De minimis values by country

A de minimis value is the shipment value at or below which a country charges no customs duty, no import tax, or neither; above it, the normal charges apply. Many countries set one threshold for duty and a different one for tax, and since 2025 the United States and the EU have both taken theirs away: the United States has suspended its $800 duty exemption for every country, and the EU replaced its €150 duty relief with a €3 charge per item.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What is a de minimis threshold?#

A de minimis threshold is a value limit in a country's customs or tax law below which collecting the charge would cost more than it raises, so customs waives it. Each threshold says what value counts, whether it's measured on the whole consignment or each item, and which goods are excluded, most often alcohol and tobacco.

Splitting an order doesn't always help. New Zealand Customs treats several orders from the same supplier arriving on the same day as one shipment, so they can go over the limit together. The EU, by contrast, treats goods shipped separately as separate consignments, even when they were bought in one order.

How do duty and tax thresholds differ?#

A duty threshold waives customs duty and a tax threshold waives import VAT or GST, and a country can set them at different values or drop one entirely. A parcel can be free of duty and still pay tax, now the normal case in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where the seller collects the tax at checkout.

Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand thresholds and pay at the border whatever their value. Since 8 September 2026, Canada's surtax on certain goods originating in the United States applies even to shipments under its de minimis thresholds; the Canadian counter-tariffs guide lists them.

What changed and when#

De minimis rules in the United States, the EU and the UK changed repeatedly in 2025 and 2026. The United States suspended, then legislated away, its $800 exemption; the EU replaced its €150 duty relief with a €3 charge; the UK set a date to end its £135 relief. Each entry links to its official text.

1. October 2028 Upcoming

   UK £135 duty relief ends at the latest

   Goods valued at £135 or less become subject to customs duty on a day the Treasury appoints, by October 2028 at the latest. HMRC, updated 28 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

2. 1 July 2028 Upcoming

   EU €3 duty ends

   Distance sales up to €150 then pay the normal tariff rate, unless the temporary duty is extended. European Commission guidance (opens in a new tab)

3. 1 December 2027 Upcoming

   Deadline for the EU review of the €3 duty

   The Commission assesses whether the EU Customs Data Hub will work by 1 July 2028 and may propose a longer transitional period. European Commission guidance (opens in a new tab)

4. 1 July 2027 Upcoming

   US de minimis ends by law

   The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, section 70531(b)) ends the exemption permanently. CBP, 91 FR 37789 (opens in a new tab)

5. 20 January 2027 Upcoming

   Formal entry for some US mail

   Under 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi), mail under another agency's rules, paying chapter 98 or 99 duties, or claiming chapter 98 or FTA duty-free treatment needs formal entry. CBP, 91 FR 66638 (opens in a new tab)

6. 20 January 2027 Upcoming

   Entry Type 13 required for some US mail

   Informal entry of mail subject to Section 201, 232 or 301 duties or an agency's rules must use Entry Type 13. CBP, 14 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

7. 7 December 2026 Upcoming

   Comments close on CBP's low-value shipments proposal

   The proposal changes filing for informal entries of $2,500 or less and adds an electronic entry type for mail and bonds for some entries. CBP, 91 FR 64532 (opens in a new tab)

8. 1 November 2026

   EU handling fee of €2 per item expected

   Expected from 1 November 2026, once its delegated act completes scrutiny: €2 per item on distance sales at any value, not refundable, with VAT charged on it. European Commission guidance (opens in a new tab)

9. 1 November 2026

   EU product identifiers enforced

   Distance sales in consignments up to €150 must declare product identifiers; declaring them was voluntary from 1 July 2026. European Commission guidance (opens in a new tab)

10. 22 October 2026

    US mail formal entry date moved

    CBP moves the compliance date for 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi) from 22 October 2026 to 20 January 2027. CBP, 91 FR 66638 (opens in a new tab)

11. 22 October 2026

    Entry Type 13 test widened

    Test entries for mail may be sent with or without electronic agency data. CBP, 91 FR 66707 (opens in a new tab)

12. 8 October 2026

    CBP proposes low-value shipment rules

    Comments are open until 7 December 2026. CBP, 91 FR 64532 (opens in a new tab)

13. 22 September 2026

    Entry Type 13 test starts

    A voluntary electronic informal entry for mail worth $2,500 or less. CBP, 91 FR 38007 (opens in a new tab)

14. 8 September 2026

    Canadian surtax applies under de minimis

    Canada's surtax on certain goods originating in the United States applies even to shipments under its de minimis thresholds. CBSA Customs Notice 26-23 (opens in a new tab)

15. 24 July 2026

    US postal informal entry starts

    Mail worth $2,500 or less can use the new postal process, and duty is no longer collected from the addressee on delivery. CBP, 91 FR 37801 (opens in a new tab)

