Import tax rates by country

Most countries charge their VAT or GST on imported goods at the same rate as on goods sold at home, and they charge it on a bigger base than the price: usually the customs value plus the duty, and often the transport to the destination too. So the import tax on a parcel is normally more than the headline rate applied to the goods. The United States is the main exception, with no federal import VAT or GST.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What is import VAT or GST?#

Import VAT or GST is the consumption tax a country charges when goods enter it, so imported goods carry the same tax as goods bought locally. Customs collects it at the border with the duty, unless the goods are low-value and the seller already charged it at checkout. Business buyers registered for the tax can usually reclaim it.

The rate is the one that would apply to the same goods sold in the country. Ireland's Revenue puts it plainly: VAT on goods bought from outside the EU is payable at the rate that would apply if they had been bought in Ireland. That means reduced and zero rates carry over too: a medical device that is zero-rated in Ireland pays no VAT at import either.

The names differ but the mechanism is the same: VAT in the EU, the UK and Norway, GST in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, HST in the Canadian provinces that combine federal and provincial tax. The VAT, GST and sales tax guide explains how they compare with US sales tax.

What value is import tax charged on?#

Import tax is charged on the customs value plus the duty in every country below, and most add transport and insurance too. Countries that leave shipping out of the value for duty often add it back for tax, so the tax base can be larger than the duty base. Each rule comes from the country's own law or customs authority.

The import costs page for the United States covers what CBP does collect: duty, federal excise on goods such as alcohol and tobacco, and user fees.

Worked example: why import tax is more than the rate#

Import tax compounds on the duty and on shipping, so a 10% GST doesn't mean 10% of the price. Take an order to Australia worth AUD 1,500, over the AUD 1,000 low-value limit so it's taxed at the border, with AUD 80 of transport and insurance and a duty rate of 5% chosen for the example.

The GST is AUD 165.50, against the AUD 150.00 that 10% of the price would suggest. The same thing happens in the EU, where duty is charged on a value that already includes shipping and VAT is then charged on the value plus the duty. The landed cost guide shows it for an Irish order.

Who collects import tax on low-value parcels?#

On low-value parcels, the tax is now often collected by the seller or marketplace at checkout rather than by customs at the border. The EU, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Norway all work this way below their limits, and each scheme requires the seller to register once its sales into the country pass a threshold.

When an EU seller doesn't use IOSS, the carrier or postal operator often collects the VAT from the buyer on delivery under the special arrangements, the EU's other route for parcels up to €150. The registration thresholds and the rules for marketplaces are in the VAT, GST and sales tax guide, and the de minimis guide covers the duty side.

Are provincial and state taxes included?#

Provincial taxes are part of import tax in Canada and state taxes are not part of it in the United States. Canada charges GST on most imports, and depending on the province or territory the goods also pay either provincial sales tax or the harmonized sales tax, which replaces GST and provincial tax with one rate.

The table below shows one standard rate per country, so the Canada page is the place to read each province's rate. In the United States, state and local sales or use tax is never collected at the border; it's owed under each state's own rules, by the seller, the marketplace or the buyer.

Import tax rates by country#

The table below is border.bot's live data: the standard VAT, GST or sales tax rate charged on imports in each country, with the official source it was read from. Reduced rates for particular goods and regional rates aren't shown here; the landed cost calculator applies them for a specific product code and address.

65 of 238 countries and territories have a live rate in border.bot's data, as of 14 October 2026.

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, “Standard VAT and GST rates by country”, updated 14 October 2026, https://border.bot/docs/guides/import-tax-rates.

How to read the rates table

Each row is one country's standard rate on imported goods, as published by the authority in the source column. The table gives the rate, not the tax's name, so read the rows for Australia and New Zealand as GST. Countries whose rate isn't in border.bot's live data yet are left out.

The EU sets the rules for VAT but each member state sets its own rate, so the rate depends on where the parcel is delivered:

Import VAT in ten large EU markets

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-11

Common questions#

Is import VAT charged on shipping costs?#

Usually yes. The EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand all include transport and insurance in the value they tax at import, even where duty is charged without them.

Do you pay VAT on the customs duty?#

Yes, in every country in the table above: duty is part of the import tax base. That's why a duty increase also raises the tax.

Does the United States charge import VAT?#

No. There is no federal VAT, GST or sales tax on imports; CBP collects duty, some federal excise taxes and fees, and state sales tax is a separate, domestic obligation.

Sources#

• Buying goods from outside the European Union (opens in a new tab), Revenue (Ireland), published 2026-07-01
• Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 21: value of imported goods (opens in a new tab), legislation.gov.uk, version from 2026-10-01
• Excise Tax Act, section 215 (opens in a new tab), Justice Laws Website (Canada), current to 2026-09-30
• Importing by mail or courier (opens in a new tab), Canada Border Services Agency, modified 2025-11-25
• GST and other taxes (opens in a new tab), Australian Border Force, updated 2026-10-20
• Notice 2018/13: Goods and Services Tax on low value imported goods (opens in a new tab), Department of Home Affairs (Australia), 2018
• Duty and allowances (opens in a new tab), New Zealand Customs Service, updated 2025-07-18
• VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK (opens in a new tab), HM Revenue and Customs, updated 2022-05-13
• Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) (opens in a new tab), Revenue (Ireland), published 2026-07-21
• 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
• The VOEC scheme (opens in a new tab), Norwegian Customs, updated 2025-11-27