Tax-free limits and rates, by country
- Up to €150: VAT is charged — usually at checkout — and since 1 July 2026 a fixed customs duty of €3 per kind of item.
- Over €150: customs duty for the kind of goods, then VAT on the total. The carrier usually collects it before delivery, with a handling fee.
- A gift from one person to another worth up to €45 comes in free.
- Up to £135: VAT (20%) is charged by the seller at checkout; no customs duty for now — that ends by October 2028.
- Over £135: customs duty for the kind of goods, then VAT (20%) on the total, collected by the carrier with a handling fee (Royal Mail charges £8).
- A gift from one person to another worth up to £39 comes in free.
- The US has no duty-free allowance for parcels any more: duty depends on the product and where it was made, and the carrier adds a clearance fee. There's no national VAT, but the seller may charge state sales tax.
- A genuine gift from one person to another worth up to $100 comes in duty-free.
- GST is 5%; in provinces with HST the tax is 13% to 15% in all.
- Canada Post adds a handling fee of about CAD 9.95 when tax is due.
- A gift from one person to another worth up to CAD 60 comes in free.
- Up to A$1,000: GST (10%) is charged by the seller at checkout; no duty.
- Over A$1,000: duty (usually 5%, often 0% under trade deals), GST (10%) and an import processing charge.
- Up to PHP 10,000 (the goods' value): no duty and no VAT.
- Parcels to the same person on the same day are added together for that limit.
- Over PHP 10,000: duty (usually 5% to 15%), VAT (12%) on the total, and about PHP 515 in customs fees — plus the courier's charge.
- New Zealand: up to NZ$1,000, GST (15%) is usually charged by the seller at checkout.
- Singapore: up to S$400, GST (9%) is usually charged by the seller at checkout; there's no duty on most goods.
- Norway: up to NOK 3,000, VAT is usually charged by the seller at checkout.
- Switzerland: no VAT is collected when it would come to CHF 5 or less.
- Alcohol (and tobacco) pay excise tax on top, whatever the value — the amount here doesn't include it.
Austria 20% · Belgium 21% · Bulgaria 20% · Croatia 25% · Cyprus 19% · Czechia 21% · Denmark 25% · Estonia 24% · Finland 25.5% · France 20% · Germany 19% · Greece 24% · Hungary 27% · Ireland 23% · Italy 22% · Latvia 21% · Lithuania 21% · Luxembourg 17% · Malta 18% · Netherlands 21% · Poland 23% · Portugal 23% · Romania 21% · Slovakia 23% · Slovenia 22% · Spain 21% · Sweden 25% · United Kingdom 20% · Norway 25% · Iceland 24% · Switzerland 8.1% · Liechtenstein 8.1% · Türkiye 20% · Ukraine 20% · Serbia 20% · Bosnia and Herzegovina 17% · Montenegro 21% · North Macedonia 18% · Albania 20% · Moldova 20% · Georgia 18% · Armenia 20% · Azerbaijan 18% · Belarus 20% · Uzbekistan 12% · Kyrgyzstan 12% · Mongolia 10% · Australia 10% · New Zealand 15% · Canada 5% · Mexico 16% · Brazil 17% · Argentina 21% · Chile 19% · Colombia 19% · Peru 18% · Ecuador 15% · Uruguay 22% · Paraguay 10% · Bolivia 13% · Venezuela 16% · Costa Rica 13% · Panama 7% · Guatemala 12% · Honduras 15% · El Salvador 13% · Nicaragua 15% · Dominican Republic 18% · Jamaica 15% · Trinidad and Tobago 12.5% · Bahamas 10% · Barbados 17.5% · Japan 10% · South Korea 10% · China 13% · Taiwan 5% · Singapore 9% · Malaysia 10% · Thailand 7% · Vietnam 10% · Indonesia 11% · Philippines 12% · Cambodia 10% · Laos 10% · India 18% · Pakistan 18% · Bangladesh 15% · Sri Lanka 18% · Nepal 13% · Maldives 8% · Saudi Arabia 15% · United Arab Emirates 5% · Bahrain 10% · Oman 5% · Jordan 16% · Lebanon 11% · Israel 18% · Egypt 14% · Morocco 20% · Algeria 19% · Tunisia 19% · Kenya 16% · Tanzania 18% · Uganda 18% · Rwanda 18% · Ethiopia 15% · Nigeria 7.5% · Senegal 18% · Côte d'Ivoire 18% · Cameroon 19.25% · South Africa 15% · Namibia 15% · Botswana 14% · Zambia 16% · Mozambique 16% · Mauritius 15% · Madagascar 20% · Angola 14% · Fiji 15% · Papua New Guinea 10% · Samoa 15% · Tonga 15% · Hong Kong 0% · Macau 0% · Qatar 0% · Kuwait 0% · United States 0%
Medicines, batteries, knives, plants and some foods can be held or refused at the border, whatever the price. A text or email asking you to pay a small customs fee by link is a classic scam — the real carrier's own app or site shows any fee.