Tax on a present to the US
#1
Tax on a present to the US
I have sent a present of some shoes to a friend in Montana and delivery is being held up because there is apparently 'tax' to be paid on this gift to Aramex by the recipient before they can deliver and I do not know how much.
I have sent presents to people in the US before and never come across this problem. Should a gift from one private individual to another be taxed?
Any input much appreciated and as it is a present I would rather he not pay anything to receive it.
Thanks
SC
I have sent presents to people in the US before and never come across this problem. Should a gift from one private individual to another be taxed?
Any input much appreciated and as it is a present I would rather he not pay anything to receive it.
Thanks
SC
#2
Re: Tax on a present to the US
I have sent a present of some shoes to a friend in Montana and delivery is being held up because there is apparently 'tax' to be paid on this gift to Aramex by the recipient before they can deliver and I do not know how much.
I have sent presents to people in the US before and never come across this problem. Should a gift from one private individual to another be taxed?
Any input much appreciated and as it is a present I would rather he not pay anything to receive it.
Thanks
SC
I have sent presents to people in the US before and never come across this problem. Should a gift from one private individual to another be taxed?
Any input much appreciated and as it is a present I would rather he not pay anything to receive it.
Thanks
SC
#3
Re: Tax on a present to the US
Import duties can be levied on anything mailed into the US. There is no exemption for "gifts".
That said it is clearly impractical for every parcel mailed into the US to be inspected and tax levied, so, as Dunroving said, it is a crap shoot as to whether any one parcel is taxes or not, though the system appears, not surprisingly, to be skewed towards taxing higher value items.
That said it is clearly impractical for every parcel mailed into the US to be inspected and tax levied, so, as Dunroving said, it is a crap shoot as to whether any one parcel is taxes or not, though the system appears, not surprisingly, to be skewed towards taxing higher value items.
#4
Re: Tax on a present to the US
The last present I sent to the US (January) contained Cadbury's chcolate, Yorkshire Gold loose-leaf tea, and two Top Gear books.
It was taxed 100% (i.e., the box arrived completely empty).
It was taxed 100% (i.e., the box arrived completely empty).
#5
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 45
Re: Tax on a present to the US
Two top gear books ? That's ironic given how one of the presenters alleged actions have dominated the UK news today !
#6
Re: Tax on a present to the US
Maybe the books were seized under some section of the Patriot Act (protecting young US minds from the seditious ramblings of wild middle-aged men)
#7
Re: Tax on a present to the US
BTW "USA PATRIOT Act" is an acronym/ abbreviation.
Last edited by Pulaski; Mar 12th 2015 at 12:16 pm.
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 902
Re: Tax on a present to the US
The tea probably made its way into Boston Harbor.
Receipt of a gift could still result in some recipients feeling obligated to pay some State use tax.
Receipt of a gift could still result in some recipients feeling obligated to pay some State use tax.
#10
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 78
Re: Tax on a present to the US
I thought there was an exemption for gifts if you mark the package as a gift on the customs form. Else why bother with that checkbox on the form?
This looks promising:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...tions-on-gifts
Did you mail it yourself at the post office? Did you mark it as a gift on your customs form? Did you fill out a customs form? You might have been levied the tax if you ordered it online and had the store send it directly to your friend. They are not going to have marked it as a gift. Or the shoes might have cost more than $100.
I have never ever been levied tax on a present to the USA when sent as a gift using the appropriate customs form. I've sent plenty of presents over the years both ways with no tax consequences. I don't think I'm just lucky.
This looks promising:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...tions-on-gifts
Did you mail it yourself at the post office? Did you mark it as a gift on your customs form? Did you fill out a customs form? You might have been levied the tax if you ordered it online and had the store send it directly to your friend. They are not going to have marked it as a gift. Or the shoes might have cost more than $100.
I have never ever been levied tax on a present to the USA when sent as a gift using the appropriate customs form. I've sent plenty of presents over the years both ways with no tax consequences. I don't think I'm just lucky.
Last edited by jb82; Mar 15th 2015 at 4:11 am.