Duty and it’s divided into 2 sections.
Section 1 shows the general duty rate and the special duty rate. Section 2 shows rates for the items if they are coming from North Korea or Cuba.
Importable’s U.S. Customs Duty Rate Search
Importable was created to simplify the process by allowing you to search for duty rates using common terms. When you want the rate for computers, simply search “computers”. In addition to that, much of the information related to a product is consolidated into one view. This eliminates the need to jump back and forward between documents and web pages.
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