Guide · US import duty · Updated 17 Oct 2026
The $800 de minimis is gone.
What does every parcel owe now?
Since August 2025 the US duty-free threshold is suspended for all countries and all modes. Every parcel carries a duty cost now — here is how it breaks down by product and price.
What changed
For decades, a parcel worth under $800 could enter the United States duty-free. That ended. Since 29 August 2025, CBP has suspended the de minimis exemption for goods from all countries and all shipping modes — courier, postal and freight. An interim final rule in 2026 made the suspension indefinite rather than temporary.
Practically: every parcel from China now carries a duty cost, whether you import one unit or ten thousand, and whether it ships by express courier or in a postal bag.
What that costs, by product class
Duty is charged on the item price and depends on what the item is. These are the bands our engine prices against (US, as of October 2026):
| Product class | Typical US duty on the item |
|---|---|
| Apparel | 16 – 35% |
| Footwear | 10 – 35% |
| Bags & luggage | 8 – 25% |
| Jewelry | 5 – 20% |
| Electronics & phone accessories | 3 – 15% |
| Home, kitchen, lighting, toys, pet supplies, tools, beauty | 3 – 15% |
| Furniture, office | 3 – 12% |
Why a range, not one number: US duty currently layers a base tariff, China-specific measures, and trade-remedy layers — and parts of the remedy stack are under active litigation. Anyone quoting you a single exact rate today is guessing. We deliberately show a range with a confidence band and an as-of date.
A worked example at small scale
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Item (dog bed) | $29.89 |
| Live shipping quote | $1.99 |
| Duty (pet supplies band) | $2.69 |
| Delivered to the US | $32.58 |
If you were pricing your store at "2.2× the item price," that $2.69 duty just ate a big slice of the margin — before shipping, ads, or returns. At scale (buying 100, 1,000) the duty scales on the item value, so the model has to include it from day one.
What to do about it
- Price from the landed number, not the listing price. Every product you sell should be costed with duty included — that is exactly what our free tool computes in seconds.
- Re-check before every stocking decision. Rates move; the tool stamps every result with its as-of date.
- Say "estimate" on your own pages too. Your customers will ask why shipping from China suddenly got pricier — a short, honest note beats an unpleasant surprise at delivery.
Related
How to calculate real landed cost · Canada’s rules (still different)
Check your own numbers before you buy
Run any product through the tool and see the all-in delivered cost — item, live freight, duty and import tax — for the US or your Canadian province. Ten lookups are free every month; no card, no account.
Duty figures here are estimates with an accuracy promise, not a customs ruling. Rates and trade remedies are in flux — every number our tool shows carries a confidence band and an as-of date. See the sample report for exactly what you get.