Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

http://www.dutyfreecanada.com/customs-allowances/

Am I being silly ?

This says to me I cannot bring anything back unless I have been there for 24 hours? We were planning a trip tomorrow just to browse but may end up buying a couple of items but don't want to get in trouble as it will only be a couple of hours!

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

You are. You can bring as much as you like back (unless prohibited items), you will just pay the tax and duty on it if any.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

ALso depends on how much you buy and what mood the CBSA person is in when you come back thru!

I have been for a few hours and spent $150 and they havent batted an eyelid . . . others have got thru with more, others have to pay all relevant taxes and duties!

Groceries seem to be ok

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

thats cos most groceries are not taxed in Canada.....any item that has not been touched does not get taxed.....for instance if u buy a melon its not taxed, if u buy a chopped up melon in a fruit tray u will be taxed

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

you have certain limits on food though. I think it's $20 of Dairy per person etc. All goods made in the US or Mexico are free of duty taxes and you'll just pay Provincial tax.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Well we went today and came back spent $200 (not on food) and didnt get charged anything yippee:thumbsup:

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

[quote=Monique_in_Canada;10306870for instance if u buy a melon its not taxed, if u buy a chopped up melon in a fruit tray u will be taxed[/quote]

Try bringing a melon back across the border!

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

:thumbsup:
We had officers that didn't even want tax for a bottle of wine and others that were moaning that we bought some $14 headphones :confused:
Over all we never had problems.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

I've heard of people wearing clothes that they intend to throw away, and then getting changed into their new clothes before they come back.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

We have seen it all:lol:
Layers on layers of clothing, brand new runners with no wear on soles,
stuffing cigarettes into Canadian marked packages, vodka in the washer fluid bottle, brand new tires etc etc.
Some get caught others dont all for the sake of saving approx $12 to $15 on every hundred they have spent if no personal exemptions.
If you get caught then dont bitch and moan just accept any penalties levelled and get on with your day rather than abusing them for doing their job.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

I've never done it, I'm way too scared..lol! We rarely go over at all anyway, maybe once we get our citizenship....

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Well...Taking the headphone out of the package, would have prevented that "moaning" no?

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Yes it would have done. Shame they saw them on the grocery bill receipt when they asked to view it.

Putting it on a seperate bill would have ' prevented that "moaning" ', but I forgot.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

To be honest we go over once a month and just declare everything, just forgot about the headphones. Most of the time we just get our passports back and a friendly "have a nice day". Twice we had to pay but we expected that anyways. Once for booze and once for a bunkbed and matresses. Still loads cheaper than here. And before anybody says anything, we still spend plenty of $$$ here, too. ;)

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

I was using it as an example...but not sure wot u mean....my hubby brings at least one home weekly!!!

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Without a permit, fruits and vegetables are prohibited to bring across the border.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Hmmm Washington State Trader Joes shops have a list of which fruit you can bring back into Canada

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

we have repeatedly asked the Canadian border doods about bringing shopping into Canada and if there are any restrictions on dairy, fruit, veggies, meat etc.....and they all say no.....maybe its a province thing!!!

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

This link may help with certain products purchased in the US only

http://www.beaware.gc.ca/english/brirape.shtml

If unsure you can use the CFIA AIRS website.
http://airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca/Ai...ns.aspx?lang=1

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

No, its a CFIA thing.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

It's a bit misleading because some things aren't subject to duty, because of NAFTA and they're not covered by GST/HST, such as many US or Mexican-source grocery items.

So say you go down and buy a gallon of milk, there's no tax.

Note that a lot of the usual prohibitions on food items that you can bring into Canada do not apply to imports from the US and vice versa.

So there's no exemption but there's no tax so it doesn't matter, which is why Bellingham has two Fred Meyer supermarkets...

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

At the end of the day, it's all at the discretion of the agent on duty innit?

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

whilst on the subject of crossing the border we have been here for 4 months and have our permenant residency status, we don't have our pr cards yet we want to cross from ontario to watertown. my mother in law is visiting from england too and obviously we all only have an english passport. we would be going by car i just need to know where we stand and can we travel over there for the weekend and get back in without a pr card thankyou in advance x

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

You can get into the US, you'll just need six bucks (US) each for the visa waiver.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

thankyou for that, all the info i could find was saying we needed pr cards or imm forms! i was just about to upset the mother in law but now shes getting excited lol!

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Not to go to the US. Just present a British passport, get sent into secondary to complete your visa waiver form and pay your USD6.

Getting back into Canada ...

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

If my husband and I visit the USA together and say we stay more than 48 hours. Do I claim $800 duty free goods and can he also declare $800 of duty free goods (Total $1600) OR we do claim $800 ONLY of duty free goods. Living in the same house does not mean his money is my money and vice versa...

