Duty & tax rates
What actually lands on your invoice, in the order it is calculated — and where to get the one number we will not invent for you.
Where our rates come from
Rates are retrieved per lookup from the connected source
(usitc), which covers
hs code lookup, duty rates, landed cost. Each figure
shows its source and retrieval date where it appears. We still do not publish a static table: a
rate is only meaningful against a specific destination, origin and date.
The order of the calculation
Most landed-cost mistakes are not wrong rates — they are the right rates applied in the wrong order, or to the wrong base.
- 01
Establish the customs value
Usually the transaction value — what you actually paid, adjusted for assists, royalties and certain commissions. This is the base everything else multiplies.
- 02
Decide what goes into the duty base
The United States assesses duty on the goods alone (FOB). The EU, UK and most other markets add international freight and insurance (CIF). Using the wrong basis on a $10,000 shipment with $1,000 of freight and insurance misstates every downstream figure by 10%.
- 03
Apply the duty rate
Ad valorem is a percentage of the duty base. But some lines are specific (per kilo, per litre, per unit) or compound (both) — in which case a percentage calculation is simply the wrong shape.
- 04
Add statutory fees
Processing and harbour fees are separate from duty, have their own bases, and may carry an annually-adjusted floor and ceiling. They are small individually and easy to forget entirely.
- 05
Apply import tax on the right base
In the EU and UK, import VAT is charged on the customs value plus duty — duty compounds into your tax. Elsewhere the base may exclude duty. This is the single most common landed-cost error we see.
- 06
Add service fees last
Brokerage, and any platform margin, sit on top and are not part of the dutiable value. They are also the only part of the bill anyone is entitled to mark up.
What we charge, and what we don't
Passed through at cost
- · Customs duty
- · Import VAT / GST
- · Processing and harbour fees
- · Excise, where it applies
Zero markup. Every cent goes to the treasury.
Where we earn
- · Your subscription — platform access
- · A disclosed margin on the broker's fee
The margin is its own line item in every quote, so you can always see which part of the bill is government, which is the broker, and which is us. See pricing.
Authoritative rate lookups
The only places a rate is legally meaningful. Take your HS code here, then bring the rate back to the calculator.
Destination guides
How duty and tax are actually assessed in each market, and what catches importers out there.
This page describes how the calculation works. It is not legal, customs or tax advice, and it does not tell you what rate applies to your goods. CustomsScanner is not a customs broker and does not file entries — confirm anything that affects a declaration with a licensed broker.