US de minimis ended: what the $800 rule change means for you

For years, the United States had the most generous import rule in the world: any parcel worth $800 or less entered the country duty-free under a provision called Section 321, with no paperwork and no taxes. That era ended in 2025, and a lot of old advice on the internet still describes the world as it was. This page covers how it works now.

This topic changes through executive orders and court cases, so treat the numbers here as a snapshot and confirm the current rules on the CBP website before a large purchase.

What changed and when

• May 2025: the exemption was suspended for parcels from China and Hong Kong, where most of the volume came from.
• August 29, 2025: the suspension was extended to all countries. Since then, nearly every commercial parcel entering the US owes duties regardless of value. During a transition period, postal-channel shipments were handled under temporary flat-fee rules instead of percentage-based duties, which is why early bills from that period sometimes did not match the standard math.

"Nearly every" matters: the suspension targets commercial shipments. A genuine personal gift between individuals keeps a much smaller exemption, covered below.

What you pay on an international parcel now

With the $800 shield gone, a US-bound parcel can accumulate three separate charges:

1. Duty, calculated from the tariff classification and the declared value. For China-origin goods the rate can stack several programs (the base tariff rate, Section 301 tariffs, and other country-specific measures), which is why China-origin parcels in particular can cost noticeably more than the sticker price suggests.
2. Carrier processing fees. The courier or postal operator advances the money to customs and bills you for that service. These fees are flat per parcel, so they hurt cheap parcels most. See customs disbursement fees for how these are structured.
3. Merchandise processing and related surcharges on formal entries, which apply once a shipment is valuable enough to need full customs paperwork.

The practical result: a cheap gadget from overseas can now arrive with a bill attached. The duty depends on the product's tariff code and origin; the carrier's flat advancement fee lands on every parcel that owes anything, so low-value parcels feel the change most.

Why "the seller already charged me tax" does not settle it

Some marketplaces now collect an estimate of US import charges at checkout, and some sellers ship on terms where they cover the duties. Others do not, and the courier collects at the door. The checkout page of the store is the only reliable place to check which situation you are in. If nothing at checkout mentions duties or import charges, assume the courier will ask you for money before delivery.

The exceptions that survived

• Genuine gifts between individuals keep a small exemption (traditionally $100 per parcel, marked as a gift on the customs form). Sending yourself a "gift" from a store does not qualify; customs treats commercial invoices as commercial, whatever the box says. See gift exemptions in international shipping for the full rules.
• Documents and correspondence remain outside the duty system.
• Returned American goods and a few other narrow categories have their own rules.

Everything else, including small personal purchases from AliExpress, Temu, Shein and eBay sellers abroad, is now in the duty system.

What happens if you do not pay

An unpaid courier bill means no delivery. After a holding period the parcel is returned to the sender or, in some cases, treated as abandoned. Refusing a parcel over duties also does not guarantee a refund from the seller: many sellers deduct the original and return shipping costs, and some marketplace disputes treat "refused because of duties" as a buyer's-choice return. If the duty bill looks wrong, pay first and dispute it with evidence, rather than abandoning the parcel.

How to estimate the real cost before you buy

The math is the same as it always was; only the zero-rated band disappeared:

1. Find the tariff classification of the product (the HS code).
2. Look up the duty rate for that code and the country of origin.
3. Add the carrier's advancement fee for your delivery method.

For a step-by-step walkthrough with a worked example, see how to calculate import duty. If a parcel is already sitting at the border, the action plan is in my package is stuck in customs.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $800 threshold coming back?

Unknown. The suspension was done by executive order and has been challenged and adjusted since. Retailer and shipping-industry pressure for restoration is strong, but as of today no return date exists. Check the latest position before assuming a parcel will slip through free.

Do I pay duties on a birthday gift from my family?

Genuine person-to-person gifts under the gift threshold (traditionally $100) are still exempt. Marking a commercial purchase as a gift to dodge duties is customs fraud, and under-declaring the value is treated the same way.

Why does my friend in Canada pay nothing on the same parcel?

Canada has its own, much lower, threshold and its own rules. Every country's import system is independent.

Does this apply to returns I am sending back?

Duty is triggered on import into the US. Parcels leaving the US are not affected by this rule at all, though the destination country's own import rules apply on arrival.