Import Duty Estimator

Import duty is the part of your cost that depends entirely on a code you've probably never looked at. Every product that crosses a border gets classified under a Harmonized System (HS) code, and that code — not your opinion, not the product name — decides the duty rate. Same box, different HS code, completely different bill.

This estimator takes three inputs: the customs value, the freight, and the duty rate. Duty is charged on the value plus the freight you paid to get it there, so leaving freight out understates what you owe. We multiply (value + freight) by the rate and show the duty and the total landed. Simple math, but the rate is the hard part.

Where do you find the rate? You look up the HS code for your product in the destination country's tariff schedule. A cotton t-shirt and a polyester one can sit in different bands. Get the code wrong on purpose and you're committing fraud; get it wrong by accident and customs will reclassify it and send the difference, often with a penalty. When in doubt, pay for a classification ruling or use a customs broker for your first shipment.

The other moving piece is de minimis — the value below which a country charges no duty. The US knocked its de minimis threshold around, and rules change without much warning. A product dutiable today can be free next quarter depending on trade policy, so re-check the rate before each large order rather than trusting last year's number.

Use this tool to model a few duty rates side by side. If a 12% rate kills the margin but a reclassified 3% rate saves it, that difference is worth a broker's fee to get right.