16. 13 July 2026

    UK consultation response published

    HMRC publishes the summary of responses on reforming the customs treatment of low-value imports. HMRC policy paper (opens in a new tab)

17. 1 July 2026

    EU €3 duty per item starts

    The €150 duty relief is deleted and distance sales in consignments up to €150 pay €3 per item until 1 July 2028. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (opens in a new tab)

18. 24 June 2026

    US suspension made indefinite

    CBP writes the de minimis suspension into its regulations for every mode, mail included. CBP, 91 FR 37789 (opens in a new tab)

19. 23 June 2026

    UK brings forward its £135 reform

    The end of the duty relief moves from March 2029 to October 2028 at the latest. HM Treasury (opens in a new tab)

20. 24 February 2026

    US suspension continued

    Executive Order 14388 keeps de minimis suspended after the Supreme Court's ruling on IEEPA tariffs. Executive Order 14388 (opens in a new tab)

21. 11 February 2026

    EU adopts the €3 duty

    Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 deletes the €150 duty relief in the Duty Relief Regulation. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (opens in a new tab)

22. December 2025

    UK consultation opens

    A 12-week consultation on removing the £135 relief runs from December 2025 to March 2026. HMRC policy paper (opens in a new tab)

23. 29 August 2025

    US de minimis suspended for every country

    Low-value shipments pay duty whatever their origin. Executive Order 14324 (opens in a new tab)

24. 4 July 2025

    US de minimis repeal enacted

    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ends the exemption from 1 July 2027. CBP, 91 FR 37789 (opens in a new tab)

25. 2 May 2025

    US de minimis ends for China and Hong Kong

    Low-value products of China and Hong Kong lose duty-free treatment. Executive Order 14256 (opens in a new tab)

26. 1 July 2021

    EU charges VAT on every import

    The VAT exemption for goods under €22 ends and IOSS starts for consignments up to €150. European Commission (opens in a new tab)

27. 1 December 2019

    New Zealand GST on low-value goods

    Overseas sellers start charging GST on goods valued at NZ$1,000 or less. New Zealand Customs Service (opens in a new tab)

28. 1 July 2018

    Australian GST on low-value goods

    Registered sellers start charging GST at the point of sale on goods with a customs value of AUD 1,000 or less. Home Affairs Notice 2018/13 (opens in a new tab)

How does the United States treat low-value parcels now?#

The United States charges duty on goods sold to US buyers whatever their value, because the $800 de minimis exemption in section 321 of the Tariff Act is suspended for every country and ends by law on 1 July 2027. Every commercial shipment needs a formal or informal entry, and informal entry covers most shipments worth $2,500 or less.

Two section 321 exemptions are untouched: bona fide gifts of up to $100 a day from a person abroad to a person in the United States ($200 from the US Virgin Islands, Guam or American Samoa), and personal articles that travelers bring with them. An article "given" with a purchase, such as a bonus item, isn't a bona fide gift, and a parcel from a business abroad ordinarily isn't treated as one unless it's marked as a gift and carries a statement saying so. The US entry process guide covers informal entry and the postal process, and our de minimis suspension article has the background.

How does the EU treat parcels worth €150 or less?#

The EU charges import VAT on parcels of every value and, since 1 July 2026, €3 of customs duty per item on distance sales in consignments worth €150 or less. An item is the goods in a consignment sharing a tariff classification, description and origin, so five identical T-shirts are one item and a T-shirt with a cap is two.

The €3 applies whichever VAT route the seller uses, IOSS, the special arrangements or standard import VAT, and it also covers alcohol, perfume and tobacco, which the old relief left out. Because the relief itself was deleted, low-value goods that aren't distance sales pay the normal tariff rate. Our article on the €3 customs duty works through an order.

De minimis values for every country#

The table below is border.bot's live de minimis data: each country's duty and tax thresholds in its own currency, with the date the rule took effect where it changed recently. To see what a specific parcel pays once it's over a threshold, run it through the calculator in the checklist below.

50 of 238 countries and territories have a de minimis rule in border.bot's live data, as of 14 October 2026. Each country's page has the rule's official source.

Download this table as CSV or JSON, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab) with credit to border.bot. To cite it: border.bot, “De minimis thresholds by country”, updated 14 October 2026, https://border.bot/docs/guides/de-minimis.

How to read the de minimis table

Every country and territory has a row, the ones with a rule in our data first. Duty de minimis is the value up to which customs duty isn't charged; "None" means duty applies from the first cent, and "Flat" names the fixed charge that replaces the tariff up to the threshold, as with the EU's €3 per tariff classification. Tax de minimis is the value up to which VAT, GST or sales tax isn't charged at the border. Value counted says which value is compared with the threshold. Notes say when the threshold depends on something else: another country's rule (EU member states apply the EU's), the seller's tax registration, where the goods come from, or goods it excludes. "Not in our data yet" means border.bot holds no verified rule for that country yet, not that it has none; the filter box above the table finds a country by name or ISO code.

