brit_usa2014

Guindalf

Assuming you're a PR who's visiting the UK on vacation, there should be no duty. You're allowed up to $800 in duty free purchases before any taxes or duty are due. Plus if you paid VAT on what you bought, you can't be double-taxed anyway!

brit_usa2014

Guindalf

I've ordered from Amazon UK for delivery in the US in the past and never been charged duty or taxes. YMMV.

Pulaski

For an on-line purchase in the UK shipped directly to your US address, you might get assessed for import duty irrespective of your visa status in the UK. Duty will vary depending on the type of product purchased e.g. clothing may have different duty from crockery, and also potentially based on where it was manufactured (assuming that information is disclosed on the shipping documentation) e.g. goods manufactured in China may attract higher duty than the same type of goods manufactured in Mexico (goods manufactured in Mexico or Canada may have zero duty due to NAFTA).

I would expect to pay duty of around 10%, so not a huge deal, but it could be more - I suspect that around 30% would be the upper limit, though occasionally punitive duties are applied in a trade war situation. It is also possible that your shipment could slip under the radar and no duty is assessed, depending on exactly how the parcel is shipped and what disclosures are made.

scrubbedexpat091

$145 worth of merchandise is unlikely to incur any taxes/duty, the de minimis exemption is currently $800.

Pulaski

The $800 exemption is for goods that you are carrying with you when you enter the US, whereas Brit_usa2014 is asking about an on-line order of goods to be shipped directly to him in the US.

vindico

The $800 is for a personal import, whether shipped directly from overseas or carried with you when travelling.

Pulaski

No.

From the CBP.gov web site:

"Mailing and Shipping Goods - Customs Duty Guidance

Unaccompanied purchases are goods you bought on a trip that are being mailed or shipped to you in the United States. In other words, you are not carrying the goods with you when you return. If your unaccompanied purchases are from an insular possession (IP) or a Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) country and are being imported within 30 days and sent directly from those locations to the United States, you may enter them as follows:

• Up to $1,600 in goods will be duty-free under your personal exemption if the merchandise is from an IP.
• Up to $800 in goods will be duty-free if it is from a CBI or Andean country. "

The UK doesn't fall under this exemption anyway, but to take advantage of the above exemption for "unaccompanied tourist purchases" from CBI and IP countries, the above-linked CBP.gov web site page has a six step process for complying with the requirements - including having the vendor hold the purchase pending the vendor being supplied with the required CBP 255 form, which then becomes quite a paper chase, with multiple copies of a multi-part form being passed around, so I suspect that relatively few people take advantage of this exemption anyway.

vindico

Not correct. A Section 321 clearance applies to shipments too (I.e. not carried on the person). https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...ue%20Paper.pdf

Pulaski

OK, thx. I hadn't realized it change in 2016. Perhaps that is why the business of British retailers selling direct into the US has apparently exploded in the past three years.

brit_usa2014

Happy to report back that the parcel got delivered and had no duty to pay 💪🏻.Total weight was 6.5lbs so as long as I have a minimum of £50 worth of stuff to buy to avail free shipping I can have it shipped directly to me and thereby saving space in my suitcase for when I go home next time for the more important stuff (eg., food😛)