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

You report what you are bringing back, you don't 'claim' the allowance. The allowance is per person, does not matter where you live. You will have to present receipts and possibly proof of being away for 48 hours or more and they will tell you if you owe anything or not.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Thank you for your answer. As long as the allowance is per person regardless where they live we have no prob presenting receipts and proofs of being away for 48 hours or more. I just do not want to have the surprise that the allowance is per household.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Each person gets it. Our kids love "buying" our new appliances:p

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

:D:D


But be careful as in this link, it is said that:

"
•Children are entitled to a personal exemption as long as the goods they are declaring are [B]for the child’s use."

http://www.crossbordershopping.ca/du...nal-exemptions

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Fortunately, my kids are old enough to use a fridge:thumbsup:

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Don't worry so much.
We've been going shopping in the US on a regular basis for the last 2 years OH on a TWP, myself and 2 girls on visitor records and the youngest is Canadian. We've got UK, German and Canadian nationalities and went with UK visitors, German visitors and a UK friend on an IEC visa on different occasions.
We bought beds, matresses, food, and booze. We went camping in New York State, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachussets (out over 48h)and brought a case of beer back per adult each time tax free :thumbsup: plus some wine which CBSA didn't want tax for :thumbsup::thumbsup:.
The main thing is have your receipts and the total value (all values tax free or not in your car) ready when you get to the border.
Whatever tax free allowance you have per person it can't be shared i.e. one uses $400 and the other $1200. Then the one person with the $1200 value would legally have to pay tax on $400.
Declare everything, it's not worth it getting caught for the sake of saving $50
Sometimes it's worth to buy goods and pay tax and it'll still be loads cheaper than over here.
Look at the max amount of dairy, chicken etc. you are allowed per person.
We never ever had any problems. Neither getting into the US nor back into Canada. Now we are PR's :D and the CBSA likes you showing your PR card when getting back into Canada but legally you only need it when travelling on a commercial vehical e.g. plane, bus, boat. We don't have one yet and our friends forgot it last time and were fine.
The border guys are all very nice and I always wonder if one of them is FL :D
All, have a lovely shopping experience in the US lol :rofl:

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Nina....If I may ask, whereabouts at those locations would you recommend for camping? Also where are the best places for good shopping especially in New Hampshire? I know there is no state tax

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

I am sure even a baby qualifies for the $200/day allowance, with milk and all that

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

It's per person but you can't combine them. I.e. if you bought something that was $1,500, you can't claim an exemption by combining them.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Where do you buy appliances from? Do you go down to Great Falls? I met someone down there who had ordered a new TV at Wal-Mart but when you add on the price of gas, staying in a hotel and GST and duty at the border I can't see the point myself. (And I did wonder what condition an LCD TV would be in after a 500km trip in the back of an SUV).

I only go down there to get things you can't get in Canada.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

It all depends how much wildlife you want to have and if you travel with a tent or trailer. New Hampshire has a nice motel http://www.northcolonymotel.com/ simple but very clean and cheap and close to Storyland, Mount Attitash and the North Conway outlet village.
In Maine we had a campsite near Kennebunkport, Old Orchard Beach. That was really cheap but very basic, lovely pool though. We camp in a tent and everytime I needed the bathroom in the night it was a hike through the woods past skunks and allsorts :ohmy:
But it was only one hour north of Boston and I loved Boston. So next time we'll try and get a campsite closer to Boston.
In New York State we camped at Lake Champlain, Cumberland Bay State Park , that was a great campsite if you weren't directly at the waterfront = very windy. We took the ferry over the lake to Burlington NY, which is a nice little town, with pubs, restaurants and a proper pedestrian shopping "street".
We also went to Cranberry Lake,Cranberry Lake campground, also in the Adirondacks, it was much more wildlife there and we had a bobcat jumping our guide ropes in the night :eek:
Over all the State campsites are basic, nothing fancy but if you like the nature it's great. You can find them all on here: http://www.reserveamerica.com/

If you have kids, depending on their age they'd love North Conway http://www.attitash.com/
http://www.storylandnh.com/
http://www.settlersgreen.com/
:thumbsup:

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

Milk is free anyways up to $20 per person. But yes even our baby has an allowance.
And I might be wrong on this (please tell me if I am)but I think you can combine the allowance if it is for the whole family i.e. a fridge which would be used by everyone and you couldn't really say who owns it. It's different with a bike or clothes.

Re: Allowance when visiting U.S zero?
 

We have people here who go over and bring back TVs and other electronics back with them. There are also place close to the border that will deliver your good to you if you are close to the border in this part of Ontario

The thing with small electronics is that you can pretend it was in your car when you left. Tyres, you can drive in mud for a bit, same goes for shoes, just walk about in them for a bit and pack them up with socks in them