What the value counted means

The value of the goods is the price paid for the goods alone. The customs value is the value customs uses for duty, which in some countries includes transport and insurance to the border. The rules behind the main thresholds differ: the EU's €150 limit is the intrinsic value of the consignment, the price of the goods without transport and insurance unless they're included in the price and not shown separately; New Zealand's NZ$1,000 limit is the customs value without transport and insurance; and Norway's VOEC limit is set per item rather than per parcel.

What should a seller do now?#

A seller shipping low-value parcels should check each destination's current threshold before quoting a price, because the United States and the EU have changed theirs since 2025 and the UK has set a date for its own. The checklist covers the steps that keep parcels moving and prices right after these changes.

• Check each destination's duty and tax threshold in the table above before you quote delivered prices.
• Price US orders with duty from the first dollar, and for mail line up a filer with a bond for the postal entry.
• Classify EU orders to each item's tariff code, so the €3 count per item is right, and have product identifiers ready for 1 November 2026.
• Register for the seller tax schemes that apply to you: IOSS (optional), the UK's £135 rules, Australia, New Zealand and Norway's VOEC.
• Re-run the landed cost calculator for your main lanes whenever a date in the timeline passes.

Common questions#

Does the EU still have a €150 de minimis?#

Not for duty. Since 1 July 2026 the €150 duty relief no longer exists: distance sales up to €150 pay €3 per item until 1 July 2028, and other low-value goods pay the normal rate. €150 is still the limit for using IOSS to collect VAT at checkout.

Is the US $800 de minimis coming back?#

Not under current law. The exemption has been suspended since 29 August 2025, CBP made the suspension indefinite in June 2026, and a 2025 statute ends it permanently on 1 July 2027.

Does shipping count toward the de minimis value?#

Usually not. The EU, New Zealand and Australia measure the goods' value without transport and insurance, though some countries add shipping when they work out the tax that is due above the threshold, as the import tax rates guide shows.

If a parcel is under the tax threshold, does the buyer pay no tax?#

Not in the EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand or Norway. There the seller or marketplace charges the tax at checkout instead, under the schemes in the VAT, GST and sales tax guide.

Sources#

• Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries (Executive Order 14324) (opens in a new tab), Executive Office of the President, Federal Register, 2025-08-05
• Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries (Executive Order 14388) (opens in a new tab), Executive Office of the President, Federal Register, 2026-02-25
• Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-06-24
• Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-06-24
• Low-Value Shipments (proposed rule) (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-10-08
• Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments; Delayed Compliance Date (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-10-22
• Test of the New Electronic Informal Entry Process for Mail (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-06-24
• Modification of the Test of the New Electronic Informal Entry Process for Mail (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2026-10-22
• Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the PRC as Applied to Low-Value Imports (Executive Order 14256) (opens in a new tab), Executive Office of the President, Federal Register, 2025-04-07
• International Mail Entry Type 13 mandatory implementation date extended to Jan. 20, 2027 (opens in a new tab), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2026-10-14
• 19 CFR 10.152 and 10.153: bona fide gifts (opens in a new tab), eCFR, current as of 27 October 2026
• Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (opens in a new tab), Council of the European Union, 2026-02-11
• The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee: guidance for Member States and trade (opens in a new tab), European Commission, version of 2026-10-05
• Customs formalities for low value consignments (opens in a new tab), European Commission, accessed 2026-10-30
• Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK (opens in a new tab), HM Revenue and Customs, updated 2026-10-28
• Government backs high street with acceleration of cheap import reforms (opens in a new tab), HM Treasury, 2026-06-23
• VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK (opens in a new tab), HM Revenue and Customs, updated 2022-05-13
• Memorandum D8-2-16: Courier Imports Remission (opens in a new tab), Canada Border Services Agency, 2024-11-15
• Importing by mail or courier (opens in a new tab), Canada Border Services Agency, modified 2025-11-25
• Customs Notice 26-23: United States Surtax Order (2026) (opens in a new tab), Canada Border Services Agency, 2026-09-07, updated 2026-10-23
• A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Subdivision 84-C: offshore supplies of low value goods (opens in a new tab), Federal Register of Legislation (Australia), latest compilation, accessed 2026-10-30
• Notice 2018/13: Goods and Services Tax on low value imported goods (opens in a new tab), Department of Home Affairs (Australia), 2018
• New GST rules for low-value imported goods (opens in a new tab), New Zealand Customs Service, 2019
• Duty and allowances (opens in a new tab), New Zealand Customs Service, updated 2025-07-18
• The VOEC scheme (opens in a new tab), Norwegian Customs, updated 2025-11-27