Coming home to the US

What does US Customs charge on what you bring home?

Carry your purchases home in your bags and the first 800 US dollars of them come in free. The next 1,000 US dollars is charged a flat 3 percent. Above that, each item is charged at its own tariff rate, which varies by item, so no single number applies. The 800 dollars is per person, so a family of four traveling together can pool 3,200 US dollars on goods they own jointly.

The 800 dollar allowance

The bands, on goods you carry:

• First 800 US dollars: free.
• Next 1,000 US dollars: a flat 3 percent.
• Above 1,800 US dollars: the item's own tariff rate. That varies by item and changes, so we do not quote one. Ask CBP or check the tariff schedule for the specific thing you are buying.

The conditions:

• Per person, children included. Family members traveling together can pool their allowances on goods they own jointly. Four people, 3,200 dollars.
• The goods have to be with you. Accompanied baggage only. See the next section.
• A trip of at least 48 hours. CBP waives that when you are returning from Mexico or the US Virgin Islands.
• Once every 30 days. The flat 3 percent band is also once every 30 days, and any part of the 1,000 dollars you do not use does not carry over to your next trip.
• Fail either test and the allowance is 200 dollars. Under 48 hours, or you already claimed inside 30 days, you still get 200 US dollars duty free.
• Coming direct from a US insular possession it is 1,600 dollars. US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands. No more than 800 of that may have been bought elsewhere.
• Alcohol and tobacco count inside the allowance, not beside it. One liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, 100 cigars.
• The officer puts your allowance against the highest-duty items first. That works in your favor, and you do not have to ask for it.
• Declare on CBP form 6059B, or on the app or kiosk where your airport offers one.

Carry it, do not ship it

The allowance above covers goods that travel with you. Anything you mail, ship or forward home separately is treated as an import instead, and it does not count toward your allowance. CBP's wording is that items to be sent later may not be included in your duty-free exemption. The exception is goods sent from Guam or the US Virgin Islands.

Shipping used to have its own cushion. A parcel worth 800 dollars or less could enter duty free under the de minimis exemption. That is gone:

• 29 August 2025. The suspension took effect for all countries, under an executive order signed that July. From this date a small parcel from anywhere was dutiable.
• 24 June 2026 and 24 July 2026. CBP wrote the suspension into its own regulations, indefinitely, in two interim final rules: all non-postal modes from 24 June, mail from 24 July, with part of the new postal entry process phasing in on 22 October 2026.
• 1 July 2027. Congress repeals the exemption permanently, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

So a parcel you send home today needs a customs entry and is dutiable from the first dollar, plus whatever the carrier charges you to file it. Carried, the same purchase has 800 dollars of headroom. That is the whole reason this page exists: it is not a packing tip, it is money.

It is separate from your foreign refund

If you claimed a tax refund on the way out, that is a different government answering a different question. The country you shopped in refunds its own consumption tax because you are taking the goods out. The US may charge its own duty because you are bringing them in. Neither one cancels the other. A French refund does not buy down a US duty bill, and a US duty bill does not mean your refund was pointless.

One thing we cannot tell you: whether a refund you have already claimed lowers the value you declare at the US border. CBP values goods at fair retail value in the country where you bought them, and we have not found a CBP statement on how a claimed refund affects that figure. So do not guess on the form. Carry the receipt and the refund paperwork, declare what you paid, and let the officer settle the number.

Getting the tax back, country by country

This page is the US side, what you owe coming home. The refund you can claim on the way out is a separate thing, and it works differently in each country. Start with the one you are shopping in.

• France 20% VAT, refundable over 100 euros at one store, you net about 10 to 15%.
• Italy 22% VAT, refundable over 70.01 euros, validated at an OTELLO kiosk on exit.
• Spain 21% IVA, no minimum since 2019, you net about 12 to 17%.
• Portugal 23% IVA, validated at an e-Taxfree kiosk before you fly.
• Japan 10% consumption tax, and the whole system changes on 1 November 2026.
• Saudi Arabia 15% VAT, reclaimable over SAR 500 at one retailer, goods unused within 90 days.
• United Kingdom no refund in Great Britain since it was abolished in 2021, here is what that means.

Common questions

• Does getting a tax refund abroad mean I owe US duty? Not by itself. US duty depends on the value of what you bring in and whether it fits your allowance. The refund is a separate transaction with a separate government.
• Is the 800 dollars per person or per family? Per person, children included. Traveling together, you can pool it on goods you own jointly, so a family of four has 3,200 dollars.
• What if I ship a box home instead of checking it? Then it is an import, not baggage. No allowance applies, and since 2025 there is no small-parcel exemption either, so it is dutiable from the first dollar and needs a customs entry. Carry it if you can.
• My trip was one night. Do I still get 800 dollars? No. Under 48 hours the allowance is 200 US dollars. CBP waives the 48-hour test when you are returning from Mexico or the US Virgin Islands.
• What happens if I do not declare something? You risk forfeiting the item, and penalties on top. CBP's own line is: if in doubt, declare it. Declaring something does not mean you will be charged for it.
• How much duty will I pay on a 3,000 dollar watch? We will not guess. The first 800 is free, the next 1,000 is a flat 3 percent, and the remainder is charged at that item's own tariff rate, which varies by item and changes. For a purchase that size, ask CBP or check the tariff schedule before you buy.